Buying British | Common Market | EEC | Brexit | Money Go Round | 1976

Tony Bastable and Joan Shenton look at the problem the British Consumer faces today, in the difficulty of actually buying goods that are 'Made in Britain' and what the possible causes for this may be.
First shown: 02/12/1976
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Quote: VT15566

[@bigpete111100]

15% of all goods we buy is from abroad! Jesus its about 90% now

[@annother3350]

It's not 90%

[@bencrosbie]

Everything we buy in ireland is all foreign except some food.

[@Perkelenaattori]

What can you do.. People prefer Italian Lavazza to Bovril.

[@sgtspite]

@@annother3350 98%?

[@onlinefriend3889]

Jeez... Environmentally speaking it's not great as the transport needed for import give off lots of CO2, especially when the demand for clothing has never been high. Plus we don't know who exactly made it, or even where because forced slavery could've been attempted. Economically speaking, if the British people are encouraged to 'Buy British', jobs in factories would definitely be in demand.

[@samuelbcn]

In 1976 a Hong Kong made hat was a British made hat!

[@keithwatson1384]

samuelbcn wish it was now as well! It's terrible what the Chinese are doing there!

[@samuelbcn]

@@keithwatson1384 Agreed

[@pentuprager6225]

@@keithwatson1384 thanks to Thatcher.

[@jzneter736]

Empire made hat

[@chubeye1187]

Was it fuck. Did they have seats in parliament, the pound , or could freely come and live in the UK

[@mwbpo1]

Wow, proper journalism

[@dirkbogarde7796]

Yes, I am amazed too. I think I need a lie down.

[@roddymcniven8734]

@@dirkbogarde7796 me too

[@Zakalwe-01]

Bloody sports shoes! They come over here, winning races and not falling apart. It’s a bleedin’ outrage 😡

[@sichere]

Paul Nuttall has let himself go

[@SimonWebbRCandModellingChannel]

Everybody was so polite and well spoken....I miss these days!

[@Mark1405Leeds]

Gorgeous Datsun Bluebird!

[@polmacdhomhnaill3021]

Turbo

[@syxepop]

Mark F, that would be Datsun 510 (2G) over here in the States, not as overstyled as its' predecessor, the 1800 / 710.

[@shaunmandich7181]

Was called a Datsun 180U (SSS, GL or Deluxe) in South Africa. My dad had a SSS like that good car but it rusted away real easily if you did not do preventative maintenance on it every 4 years or so.

[@Mark1405Leeds]

It was a 180b SSS coupe here but also known as the Bluebird. Unfortunatlely as with all Datsuns of the 70's they rusted to oblivion in no time. Such a shame. Most survivors seem to be in Australia.

[@NESherv]

My grandma bought one new in 1977 in Iran. It was metallic sky blue. She loved it!

[@phillipecook3227]

1976 eh? Interesting piece with the benefit of perfect hindsight. The writing was just emerging on the wall. If anyone on that programme could really have seen the future accurately, been able to compare the state of British consumer manufacturing/High streets in 1976 with 2020 they would've been struck dumb with fear. Off course WE know that British consumer manufacturing was eventually wiped out by cheap imports. No one cared. Least of all the consumer.

[@lukecoulson7470]

Once saw a toy london bus with “buy british” on the side of it. On the packaging it said “made in china”.

[@slimboyfat9409]

Elias Elijah Primark is primarily Canadian owned. One of the bigger Commonwealth countries that will be riding to your rescue post Brexit.

[@donsolaris8477]

@@slimboyfat9409 How come there are no stores in Canada...

[@joshualaw375]

The problem is if you were smart, you’d buy the Datsun for reliability, as opposed to a British crapbox. I’m all for supporting the domestic market, but if you want me to buy a British car, make a good British car!

[@anthonystrong3783]

Remember that thing about Sunny Jim wanting a British Leyland as the official car to show British manufacturing and when the door shut behing him, the window fell in?

[@Replevideo]

Yes and no. They were certainly better in some respects, but we were being ripped off. Datsun's were imported by a British company and it took several years for Datsun to realise that they were selling them at a far higher price than Datsun had specified. Datsuns did not last as long on the road as the less reliable British cars, and that may have been due to the sky high prices of spare parts, which again might have been due to the rip off company. My friend had to pay £50 for a rear quarter light window, when a week's wages was around £30. People tend to scrap perfectly good cars if the cost of repairs exceeds the value of the car. Datsun Cherrys were powered by an engine which was an exact copy of the BMC A series with a redesigned cylinder head, an engine Datsun built under licence from BMC for their version of the Austin A40.

[@chijen2010]

Look at the reliability of Land Rover and McLaren. Both company makes some of the best cars in the world, but the reliability is still god awful 40+ years later.

