The EU - we are on the home straight folks!

Bought a dozen pair of knickers in the UK (Bon Marché - cheap!) - so will be fine for a year of two.

Hope the elastic is good in your new knickers granjura
This tread is getting surreal

We could all use our knicker elastic to form a barrier across the South coast to repel invaders. Ping them back across the Channel.

Perhaps many of us have postal votes because we are well off enough in the EU to afford lots of holidays. We have a postal vote because we always seem to be away when elections come round.

thread not tread

Don't buy cheap on principle. If a t shirt or pair of trainers knickers cost only a few quid, what do you think the poor sweatshop workers in India get paid?

Enough for them to feed their families, without that work, they would be worse off. Not an ideal situation, but that's the reality.

We will be able to set up workshops in UK as Priti Patel has already said they will make it easy for people to come to UK from the Indian subcontinent instead of the EU.

I have yet to hear that woman make an intelligent remark

Large enough anyhow ;) I'm afraid that being expensive is absolutely no way to ensure that they are not made with poor, exploited labour. I remember the days all M&S stuff was made locally in Leicester, and used to go to the factory shop regularly (Corah's) ...

Some of the family we met last week were vociferously for out- and yet told us their pensions are tied to the stock market ... good luck to them.

I would be prepared to pay a lot more for clothes if they were made in the UK. I do not buy goods made in Bangladesh.

Despite labels you may be surprised where the garment is actually made. A "Made in Britain" label may applied to any product where further work has taken place in the UK. There is no stipulation as to how much work is required.
I knew of a business that imported tools from India etc. They are so cheap that just inspecting them and correcting poor workmanship, constituted a significant percentage of the cost, they then stamped "Made in England" on them.

Buyer beware, regardless of the cost.

Just an aside - gj, I worked at Corah's. We were all going great guns and got rid of all other contracts just so we could supply M&S. M&S wanted cheaper and cheaper garments and moved prodution from Corah's. Luckily for me, I had left by the time the redundancies started in earnest.

As you were!!

Same happened to all the other great textile factories- as well as PEX socks, etc. The Corah shop was fab for kids' stuff too, and right opposite the bus station, so very convenient.

My region specialised in making the best knitting machines in those days, Dubied, and they even had a subsidiary there for selling and servicing the machines, to my great surprise- when I discovered it driving behind the railway station one day.

But we digress. Back on the subject, a lot of people seem to blame Europe for the loos of manufacturing jobs- which I think is totally wrong. Blame globalisation, yes- but not Europe- au contraire.

I agree, gj. It makes sense to have clothes, etc manufactured in Bangladesh (or another developing country) because the cost of living is lower than in the UK.

I don't think many consumers would buy a T shirt made in the UK by workers (possibly of Bangladeshi origin) in factories where they only earn minimum wage anyway, when they could buy an identical T shirt made in Bangladesh. The consumers would end up paying more for an item made by workers earning the same pay relative to living standards.

Obviously, the UK has little control of the working conditions of factories in Bangladesh, although big companies such as M&S or Tesco could put pressure on manufacturers. Governments could also set standards for imports, so that goods comply with domestic standards, which could include working conditions

That's the way globalism and capitalism work. I don't accept that the EU has much to do with this, although the EU could use its might to put pressure on developing countries to improve working conditions.

Ironically, leaving the EU could (as some BREXIT politicians want) turn the UK into a low wage sweat shop economy with a small élite in control.

Granjura, agree, manufactures will move production to wherever they can get the quality they require at the lowest cost. I worked for a company that did exactly that, our cheaper products were made around the world. Our design, development,pre production an high end products being made in Britain. We had factories in Singapore, Mexico, India, St Kitts, Hong Kong and probably China by now. Once costs increased in a location production would be moved.

Still digressing; we met some lovely people when we were on holiday years ago. His family owned a factory making swimwear for M&S - they certainly weren't rich (camping holidays in this country, like us) and I often wonder what happened to their firm and them when M&S went overseas in their drive for cheaper garments and production costs.
I think all firms should insist on a reasonable standard of living and safe working conditions for those employees of firms who manufacture their clothes.

www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2016/06/01/not-far-from-the-eu-referendum-there-are-real-political-issues-crying-out-for-attention/

Digression of a sort on here but quite important.
Is the EU referendum a dead cat, and if so, what is the most important thing we are missing?

We were the killers of industry in UK - or more to the point Maggie was - she preferred factories close and put many into the dole than help them get over a sticky patch. All this talk of getting control back is such rubbish as the same lot will be making the laws - only difference is that they will no longer be able to blame Brussels for their mistakes or why they will not do something.

GandTea- not sure if you didn't misread what I was saying. I don't agree at all that 'anything goes' with workers' condition because insisting on decent standards would push manufacture elsewhere, That is a total cop out. It should be compulsory for factories supplying us to be inspected regularly by the importers and not accept slave labour or dangerous, unhealthy condtions. Of course Bangladeshi workers will be paid less, due to local conditions- but basic safety and humanity should not be optional.

Workers' rights and conditions in the UK will probably deteriorate greatly if Brexit goes through, sadly.

Posts crossed Welshwife- totally agree + globalisation- not the EU, au contraire.

By the way, is parliament supposed to be sitting, or not?
If not, why not? This referendum has nothing to do with normal parliament.

I'm so worried now. We recently overheard a family at the table next to us loudly discussing how they were going to vote 'out'. Three generations were represented and each put forward their reasons and they were all mince! It was so hard not to interrupt to correct the crap nonsense they were spouting with complete confidence. If this was a typical UK family we're doomed

Aren't they on their Whitsun hols recess?

I think the comment that stock markets etc will dip immediately is correct. Also business confidence will fall with businesses that export holding back on investing or expanding. That will feel pretty immediate to some people I'm sure.
No reason why this recession-promoting gloom should lift as the uncertainty will go on for years.
And yes Trisher potentially the illegal immigrant problem could get a lot worse quite quickly if the understandably-pissed-off French decide they are not going to cooperate with us. Not really sure why they do now.