British business uncompetitive?

Why is British business so uncompetitive these days?

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business...rb7vWZtb&pso=1

One comment I read:

"Some body has researched this and, if I remember correctly, suggested the following causes - 1.low investment in infrastructure (roads, rail, airports shipping etc.) by successive governments 2. Poorly qualified and incompetent managers (as compared with other developed countries)which has often resulted in - 3.Low investment in employee training and new methods of production."

which, I think, rings true.

Do others agree that we could be doing much better? Certainly, I believe the writer's first point - our poor infrastructure - is something that the government really should be addressing now, before we leave the EU.

Re: British business uncompetitive?

should never have closed down the mines or steel production

Re: British business uncompetitive?

I don't think any one single thing was responsible for the loss and decay of British Industry and manufacturing JB, but high on the list in my opinion would be the power of the unions in the seventies and eighties, who demanded such high wages that we were priced out of the world market.

Secondly would be the government's knee jerk reaction to the power of the unions, Mrs Thatcher had to set an example and take the teeth out of the unions whatever the cost, and she used the miners to do it.

And thirdly, Labours idea to encourage school leavers to go to university whatever their ability to keep down the unemployment figures thereby preventing the practical inclined students from taking apprenticeships and refreshing the loss of skilled personnel through retirement.

Re: British business uncompetitive?

Re: British business uncompetitive?

Hi

We are, with rare exceptions, simply less productive than many of our competitors.

Even the French and Italians are more productive than we are.

I do not put this down to the workforce, Nissan and Toyota who have factories here praise them highly.

However our Unions are dinosaurs, stuck in the past and management is often weak.

What is really hurting us is infrastructure, particularly transport delays and high energy costs.

There is no way we can address these before Brexit, it will take decades.

Re: British business uncompetitive?

Say thank you to the Unions for this weekend.

Re: British business uncompetitive?

Yes, there are still millions of tons of accessible coal still down there. A short-sighted government decision, as usual, prompted by the tree-huggers.

The same goes for our heavy industry that was.

Re: British business uncompetitive?

I agree. All of those were contributory factors.

The government and trade unions, as I have mentioned before, always pulling against each other whilst watching other countries (like Germany) having the common sense to work together for the common good.

Is it now too late for us to do the same, I wonder, even if we could manage to do so?

Re: British business uncompetitive?

Hi

Tree huggers had nothing to do with it.

We simply cannot compete on cost with the vast open cast sites they have in Germany and Poland for example.

Heavy Industry went because it was simply uncompetitive on price.

Japan and South Korea both have huge ship building Industries.

They do not have cheap labour there either, simply more efficient.

Re: British business uncompetitive?

We outsourced everything to third world economies, overlooking the fact, we would have to compete with the cheap product we imported, everything will be Ok when folks cheapen up a bit.