[@Nombredeusuario1030]

Back in 1976, British mass market cars were certainly unreliable. But 10 years down the road you were able to buy a nice Honda-based Rover and you bought Japanese or German instead. Now you have the Japanese and the German fleeing their UK-based factories due to Brexit while Rover and other companies are long gone. It's a lose-lose situation.

[@sportshatch]

Joshua Law the Datsun was great if you only wanted a car for 3 years. Nothing rusted faster than a Datsun. It made an Alfa Sud look rust resistant .

[@hikari_no_yume]

GATT is what became the WTO.

[@Le_Rennais]

Even the working force in UK comes from abroad !

[@ricomartinez2869]

With the low birth rates from UK natives what you expected?

[@syxepop]

Rico Martinez, EXACTLY! ...aaaaaaand not only in UK, but also in the rest of Europe, US, Canada, Japan...

[@grahamestroud8271]

Fuck off

[@chucky2316]

I'm English and I work we do work you know, the foreign work force was bought in to keep wages low thats the only reason.

[@spex357]

@@chucky2316 I wrote to Mr Blair to tell him bosses where swapping out their staff and lowering wages. His reply was "it's business, best get used to it".

[@andynixon2820]

People complain about globalism but no one complains when the equivalent item is a lot cheaper from abroad . Truth is one of the main reasons British manufacturing lost out is because of us .

[@YorickReturns]

It is indeed the reason.

[@dcanmore]

same with the high street, people complain that shops are closing while ordering online. Times change but the UK always seems to get caught out.

[@YorickReturns]

Sounds like you're racist against Asians. Calm down, socialist.

[@YorickReturns]

People don't understand economics or responsibility.

[@sh0werp0wer]

British consumers 100% decide which products they buy. They go for the cheapest clothes made in South Asian sweatshops 10 out 10 times, that's why manufacturers who produce their clothes here win 10/10 times. Then they proceed to bitch about how nobody is buying British. You vote with your wallet, idiot. If you want to support British industry so bad, buy expensive British-made products. You can't have both a high standard of living and ridiculously cheap labour. It's not possible. Pick one. Would you like to be Bangladesh? Go ahead. By the looks of it, that's where the UK is headed now.

[@guywilloughby3383]

15% made abroad, more like 90 now!!

[@11Kralle]

Hong Kong was somewhat 'british' until the late 90s, wasn't it?

[@smhorse]

Handed back to China in 1997.

[@YorickReturns]

Parts of Hong Kong were permanently given to the British in 1842 and 1860. The rest of Hong Kong was leased to the British for 99 years, starting in 1898 (the European empires, Japan and the USA had agreed by that point that there would be no more permanent transfers of Chinese territory, and the British thought 99 years would be "as good as forever"). In 1984, the British agreed that all of Hong Kong would be handed over to China in 1997 (in return for China's respect for Hong Kong's freedoms and semi-independence until at least 2047). So, yes, Hong Kong was a British colony. The sad fact is, though, that many UK people did not see the Hong Kongers as British. UK people were freely allowed to immigrate to Hong Kong (admittedly, not many took up that opportunity, and fewer still did so permanently), but Hong Kongers not to the UK. And it wasn't just the laws. It was the attitudes. And furthermore Hong Kongers were never given a referendum on their future. In this case, maybe that approach was justified. The UK did not have the means to stand up to China over Hong Kong. China could have invaded or cut off the water supply. The 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre showed that China was still willing to murder its own people. Maybe the 1984 deal was the best deal possible. Even the immigration restrictions could be partly blamed on fear of antagonizing China through draining Hong Kong of its people. But what excuse was there for similar laws and attitudes (and a similar lack of pre-independence referendums) for the UK's other colonies? The Blair government can be criticized for many things, but restoring full British citizenship to the UK's remaining colonies in 2002 was a high point, though by that time the UK no longer had any highly-populated colonies, let alone any with a high number of eager emigrants, Hong Kong having been the last.

[@purplepioneer5644]

Yes, but with no minimum wage and a much cheaper labor market. Hong Kong’s economy developed like the other Asian tigers - labor intensive light manufacturing for export, gradually changing as the economy became more and more services-based.

[@groovygraham]

I could do with a couple of those "Cheese Cloth" shirts for Summer. It would seem neither have been available since 1976 ;)

[@theonlybuzz1969]

groovygraham go to Greece or Turkey plenty of them there for not much ,ore than a fiver

[@zenithred9731]

"We're not good enough at it." He means at slave child labour?

[@cyrillicsam]

In Asia yes but not in (W)Germany.

