Too expensive to manufacture electronics in UK (RaspberryPi)

[DodgyAgent]

Explain why you think that is control freak?

I agree with him.

It seems wrong that UK companies have to compete against offshore service providers who are bound to be cheaper. UK industry can not hope to win.
Particularly when the consumer can not go offshore for the service provided.

Like it or not we have strict labour laws in the UK (and Europe) and it is incredible that large corporations can dodge these by simply using an off shore service.

And how do you tax what is essentially a phone call from abroad? How exactly do you differentiate between a call from a call centre and your cousin in Madras?

Again its this entitlement thing where we decide to give fathers 6 months paternity leave and our employers are expected to swallow the cost. If the UK chooses to impose costly employment laws then the quid pro quo is that fewer people will be employed. We live in an International market where countries compete with each other to attract investment. Uk businesses are within their absolute right morally and legally to place their business where they like. If this means locating a call centre abroad then so be it.

We Europeans will soon realise that we are not entitled to have our cake and eat it.

[SimonMac]

Isn't this why people assemble things abroad, import to the UK and stick a badge on or something so they can say "Built in the UK"

[DodgyAgent]

This isn't a case of "providing a service". It's about manufacturing - actually making stuff, real stuff you can hit with a hammer.

Creating the infrastructure for real industries like this is simply not going to happen in this day and age. Our manufacturing industries have been systematically destroyed by politicians, starting thirty years ago.

The best this country can manage nowadays is providing a few PR types to lie about how wonderful it is that this happened.

So IT is a soft business then?

[AtW]

The answer is for someone in the UK to manufacture the components locally, having an advantage because imported components are liable to duty and theirs are not.