Re: Welfare myths
 

How many foreign car companies have got factories in Britain putting out thousands of cars a year?

Re: Welfare myths
 

The Germans have always focused on their manufacturing and they are very good at it.Having said that,they also "bend" the rules just like the French,in that they will buy German made goods come what may.An example might be the rail industry.Last year we had an issue over who would be building the trains for ?Crossrail.Turns out the Germans got the deal rather than the firm in Derby.That would not happen in France or Germany.They would not buy their trains from abroad.We seem to prefere to dump our own industry and buy from the Germans,and what we insist on making here we allow the Germans to own the company.Strange priorities,and a recipe for ultimate decline.

Re: Welfare myths
 

Thats what you get for being part of the EU.

A load of rules that force you to allow equal opportunities to any company from the member states.

The same rules apply to France and Germany, it's just they are more comfortable with simply ignoring the rules and will happily ignore each other doing this.... Give an English man a rule and he'll follow it.... plus they're likely to gang up against us if we choose to break the rules - maybe we shouldn't be part of it at all...

Re: Welfare myths
 

Yes that's part of the equation, plus when we were building carp cars, and washing machines etc etc, the Germans were building good cars like the VW Golf, Audi.

We've shown we can make good cars.

VW and the other German car makers have also learned that producing their cars in Eastern isn't always a good idea, as they aren't made as well as in the German factories, even though its the same car.

The Germans and the French were always good at looking after their home turf

Re: Welfare myths
 

+1 it was like Spain when they brought in the smoking ban

"oh they must mean someone else" and completely ignored it.
Doubtless they'll all do the same with the new bike testing bollox.

Meanwhile over here we've got d*ckheads with budgets to waste who've bankrupted the pub trade and are slowly doing the same to the bike trade.

Sooner we're out the better...

Re: Welfare myths
 

But it's British peps being paid . That's fine it's going in the right direction .
I try and get UK stuff . Next is European . Stuff .
But I can't get every thing . :(

Re: Welfare myths
 

Also true. We needed some new equipment, because of the value of the contract, it has to go out to EU wide procurement, even though we know what we want and can only get it in the UK. All the support is based in the UK.

I don't see my foreign colleagues having to jump through the same hoops.

Re: Welfare myths
 

I can remember sitting in a German town once when the local polizei drove past....smoking a cigar and eating an ice cream...at the same time.
IOn turning to look at my German relative she just shrugged and said "If we dont agree with it ,we dont do it"

Re: Welfare myths
 

Thing is what government has got the balls to put this right though ?

Re: Welfare myths
 

Yep, pretty much the same with my wife's German family and its also the case with my French friends.