[@zeddeka]

Countries like Germany managed to thrive in that environment without slave labour, so that begs the question, what were we doing wrong? The answers are well known. Chronic underinvestment in industry, refusal to move to new industries and methods of production, poor management, very poor levels of education and outdated skills, and paying ourselves more than the value of what we produce. Lots of people like to imagine that the 60s and 70s were a golden era. When you see programmes like this, you realise that is an absolute joke. Britain was absolutely rotten and falling apart at the seams

[@chazedson1]

And socialism didn't help. They were never at work, and nothing could be done about the quality without consulting Unions.

[@TheWacoKid1963]

We haven't had a clothing industry since the 90s, And we still buy in from sweatshops

[@dave11686]

RIP Tony Bastable

[@trevorrandom]

Now we've got Primark on every high Street...

[@VOLightPortal]

1976... what a time to be alive!

[@mikemartin2957]

Wonder if that yellow Datsun survives nowadays? The engine would have been nice and reliable unlike a Renault or Peugeot.

[@BBC600]

Mike Martin If it exists it doesn’t have a current MOT based on a run of the licence plate vehicleenquiry.service.gov.uk/ViewVehicle

[@MrAnonymousRandom]

It would have rusted away by now.

[@sutherlandA1]

Untaxed since December 1984 so I'd say it rusted away a long time ago

[@owensteele1645]

@@sutherlandA1 It only made it to 10 years old. They really didn't last long at all compared to modern cars. Today's equivalent car I suppose would be a 62-plate Nissan Qashqai or Pulsar rusting away now.

[@andrewthornber7783]

I can see from the comments how all the Brexiters get excited by this. But please note that the manufacturers are India and China, and communist Eastern Europe. Not from the EU. The issue today is that we will not be powerful enough in future to resist the power of countries like China in the future when they push us to drop quotas or tarries. Outside of the EU we will be bashed to hell and be a taker of whatever the global economic powers decides. Those who talk about the issue of manufacturing generally forming a lower level of spend should remember that after this Thatcher ripped the heart out of our manufacturing economy, and we have continued ever since to be a services led economy. It really is nothing to do with the EU. As this film show we really can not stand alone against world currents no matter how much all you Little Englanders and fly the flaggers think. It is time to recognize that a true patriot is pro Europe and is not going to allow the real economic elites represented by Mogg and co trash workers and destroy our way of life by fooling everyone that it’s ok the EUs fault

[@moow950]

Yes, only together in Europe we have a chance to fight world powers like the US, Russia, China, India, Brazil etc. A country alone like Little England (since Scotland will get free and independent) will be crushed by these titans!!!

[@mcihs2]

Closing manufacturing and reducing agricultural output was the admission price to the EU. We were allowed to keep financial services! The EU is dying anyway regardless of how people vote or what they desire!

[@jonathansimmons5353]

Uk is 3rd or 2nd biggest trading budget in the EU you throbber...not some tinpot eastern europe basket case. Uk has been bent over by the eec then the EU since day one.

[@jonathansimmons5353]

@@moow950 lol.. " little england" 2 state of the art homegrown aircraft carriers..with state of the art fighters.. 1 carrier battle group.. A Fleet of uk built state of the art nuclear powered and armed subs. 2nd biggest economy in the EU. 2nd biggest global financial center, London. Everyone else in the EU are tiddlers

[@moow950]

@@jonathansimmons5353 Still nothing compared to the military forces of the USA, Russia and China

[@paulie-Gualtieri.]

Roberts were still making radios in England back then

[@Eddiecurrent2000]

Yet the British laid waste to India's textile industry in the 1800s, oh how we complained when the reverse happened.

[@JHollowayNetwork]

0:00-0:06 the newer version of the Thames TV ident from '76 was shot on 35 mm film and ripple-less, prior to that the ident was shot on 16 mm film and the bottom half had a marked ripple effect (causing the clouds, buildings & letters to ripple in a rather scary manner).

[@johndrake2729]

Oh, yeah, I remember that. Used to freak me out, it did.

[@antman5474]

Did they use a mirror?

[@JHollowayNetwork]

@@antman5474 Yes they did, the previous one had the reflection done on a sheet of foil.

[@antman5474]

@@JHollowayNetwork simple yet effective

[@luckhurstrobert]

I like the references to "Red China"

[@CleversonSantos]

At that time they couldnt even imagine that the situation would worsen in a soon future...lol

[@DoubleDeckerAnton]

The days of old 😁👍

[@79devo]

DoubleDeckerAnton and the old days are coming back again perhaps 🧐 Bastable always a god

[@spex357]

Politicians had told us we'd be rolling in it before joining, but didn't say what. Shortly after joining the EEC the job losses started and by 1975 a Gallop poll showed most of the country thought they'd been duped and wanted out. Little did we know at the time but the media was in the back pocket of the Government and we had non stop remain propaganda, so woke up shocked on the morning after the referendum with the news we where staying in. I didn't know anyone for remain at the time. By 1974 our debt level started rising like a hockey stick, it's now gone over two trillion, but no one will say its anything at all to do with our membership. Currently we are paying a Billion a month in penalties, whilst our politicians take their time reversing the vote.

