Non - Brexit

SlowDownDerek said:
Is a conversation that takes into account all of the relevant factors too inconvenient for you? Why haven't you got anything to say about the shortages in other countries? Or IR35? All of these are relevant to the current issues don't you agree? Brexit being one of the key factors.

I could not disagree with your last point more. One of the reasons many people voted out is because they worked in industries where the wages had been surpressed for years due to employers using cheap foreign labour instead of paying people what they were worth. They also had no incentive to train UK based workers because it wasn't worth it to them. You saying its a deflection is like saying chaos caused by a tube strike is unrelated to the improved pay and conditions that rusult from it.

I'll repeat... Do you think disruption caused by industrial action is justified if it results in improved pay and conditions?

https://www.contractoruk.com/news/0015112ir35_reform_fuelling_100000_hgv_driver_shortage.html
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Your false equivalence of Brexit and industrial action is staggering.
 
Tax rises were/are unfortunately inevitable after lockdowns, that bill has to (at least partly) be paid somehow some day, public finances are an unholy mess. Although I'm not sure NI is the best tool to do it, there's also no simple answer.
 
SlowDownDerek said:
Interesting article, probably not partisan enough for this thread but still.

https://www.theguardian.com/comment...-workforce-workers?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other
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Good article.

As I've argued before, I agree with SDD that Brexit appears to be having some positive impact on workers in industries with a typically high proportion of migrant workers. However, it's not the migration that caused wages in these industries to be so low in the first place, but the lack of workers protections that governments could implement at any time, whether in or out of the EU.

For me, the heart of the problem lies in the fact that we pursue an economics which prioritises growth in GDP over social value, the benefits of which overwhelmingly go to the rich (60% of pre-crisis GDP growth went to richest 5% of population). Work of high social, but low economic value, is disregarded in favour of that which contributes more to GDP. An interesting analysis from NEF gave examples of this: Care workers generate £9.50 in social benefit for every £1 in wages earned. Waste recycling workers generate £12. In contrast, tax accountants destroy £45 in social value for every £1 earned, and investment bankers destroy £7.

Until we start to prioritise activities of social value, and therefore offer appropriate protections to both workers and the environment (and recognise unpaid care work), I fear the benefits of Brexit to low-income workers will be short-lived. In time, capital will find alternative means of exploitation to lower input costs (e.g. expected increased funding / policy priorities given to research on driverless lorries in the near future). The article alludes to part of the issue here too: the unchecked movement of capital, which allows production (read exploitation) to move to places of low-regulation / cheap labour and the returns then exported to shareholders back home. An analysis by Global Witness estimates that for every $1 given in aid, $24 flows the other wage through capital flight.

So overall, I think Brexit is a bit of a distraction here. In the long term, the neoliberal economics pursued by both the EU and the UK will lead to similar outcomes: i.e. exploit the poor and the environment, and increase the transfer of wealth to the rich.
 
afcdibby said:
Are the Wimbles missing me?
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whilst I was enjoying wimble "open gardens day", I did overhear the tittle-tattle of the oldies - there is consternation, anger & finger wagging as societal breakdown starts to bite - in this case, a missed bin collection. they are not happy. wot a life o_O
 
RobWells said:
whilst I was enjoying wimble "open gardens day", I did overhear the tittle-tattle of the oldies - there is consternation, anger & finger wagging as societal breakdown starts to bite - in this case, a missed bin collection. they are not happy. wot a life o_O
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I just took a look at the locations of the open gardens, I’d be surprised if the owners didn’t all vote Tory.
Did you visit them all?
 
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