EU referendum, brexit and the aftermath

Interesting topic - illegal state aid. Somewhat banned in the EU I believe. Perhaps if Brexit happens, the U.K. will be able to provide (bribe) companies with state aid.
Although I’m looking at this from a point of view where state aid has been given to Dublin Airport even though it is supposed to be illegal.

Derek Hatton has been re-admitted back into the Labour Party apparently.

What a fucking day, lose Berger, gain Hatton. Corbynism in microcosm.

Numbers seem perfect. Tories would be 9 short of a majority (I think?). +1 with the dup support. And labour would have made no inroads. It's like someone's writing a script. We'll see if it happens though.

There seems to be a lot of illegal state funding. Ferryless ferry company aside, the secretive pledges to Nissan were just one indication https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/02/05/business/u-k-offered-brexit-assurances-100-million-support-nissan-secure-suv/#.XGsW5DpMHIU

It seems pretty standard as the gov't seeks to please the corporate powers, hence tech behemoths being able to operate in UK markets without incurring tax, in a similar way to HMRC conducting private meetings with high net worth individuals to agree a tax payment with them rather than holding them to account (I used to have an Aussie guy sittting next to me who earned similar £££ where I paid 40% and he paid whatever he felt like paying HMRC, which wasn't much!)

Hatton?
Fuck me.

Where's Arthur?

did you run the fuck home?

nutbar.

Employee ownership for large companies is already encouraged through tax free share purchases. Expand on that rather expropriate and give the equity to a state fund.

A state fund is not a bad idea. Norway's oil fund is the largest equity investor in Europe and responsibly managed - for the benefit of Norwegians in perpetuity (i.e. not to exhaust for short term reasons). But general attitudes in Norway are different - national pride equates to caring about it, the people, and a responsibility to future generations - in contrast to a 'what's in it for me' in UK. (No offence intended to anyone and my assertion re Norwegian's is based on limited, but positive experience).

The problem with any state controlled activity is the inherent corruption within the system which is throttles the ability for genuine change to be accomplished.

There have been good initiatives in the last decade to fund engineering/ manufacturing technology, but the translation from my own experience and various anecdotes is that this has been channeled to benefit the larger corporate interests, fraternal networks and has not required genuine commitment to the UK. There needs to be far more transparency and accountability, but without administrative burden and closing as many doors for potential cynical exploitation as possible.

I don't remember if I got this from here, but the Irish are ahead with state assistance in case of Brexit fall-out for small businesses
https://www.independent.ie/business/enterprise-ireland-approves-74m-brexit-funds-37696095.html

Me?
From Herne hill.
I had to get home quicker, I'd overstayed at work because of work.

Might be running into work from home or from Brixton tmrw.

Anything to take my mind off this shit.

Do you believe Michael Gove?

Should Murdoch's embedded minister be trusted with Food Standards?

I dunno how anyone can take 'vows' seriously now. I hate the 'all politicians can't be trusted' mindset but until what he says is binding and is law it's really hard to believe

Looks like Swindon got exactly what it voted for.
Congratulations.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/jun/30/the-town-that-rebelled-against-its-pro-eu-employers

textbook case of "'I never thought leopards would eat MY face,' sobs woman who voted for the Leopards Eating People's Faces Party."

There is a touch more nuance than that but it does point to Brexit as being that event that pushed things over the edge.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/feb/18/hondas-exit-is-based-on-many-factors-but-brexit-is-certainly-one

Maybe it's time for a list of companies from hardcore brexit areas to boycott.

Can't help but think had the UK not wasted the last 3+ years on a referendum and its aftermath,
which excluded us from the discussions around the EU-Japan FTA,
we would almost certainly have been able to include a commitment from Honda for the Swindon factory.

Unlikely. The British motor industry has been in terminal decline for a long time, this is just following a well established trajectory.

Honda's said it has nothing to do with Brexit and they don't have any reason to lie about that. The timing sucks though of course.

they should've blamed it on brexit anyway

Honda's said it has nothing to do with Brexit and they don't have any reason to lie about that.

Most companies will try to steer clear of politics if they can. They have nothing to win by stating it had to do with Brexit, on the contrary it increases the likelihood some people might perceive their brand negatively. Saying 'it had nothing to do with Brexit it's just global market stuff' on the other hand is basically the safe way out.

Honda's said it has nothing to do with Brexit and they don't have any reason to lie about that.

I'd suggest that's a point of diplomacy rather than a reflection of the truth. It's implausible to suggest that all these other Japanese manufacturing and financial institutions leaving at the same time has nothing to do with Brexit.

You really believe that? Do you think Honda aren't concerned about not having access to the EU/Japan FTA? I would have thought that a car company would very much prefer to export cars without tariffs.

Today's press release is framed with more diplomacy than you might realise. The Brexiteer MP in Swindon yesterday claimed that Honda had told him that fear of losing access to the FTA was part of their decision, but he then deleted his comments saying this. The local press also reported this and then modified their article after a couple of hours.

The online response to the comment was pretty controversial and I think Honda realised.

It is completely mad to suggest the withdrawal of Honda and several other companies is nothing to do with brexit.

How could it not be?
How could they not have reason to lie?

Another way to look at it is that it appears that the Swindon plant has not been viable for a while but the looming loss of tariff free exports to their largest and wealthiest market was the final straw.

Ask yourself this, if there was no EU/Japan FTA, where would they be moving production to after Brexit? Probably Belgium where their distribution centres are. Because there is an FTA, they can choose Japan instead. If there was no Brexit on the horizon, they would be able to consider continuing to make Swindon work.

In the same way that FlyBMI probably would have folded anyway, but Brexit pushed it over the edge in the end.