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Sep 12, 2023
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Alexander Kurz's avatar

Anybody knows why Labour refuses to take the moment and be a true opposition? Who owns Labour? Is somebody tracking the money flows in the background?

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Sam's avatar

Sadly there is a massive amount of government subsidies all around the world, just look at Americas IRA. It's anti free market and I am very opposed to it. But if other contrary's are playing that game then sometimes we have to as well out of pragmatism. The presence of state subsides is a reality globally at the moment and you can not infer anything beyond that. And so to call Sunak is liar is nonsense. You would need to look at comparative subsidies to infer anything about the best place to build cars. For instance JLR were offered a lot more to build their battery factory in Spain, but they choose the UK, in that instance you could say that the UK is deemed as better than Spain for JLR.

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Alexander Kurz's avatar

"So we’ve gone from a Tory government refusing to invest in the national publicly owned car company, to a Tory government heavily subsidising the private owners of one of the last surviving remnants of the company they refused to back."

Excellent point. Friedmanite neoliberal economics is still going strong. Some call it neofeudalism now.

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Bob Dayton's avatar

"unfortunate" that nations don't provide affordable PV supported electric cars to their populations . Mutual contempt .

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Telboy's avatar

Are you against retaining Mini production in the UK?

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Kirsten's avatar

I think he's telling the truth. Car manufacturers can get paid millions by the government to open a plant, then asset strip it and sell it on to the next manufacturer who will demand massive subsidies. Sounds like a great place to set up shop (and then close or sell said shop).

Not one that I'm keen on as a taxpayer, but I may be a wee bit cynical.

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Patricia's avatar

Rushi Sunak would be a great MAGA were

he in The States

He would fit right in

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Steve O'Neal's avatar

It would be nice if we forgot about cars and invested in public transportation.

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Jeremy Wickins's avatar

Yesterday, due to my car being in for some work, I spent £50 on taxis (about the same as I spend on fuel for two weeks) because no buses go to my children's school, £15.60 on trains, and two hours more wasted on travelling than I would have usually. At the moment, my opinion of public transport is fairly poor, and I can't see where more investment would make significant difference. I'm very much in agreement with H.G. Wells' opinion from over a hundred years ago, which went something like, "Public transport is a means of getting from where you aren't to where you don't want to be."

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Mike Ward's avatar

Because he can?

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Stephen Rowland's avatar

He wants Ukraine to manufacture automobiles .

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Steve O'Neal's avatar

When I lived in Belgium, which has an integrated public transport system, I was able to get from where I was to where I wanted to be.

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Laurence's avatar

I hate being Devils advocate, but I can see the logic myself of wanting at least some manufacturing capability in this relatively small country. There is a lot about electric and or environmentally sound production that remains uncertain. It feels like we are to be guinea pigs for an approach to a crisis that is having an effect on all of us, but each person has a different take on what that crisis is about. Given the challenges of future energy and manufacturing limitations it's not surprising that the car industry has to be paid to be kept on board. Am I missing something??

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