[@slimboyfat9409]

spex357 1974 was the oil crisis jackass, when the Arabs took control of their oil and drove prices skyward ,partly as a response to the 1973 ,Israeli Yom Kippur war.

[@zeddeka]

That's absolutely bollocks. Britain has been in industrial decline since the 1800s. The reasons for it are well known - chronic underinvestment, refusal to move with the times and adopt new techniques and move out of industries with no future, poor management, poor education and outdated skills, and paying ourselves more than the value of what we produced. You may wish to blame foreigners for all the UK's ills, but if you know anything whatsoever about history then you'll know that the problems had set in long, long before the EU existed. I sometimes think that people like you will be blaming the Jarrow marches in the 1930s on the EU next.

[@spex357]

@@zeddeka I don't blame foreigners for our ills, I was a foreigner myself once, but I wasn't there to replace someone because I was cheaper, I was paid the same as the locals which was at least three times the pay at home, yet you say we pay ourselves too much. A previous boss who paid himself a fortune plus bonuses thought he'd paid me too much, so swapped his labour force for untrained cheap foreign labour. Two years later out of business owing millions as no one would pay for the quality his untrained cheap labour could produce. He hasn't been the only one. I blame people like him who have added millions to the debt pile since the greed of the Thatcher period which has caused untold misery to hundreds of workers and their families for years, whilst they go on to do it again.

[@spex357]

@@slimboyfat9409 yes I remember the war.

[@coalieroller5663]

Would you buy an Austin Allegro or Morris Marina that wouldn't start? Or buy that Datsun that is reliable as fuck?

[@jonsimmons4150]

-- but you would be sweeping the rust away under it if you left in in the garage after 3 uk winters..no datsuns on the road today- marinas and allegros are.

[@TheMuzikall]

Roll Royce ..Mini=BMW Bentley=Volkswagen Vauxhall=Peugeot Aston Martin=Benz Plus..EDF. .E.oN All.gone gone gone😥

[@cambs0181]

What it does show though is how good British design and engineering is when managed properly.

[@charlesdoumani8180]

Aston Martin is owned by Italian Equity Partners of some kind. The new models use Mercedes engines in partnership with Daimler I understand.

[@TheMuzikall]

@@charlesdoumani8180 ..the New Aston Martin v8 uses AMG 4.4 BiTurbo..gearbox. .and electrics..😥...that's how the takeover starts..Benz increasing price of their components. .then Bingo..you hv to sell out

[@MrMorjo]

Vauxhall is owned by Opel (German) and Opel is owned by Groupe PSA of France which also happens to own Peugeot. You could say Vauxhall is simply a European car company.

[@charlesdoumani8180]

Received and read lol. With regards to Aston Martin. We shall see.

[@paddy1437]

December 2021 Joan is still alive. Just saying. The master Tony is long gone.

[@Banglish123]

Cheesecloth shirts and the summer of 76. Good Times.

[@AuntyM66]

Tony Barstable. Dumping means my mother would have got them from East Street Market. LOL

[@bsimpson6204]

Thinking back to the mid 70’s, wherever the clothing was coming from it was extremely expensive in the shops China has been dumping for ever...

[@Rouxenator]

The textile industry here in South Africa is pretty much dead. However can you image the public outcry if the masses of consumers (voters) have to pay much higher prices for local products?

[@syxepop]

Paul Roux, at least you don't have to go far (sub-Sahara Africa) for much of the cheaper stuff (even the Chinese are subcontracting over there as we type).

[@Rouxenator]

@@syxepop You'd think so, but nope, local labour unions are killing all industry and SOE. We are sitting with 6 hours rolling blackout everyday because of that.

[@syxepop]

Paul Roux, now SA is going through the same "industrialization headaches" other countries has gone before.. And since your country's history is so tied with UK's it seems your country people are making the same mistakes seen here by UK in the '70s and '80s, Watch and learn (quite a bit of people being through it already).

[@slimboyfat9409]

hffp1 Non union in shithole countries means sweated labour, flouting of safety and virtual slavery.

[@person.X.]

Paul Roux That is a great pity. I last visited South Africa in the early 2000s during a period when the Rand was very weak making it very cheap. I bought loads of Made in South Africa clothes because they fitted me well and were excellent quality. They lasted me for many years too.

