Still trying to get my head round this in the Telegraph:
"A senior economic adviser to Gordon Brown said the City of London was all-important to the Government and “the rest of the country can be turned over to tourism”, it is claimed today.
A report on defence spending quotes the “influential” official as telling union officials that manufacturing had “no value” but the financial sector had to be “supported at all costs”.
The alleged comments, made before the collapse of Northern Rock but only now made public, appear to shed new light on the Government’s decision to press ahead with a £1.3 trillion bail-out of the banking sector while being criticised for doing too little to support industry.
The report by the UK National Defence Association (UKNDA), an independent body, quotes the government adviser as saying: “Defence, aerospace, manufacturing and engineering have no real value to us.
“Only high-quality professional services, financial services and the City of London have any real value and they should be supported at all costs. The rest of the country can be turned over to tourism.”
The report, which highlighted a £15 billion shortfall in defence spending, will lead to intense speculation over the identity of the unnamed government adviser.
Dr Liam Fox, the shadow defence secretary, said: “If these comments are true, then it lays bare the contempt this government has for the defence industries, which play an important role in supporting British exports and British jobs.
“It also explains why defence was notably left out of the Government’s fiscal stimulus package - unlike in other countries, such as France and Germany, which brought forward some of their defence spending, Gordon Brown’s government has actually delayed major projects such as the aircraft carriers. There has long been a suspicion that Gordon Brown and his closest advisers had an anti-defence bias; now we have this confirmed.”
Paul Kenny, the general secretary of the GMB union, described the comment as “an appalling statement”, which “mocked” hard-working people in the manufacturing sector.
A spokesman for the Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) pointed out that the Manufacturing Strategy, launched in September last year, committed the Government to “a mixed and balanced economy where manufacturing activities complement services”.
The UKNDA report, which was previewed in yesterday’s Daily Telegraph, was written by Tony Edwards, a former head of defence export services at the Ministry of Defence, who said he was not at liberty to disclose the identity of the official.
The report has been endorsed by patrons, including Lord Owen and two former chiefs of the defence staff, Lord Guthrie and Sir Peter Harding."
The Penguin
5 comments:
That has actually tainted my day.
I'm an Engineer (and I worked on the Carrier as it happens), and just the use of the terms 'high quality' and 'professional' when applied to these pointless cunts in finance makes my fucking teeth itch.
This just highlights the smug arrogance of Labour and their placemen and women. To get a high powered and lucrative job and pension just do as Brown asks and hey presto, immense wealth and success. Bit like Mugabe really!
It is rapidly becoming evident that Labour have sunk this country not just through incompetence and spite on their own part, but also an inability to combant the power of the civil service.
Perhaps through ignorance and lack of worldly wise experience, or maybe just childlike glee at being in charge, they did not and do not have the wherewithall to stand up to the mandarins.
Who has been in charge for 12 years; Labour or Sir Humphrey?
Oh I'm with Big G on this one. Industry? Manufacturing? Ugh! All of those nasty products to move and export and all of the horrible, what do they call 'em - oh yes - "workers" and things that go with - eek - "making things". Nasty dirty industry full of peasants. No, no, much better to stick with the production of funny-money by nice chaps and chapesses in decent suits who host the odd (daily) freebie lunch and (daily) freebie dinner.
Besides, that "making things" business has to be done - oh, what do they call it now - oh yes - "elsewhere". Not London dontcha know. Dirty, dirty place, there be dragons (and union types).
They really have got no chuffing idea, have they?
Shred Freds Shed said:
"Only high-quality professional services, financial services and the City of London have any real value "
Wankers
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