so sad for the decent folk.
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News & politics
UK Steel Industry & Media Reporting
(153 Posts)Watched with sadness the reports on BBC News about the eminent collapse of the UK steel industry.
The reporter stated that China has produced more steel in the past 2 years than the UK has in 149 years!!
Aside from the scant attention to detail, this hyperbolae does little justice to the innovators in the UK and Europe, who invented and developed the modern steelmaking processes.
I don't think the BBC had a true grasp of how important the UK's works at Scunthorpe, Sheffield and many others, have been to this global industry. In particular, the work done in Germany and at Barrow-in-Furness - where the works was the model used by Andrew Carnegie in the USA - production today is largely based on the technology we developed.
The BBC News reporter was clearly unaware of the history, and as a shout out to Barrow-in-Furness - most of the world's railways from Sweden to Australia and the USA, have had rails rolled in that town.
Still - I guess you can't show shiny graphics that demonstrate the 'puny' output of the UK compared to China, with that sort of data.
AIBU to assume that the bulletin was just the UK Government once again using apples and oranges comparisons to justify the loss of industry, and total lack of support for innovation.
GabriellaG54 Quote [explantations ?
explanations ??] End Quote.
GabriellaG54, perhaps an "explanation" of your above post would be appreciated by forum members?
I told you quite clearly that my OH is CEO of a private bank which does not have bricks and mortar on any UK High Street and was not involved, in any remote way whatsoever, with the UK government's bailout of bank
er no, yet another pack of lies.... ah well
Elvive 
Grandad once again you haven't read what I said and you haven't answered the question I asked.
1) The banks have not - yet - repaid all the money but they have paid a lot
2) Yes, the bankers greed and bad management caused the crisis, I have never denied that, but if the money hadn't been lent, we would have been reduced to the state Greece was in when their crisis hit, people starving in the streets, all state benefits slashed - there would probably be no housing benefit to help people at all and pensioners would have seen their income cut and, probably no income supplements for the poorest, health cover would be limited and probably families would ahve to feed patients themselves.
Any benefits paid out because of the bail out is nothing compared with the billions of money cut from benefits, health, education, and all public services that would have followed if we hadn't bailed them out.
The loans were worth it because the costs to you me and every other person in this country would have been so much higher if they hadn't been made. We saved money and avoided financial ruin by making those loans.
It was a correction to my earlier post today 15.52 .
Elvive
Are you confident as to the veracity of that statement?
M0nica, you obviously have not read thoroughly my post @ 20:29 today.
In that post, I have stated that the ballot of the Banks and whole Finance industry was necessary. However, still very many people were
severely affected by the recession (depression) brought about by the greed of that industry.
However, had not Tony Blair and his cohorts allowed their friends in the Banking Industry in Britain to retain their companies as unregulated despite many warnings of what that might bring, then perhaps such a Bailout would not have been necessary
That is part the reason why the Labour Party/movement in Britain has moved to the left in recent years.
Grandad1943
When you have a mandate to speak for forum members other than yourself. 
Meantime, do restrict any comments about me to the truth, not your version of it which paints an entirely different picture.
Message deleted by Gransnet. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.
GabriellaG54 Quote [It was a correction to my earlier post today 15.52.] End Quote
GabriellaG54, you who are at the front of belittling those on this forum who make grammar or spelling mistakes has made one yourself and taken several hours to realise that, terrible. 
Also that has occurred on the same day that you had to conseed that you did not know recently if you were on a Greyhound or Megabus. 
Very bad day GabriellaG54, awful day. ?
GabriellaG54, you are just not worth replying to any further.
Inconsistencies in every post. 
Concede. 
Grow up Grandad1943
You didn't even apologise for erroneously connecting me in two posts after I had told you I had no link to the banking bailout.
You continued to associate me with it.
In RL that would be defamation.
Elvive
Please be careful what you write.
Personal attacks are not welcome on GN.
Elvive, there is a women on this forum who so often speaks of her wealth, and yet travels on a Megabus using vouchers?
Does make one wonder. ?
Hi HQ here. Reminder that we don't allow personal attacks. Please feel free to argue your case but try not to get personal. Good night. 
Grandad why should you or anybody be surprised ?
I think we have had a thread in the past on the subject of people who seem/claim to have lots of money scrimping and saving in everyday life.
Maybe that is how they accrued their shedloads ! 

Maw, we were was just thinking, perhaps you are right. Therefore, first thing tomorrow, me and Carol my wife are going out to sell our cars and buy two pushbikes or perhaps even a tandem.
Just think of the savings we will make and wealth and more wealth will be ours. 
Carol just said "thinking about it, can you ride Tandem" 
MOnica and Grandad
I think you might find this article by Frances Coppola (economist specialising in banking and finance) interesting:
www.forbes.com/sites/francescoppola/2019/05/23/how-a-private-equity-firm-brought-about-the-death-of-british-steel/#5312e29e4824
Interesting thought. We, to all intents and purposes, have no government at the moment. Should any decision have been made about BS while we are in this state?
It is an absolute tragedy that strategic industries and services have been hived off to foreign companies in the interest of short term gain. China isn’t investing in nuclear power in the UK to help us, it’s to to make money for them and control us, they have no new technology advantage
You can be sure they are only doing it for their own purposes, it’s a classic takeover scenario cut prices bankrupt the opposition then increase yours and screw the consumer.
Even though Steel is foreign owned at least it still operates in the UK and can be nationalised if needed, the same applies to the Railways, they are strategic if less road traffic is going to happen.
Let’s use the car industry as an example, we don’t have one do we. Japan does, so do USA, China, Germany, France, Italy and Korea, is our ambition really to be a third rate power behind Korea that has national Shipbuilding, Steel and Computer industries as well.
Ironic, too, that Thatcher worked to destroy British industry on ideological grounds and in favour of the services industry. When, if we leave the EU, services will be the most difficult area to work into trade agreements.
Correct Maizie, Thatcher did some good and a lot of harm, successive governments have done the same, short term gain through privatization instead of getting management right. Then when it goes wrong ( Carrillion) has to pick up the bill anyway.
Maisie Thanks, I have read it and it shows what a basket case British Steel was and how all the money paid into it by the government is going into the pockets of a very dubious set of venture capitalists.
As I have said all along, the palnt should have gone and the money been invested in the community years ago.
I might add, I think the judgment of history on Mrs Thatcher will not be favourable. Many of this countries current evils are the direct result of the actions of governments led first by her and then by Tony Blair.
Thank God I never voted for either of them.
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