[@nopy99]

A bloke with a surname of "French" complaining about Indian shirts flooding the British market..... Has a touch of Monty python about it.

[@kingo1465]

Shes quite saucy.....

[@RedRupert64]

Interesting and well explained.

[@donner101]

"John, whats the definition of dumping". This is when I got passed Red China being the most fascinating thing in the video and my ears perked right up to find out what dumping was.

[@newerstillimproved]

I'm not British and therefore may be unaware: Is Thames TV a comedy show, or is this real?

[@chubeye1187]

It was a regional independent TV franchise which also made programs. Such as Benny hill

[@QuadMochaMatti]

🤔

[@roasthunter]

Yeah it's comedy bro can't you see it?

[@newerstillimproved]

crazyclive Thanks a lot for the help. Yes, I love Wikipedia. But this program initially really looked like comedy. It’s amazing what time does to styles, fashion.... and news.

[@jonsimmons4150]

no, its real a unfudged real unlike today

[@MrDirkles]

I was looking at getting some circuit boards made and the chinese company emailed me to ask why i didnt take up their offer. I said it was too much with import taxes. Their reply, " would it helped if we marked down the value of the parcel to avoid taxes".

[@gaygambler]

I can remember the “SHIRT” Conflict of the 70s. It’s was on the news every tea time.

[@cyrillicsam]

& TisWas on every Saturday.

[@annother3350]

Spelling nazi

[@slimboyfat9409]

Ann Other Nazi. Use a capital N.

[@gaygambler]

Slim BoyFat oh them shirt” wars

[@gaygambler]

cyrillicsam predictive text. Not me

[@Sam-lw6mx]

Imagine what will happen to our industry when the hard brexiteers open our border with zero tariffs

[@Uvevwevwevwe]

what? I can't tell if you are being sarcastic or are just stupid. Do you even know what a tariff is?

[@Sam-lw6mx]

Uvuvwevwevwe Onyetenyevwe Ugwemubwem Ossas No I don’t know. You know because you are clever arse

[@Uvevwevwevwe]

@@Sam-lw6mx well let me explain - Brexit will INTRODUCE tariffs between us and the EU, we currently do not have any tariffs with EU member states. Therefore the opposite of your argument is true - when we leave the EU, domestic industry will be protected, not harmed.

[@izdatsumcp]

@@Uvevwevwevwe The plan of certain Brexiteers is to have unilateral free trade after Brexit like Singapore or HK.

[@bendingspring]

Aah, loopholes, discussed here in 1976. Still being discussed re Amazon- Facebook et-al in 2021! My how we have come along! I do like the colour of that Datsun though!

[@AaronSmart.online]

Imagine the funny looks you'd get by casually saying "Red China" these days. Was it to distinguish it from Taiwan and Hong Kong?

[@VincentRE79]

@Aaron Smart It was a name given to modern day China when the Communists took over.

[@annother3350]

Don't worry, it's not like saying 'slitty eyed china'

[@ShahidKhan-ke8fe]

I think so. Remember the Government in Taiwan, even to this day, officially calls itself the Republic of China. Back in the 70s they claimed to be the lawful government of all of China.

[@JackBandicootsBunker]

“Red China” is a term to distinguish the People’s Republic of China, from Taiwan (which calls itself the Republic of China), of course a term that refers to its Communist rule in the past.

[@mollyfilms]

Couldn’t wait to read the comments! Not disappointed either 👍

[@user-rc1ke1ef3t]

Look at the barnet on that John carvel.

[@philhealey449]

Any surviving UK manufacturing and niche technological expertise is apparently there today mainly despite scarcely tangible national policy to promote it, or deliver the related skills it requires. This situation includes wanton media dumbing down of the public perceptions of the standing of critical technical professions and vocational trades - British Gas openly claim to provide an 'engineer' to repair your home boiler. That misrepresentation would likely be illegal in Germany. Chronic shortage in attracting trainees and delivering technical vocational skills over the last 30 years for industry and for construction and domestic maintenance sectors has been masked by free inward migration of skilled East European workers and then the late 1970s and 1980s saw UK begin to sell much of its manufacturing infrastructure to either the scrap man or to export it overseas. Almost the ENTIRE UK infrastructure, including power, water, rail, rubbish collection services etc were then subject to privatization and progressive acquisition by overseas companies, starting in the 1990s, meaning further outward flow of dividend- based profit. For years, non of this apparently mattered, with UK's increased costs of imports of formerly British made consumer goods, outward flow of savings from frugal overseas migrant workers and profit from infrastructure offset first by North Sea oil and gas and as that has dwindled , by increasing levels of debt, which have seemingly now escalated to the point of dominating the economy, if not becoming unmanageable. I could open up more on the woeful comparison of the UK against other more enterprising nations, but fundamentally, being increasingly led by politicians who have apparently migrated from arts degrees to party workers to MPs to ministers, with scarce actual proper working experience, vague ideas about science, engineering, entrepreneurial- based management and a belief that law and financial services are all that UK needs, does not bode well. In 1945 we had "Export or Die" to clear the debts to our kind ally USA who had kindly leased war materials and acquired at no cost UK expertise with radar, jet engines, early computer technology, nuclear fission etc. Today UK seems perhaps to be in a bleaker position standing alone post -Brexit. Maybe BoJo has a cunning plan?

