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There was an Editorial in the Independent today, the aim of which was to “warn” the Conservatives in particular against cuts that cost Government jobs in economically depressed areas. This is all rather odd and a bit mixed up considering the “Indy” is no supporter of the Tories at any time !

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/leading-articles/leading-article-two-nations-once-more-2066181.html

However this is rather an odd article in another way because it fails to tackle the problems head on and instead ‘paddles’ in the shallows rather than applying any serious thinking to examining the core issues that lie behind this.

Hard Economics

No one regardless of their political preferences, wants to see people out of work and with few if any, future prospects of a better life, but history teaches and re-teaches us the same lessons time and again. Our original Industrial Revolution was built upon the spare labour in cities that came about because of Land Enclosures. The current industrial ascendency of China through a truly massive transfer of cheap labour from rural areas to industrial zones but the common theme is “plentiful and cheap labour”.

People in Scotland, the North of England, Wales and Northern Ireland are not competing with the “Soft South East of England”, they are competing with China, Vietnam, India and so on if, we are talking about manufacturing jobs. Maggie Thatcher didn’t destroy the old heavy industries of Iron and Steel or badly designed and put together motor cars, once alternatives opened up, the Circus left Town taking employment with it. British consumers wanted goods that were cheaper and of higher quality than the domestically produced ones.

Customers who wanted ships built found that the Far East provided better quality and delivered on time vessels than British shipyards. In other words, customers voted with their feet and their wallets, the decline of British manufacturing was not the consequence of political decisions, it was a commercial death bought about by incompetent management of private enterprises combined with an indifferent workforce that cost far too much money and were far too inflexible.

Regional Government Jobs

For decades and different Governments in terms of political hue, thousands of “Government jobs” have been shipped out of the South East to Scotland, Wales, North of England and so on but there is a major problem with most of them, they were clerical and administrative in the main. When they were first shipped out, they were labour intensive but now with increasing computerisation they are no longer. When Shell built their complex on the South Bank of the Thames some decades ago, it housed some 6,000 employees but due to changes in the way people work, 20 years later it was around 2,000, they weren’t selling any less…

The real question is whether even in these small islands, we can expect economic equality in every County and Region at all times ? The honest answer will always be NO, I suspect.

Personal Mobility

As we have found out over Apple iProducts manufactured in China, the shop floor people are often living in dormitories, would someone from Liverpool or Glasgow be prepared to do that just for a “pretty ordinary job ?” The answer is no and indeed why should they ? Also for the Chinese factory workers from a rural subsistence farming background, dormitory or not, it is economically better than they had and likely allows them to help their family out ‘back home’. By the same token, British workers will work abroad under very uncomfortable conditions in construction the oil industry and so on if it provides a far higher income than they could possibly achieve at home rather than just an income.

Another “reality” is to look at the number of immigrants that come in to the UK each year the vast majority of whom are “economic migrants”. It is not just that they are prepared to work for low wages and do jobs British born people won’t, it is also that they are prepared to live in pretty poor surroundings/circumstances because they don’t have inflated expectations of anything. They don’t imagine that they need a 42” Plasma TV, fitted kitchen and….

Welfare and Subsidy

I would suggest that we look at the issue coldly because “Government” jobs in Newcastle or wherever that are no longer viable are little different to Social Security Benefits, in effect you are paying people not to work using other taxpayers money.

What we need are jobs created by private enterprise in the ‘productive’ side of the economy. If we take that to a logical conclusion, we would possibly conclude that the Government could provide substantial tax and grant benefits even to subsiding wages to entice companies to locate new sunrise industries in these areas as a cheaper and better alternative for the taxpayer, at least it will be productive.

I am sure that doing this will break some EU rules but just do what the French do, break the rules and never pay the fines, this defunct EU club doesn’t really deserve too much compliance, doesn’t even get it when ‘National Interests’ are at stake for France and Germany so high time we learned that and applied it.