[@dieseldragon6756]

The problem with British merchandise - From the consumers perspective - Is that British made goods will fail to work, fall apart, or catch fire as soon as any attempt is made to use them. For this reason it should come as no surprise that we prefer things that have been made overseas! As it is: A good 40% of British industrial output is firearms, military munitions and ammunition - About half of which is exported to shops across the United States - Which the British aren’t even allowed to own, so this „Buy British” idea sounds more of a challenge than an encouragement!

[@QuadMochaMatti]

Mr. Bastable in a bucket hat... Now I've seen everything.

[@hodgey7183]

ModMokkaMatti wasn’t he the geezer on Magpie?

[@QuadMochaMatti]

@@hodgey7183 Sorry, I wouldn't be aware of that. I'm just an ignorant Yank interloper here.

[@owensteele1645]

I loved a bit of Tony Bastardtable in the good days. He was a top guy. Only he could wear that London hat without smiling.

[@buckneighkidd419]

Datsun..........nice!

[@martyjones5358]

How many billiard tables had to die for that dress?

[@danellis-jones1591]

It's hard to find what her 15% is based on. But official figures say that the UK imports as % of GDP in the 70s was between 25-30%. In the last decade it was about 30-35%. This report forgets to say the UK has relied on imports for over 200 years, and that the English Empire forced cheap production and security of supply for that time. Including human trade.

[@MarkPMus]

After what the British did to India and Hong Kong, you’d hope Brits in 1976 wouldn’t begrudge a few shirts and hats.

[@jonsimmons4150]

funny how the hong kongers wanted to flee when it was handed over, and how many indians regret british rule..

[@OldSethOnetooth]

I am surrounded by middle class 'socialists' who constantly signal their virtue regarding 'the poor' and how they are forced to live in slum conditions but if anyone dares to complain about areas such as my own which has gone from a not perfect but functioning multi cultural area to a crime ridden slum in a very short space of time via the importation of the contents of Eastern Europes prisons and psychiatric wards we are told that it's our own fault for living there and that everyone makes their own luck. The same goes for private schooling, they complain about that but if we point out that our cities highest performing state schools are in their areas and enjoy charity status despite their pupils being the children of couples bringing in a six figure salary we are told that it's, again, our own fault for not aspiring to be like them. It's like we've gone back to Victorian times, the worthy poor, other countries populations imported here to work for next to nothing, undercut wages, staff the black economy and weaken the power of unions, and the unworthy poor, our own people stuck in ghettos and stagnating workplaces in which they have been cut off at the knees by people willing to work for half of their wage. Re Brexit, I abstained as I believe both sides are criminal racketeers.

[@johnstairs]

John Carvel barnet 😂 one more wave and he’d be overboard

[@ketoking9435]

As kids we were taught "Buy British" ,,,I remember Matchbox Lesney having made in England stamped on them,not the case any more,I had Rover V8's and to this days love shows where there's old Brits cars,,,wishing each and all a great week,,,

[@ahoneymonster6066]

Those Matchbox cars were made at the factory at Abbey Wood in S.E. London.

[@ketoking9435]

A Honey Monster ,,Cheers for that,,

[@ketoking9435]

thisiszaphod ,, Yes Hurst went over and chanced upon that engine,,,the Alvis factory stopped making cars and was used for manufacture of that engine,,,though what baffles me is why they shrunk the oil pump,,,when I worked in American spares we supplied a kit to enlarge pump via a spacer and larger cogs,,stick a H214 cam,,,Holley 390cfm carb and Offy manifold,,,and it's a cracking engine,,,I'd go for the earlier engine but get rid of the rope seal and guess these days add the octane booster,,,good old days,,,

[@syxepop]

thisiszaphod, Starfire 215 cid (3.5L) all-aluminium Buick V8...

[@richardorosso7377]

@@ahoneymonster6066 The factory its in the area of Hackney Wick on the banks of the River Lea, I use to ride past it on my way to Docklands was a great ride.

[@mrrolandlawrence]

the amount of holes in the import quota regulations makes you wonder if they were deigned that way. in the same way that accounting and tax laws in the uk today leave facebook with a tax bill of £5,000 on an income of billions.

[@holtridge7337]

I'd like to have that yellow Datsun car to drive around.

[@jasoncarpp7742]

It doesn't seem fair for those who try to produce quality locally made products.

[@G1Bryce]

Yep, just blame those Germans.They'll be gone soon, replaced by the Arab and African invaders.

[@YorickReturns]

It's up to you, the consumer, then. I'm sick of being told that my freedom (to eat unhealthy food, to buy imported products, etc) has to be destroyed, because other individuals don't want to exercise self-control. You have to vote with your money.

[@andynixon2820]

@@G1Bryce that's a really boring comment .

[@slimboyfat9409]

Jason Carpp If only the locals would part with their money and buy locally made products.

[@jasoncarpp7742]

@@slimboyfat9409 Exactly! I'd buy American produced goods if there were places where one could buy good quality American produced products.

[@kavorkaa]

MPs dining on German crockery? Scandalous!

[@abrahkadabra9501]

Lessons learnt from this era were: 1. Don't try competing in markets you can't win in. 2. Keep taxes relatively low 3. Reduce government expenditures (which of course will never happen). 4. Encourage entrepreneurship and innovation. 5. Make training and education accessible to more of the workforce. Most of these suggestions were adopted by economically successful countries although there are some exceptions. www.cnbc.com/2018/03/02/countries-that-pay-less-in-taxes-than-the-us.html While Germany and Sweden have a high tax rate they do spend a lot on R&D and education. www.oecd.org/sti/inno/researchanddevelopmentstatisticsrds.htm data.oecd.org/eduresource/public-spending-on-education.htm

[@jzneter736]

Education is forced in germany.

[@TG-hr2kv]

Cracking sports shoes

[@andrewkendall7814]

Remember when that container of Japanese car parts fell from a cargo plane? It was raining Datsun cogs.

[@jakehodgson443]

🤣🤣🤣

[@lofiRob]

if domestic products were any good and priced competitively then people wouldn't buy imports. It's as simple as that.

[@anushanker46]

Importing suits without trousers to exploit the quota loophole🤣 🤣 🤣

[@siredith8846]

0:13 wasn't Hong-Kong a part of Britain?

[@keithnewton8981]

Went into Superdry on Saturday 90% ofvyge items came from China

[@chucky2316]

Without the chinese price I'm guessing

[@Phaidrus]

Joan, ah...

[@arthurdanielles4784]

The sheer stupidity on the part of the British re trade and industry = import of goods and the relative regulations has to be seen to be believed. If its made in a 'factory' it has to NOT exceed the quota BUT if 100 in a family put together 5000 shirts then it can be imported into the UK.. SO now ask how many families of 100? Uhh well actually its 20 million x 5000👀 🙄 Did you know that the Japanese in order to secure their markets in EUROPE< UK & the USA deliberately undercut other sellers of similar goods and manufacturers often selling with little or no profit? Why? Because ONCE established they could gradually increase the prices and they would have NO competition (that had gone bankrupt).

[@thankyouforyourcompliance7386]

So what is it that is still made in the UK today that is competitive in global markets and can not be easily done in another country?

[@josephdugdale4150]

Financial services, marketing, research and development. All done in the UK and are growing sectors of the economy.

[@tabith6897]

A lot of those suits from eastern Europe have had a quality that you cannot find anymore... Nowdays is cheap crap from vietnam

[@philipcurnow7990]

Chinaware made in West Germany! What's the world coming to. No wonder Gerald French is unhappy about cheap shit from India. I blame the EU. No wonder Bradford voted for Brexit. Long live the British Empire.

[@tadhgobrien8744]

Is it the bankers in London who dominate global financial trade who are to work in textiles or the massive arms manufactures that make Britain one of the worlds leading arms producers that will give the staff over to making cheap textiles. I’d say Britain’s wealth today tells who came out better economically 40 years later, certainly not some far eastern islands or Dickensian country!

[@ghvtg]

Never understood why free trade is deemed 'fair'. Flooding markets from countries that have far cheaper labour and therefore production costs just results in loss of jobs and loss of manufacturing capability at home. Just look at what's happened in the UK manufacturing sector

[@jusb1066]

capitalists like competition untill they get out competed...our quality control wasnt there, our cars were rusty, appliances were over priced and not reliable either

[@person.X.]

Yes and the overall effect is a redistribution of wealth. The share going to workers has dropped as western workers have been replaced with much lower paid workers elsewhere.

[@dareczek63]

If you can't beat them, join them. That is why today almost all consumer products are made in Asia. Most in China, some in India, Bangladesh or Indonesia.

[@daithideburca98]

The coat at 7:45 is that not the coat the presenter is wearing at 2:53

[@bastardtubeuser]

Its so sad whats happened to the englishmen. The images of the past are harsh reminder of how far the western world has been damaged.

[@nysun6293]

Looks like Tony was wearing one of those dumped coats!

[@robv1139]

The seam on that hat was very poorly done.

[@k.j.g.9601]

Well at least the queen and the Royals.......oh wait

[@pedrolopes3542]

Die Königin von Großbritannien ist Deutsch.

[@k.j.g.9601]

@@pedrolopes3542 Ja, ich stimme zu

[@Phaidrus]

@@pedrolopes3542 Wahnsinnig, oder?

[@craigdavidson2278]

The days when we had problems with to many shirts...now to many immigrants....I suppose we could use those surplus shirts to keep them warm.

[@matthewgodwin3050]

£2.00 for a shirt! Bloomin heck we've seen some inflation since then. The last one I bought cost me £70.00. If that damn awful May woman hadn't screwed up Brexit, we'd be seeing tariffs being removed from food, clothing and footwear, making the cost of living a lot more palatable for British people. Thanks Mrs May, thanks a bloomin bunch. Don't expect your party to be reelected anytime soon. We have very long memories, and we really don't like being betrayed.

[@jusb1066]

brexit isnt making your shirt cost 70$ go to asda, they are 6.99

[@slimboyfat9409]

Matthew Godwin English don't know their arses from their elbows as regards either economics or politics. Your comment and your (small p)parliament provide unambiguous proof.

[@robertmarsh3588]

Hmm. That didn't age well, though I appreciate the sentiment - still we're in very strange times! Who knows what happens next..at least we have a Government with a decent majority pledging to honour the 2016 referendum result.

[@l27tester]

Make Brittan Great Again!

[@neuralyser]

What, Leon Brittan you mean? Oh I see, you're just bad at spelling

[@MrSzwarz]

"Dumping" of product from Eastern Europe? There was always shortage of virtually everything there.. So? I lived there, nothing was manufactured sensible, and nothing in shops..

[@irtbmtind89]

The "best" products from Eastern Europe were made for export only to raise hard currency.

[@slimboyfat9409]

Lech Orlowski A deluded Brit,maybe even a juvenile Brit,talking nonsense. Deluded Brits are ten a penny as the Brexit debacle shows.

[@lewis72]

But we hardly ever see the country of manufacture highlighted so that we could make a choice !!

[@annother3350]

They purposefully try to hide it now

[@lewis72]

I wouldn't know about that. However, they wrongly assume that we always want the cheapest product. I may wish to but a pair of socks etc. that are made in the UK over and above from anywhere else, even if they cost £4 instead of £1.

[@23merlino]

shirts - it's like bolting the barn door when the horse has fled... even trying to compete on a product like that is madness, either manufacture high end products (shirts) where there is still a market or get out altogether... in fact the only way we can keep our economy afloat is to produce high-end quality products where we have the edge over the developing nations... that was true then and is just as true now...

[@hidefnick]

ThamesTV trolling Brexit...

[@MajorKlanga]

I always thought dumping meant something completely different.

[@syxepop]

Mark McMarkface, dumping in commerce relates to exporting an item at BELOW THEIR TRUE COST, but since wages were so low in both PRC and Hong Kong (back then separate) that even at their true cost it was way cheaper than made in UK or all democratic Europe back then.

[@timpriddy349]

Dat......sun

[@putevasiliauskas7035]

British are best at striking

[@jonsimmons4150]

incorrect. france is. they have a calender- 1 year upfront strike calender. its called "cest la greve"

[@putevasiliauskas7035]

@@jonsimmons4150 i mean they destroyed leyland

[@VCYT]

Notice how even back then, the EU couldn't stop cheap goods flooding in.

[@sh0werp0wer]

Because the EU isn't North Korea. Do you understand trade, like, at all?

[@Volk1880]

So damn the EU for not allowing us to have control over what we import, and damn the EU for allowing us to import cheap goods from elsewhere?!?! Come on ... REALLY?

[@EdgyNumber1]

9:10 *He got this SPOT ON!* Failure to adapt means you die.

[@tris7]

And thus we became a 'services' economy, where we all work in dull as fuck offices and build fuck all.

[@jonsimmons4150]

better tell thats to BAE in barrow to pack up the aukus astute class sub build and do "services"

[@ikybaiiki]

Made in Britain means nothing

[@UncleBooBoo]

Gerald French getting very shirty there.

[@P0c0man8U]

1976 fashion? Come on dads, really!🤣👍

[@WangMingGe]

If the British made other than overpriced crap.....

[@robv1139]

The quotas work fine he says, then goes on to describe more examples of the system being abused.