back to article Tech firms, come to Blighty! Everything is brill! Brexit schmexit, Galileo schmalileo

The UK government has given itself a reassuring cuddle this week, asserting that – even if high-profile projects such as Galileo march overseas – international tech firms still love Blighty. UK Prime Minister Theresa May held a roundtable event yesterday to showcase Britain as the best place in the world to run a tech company …

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      1. Jamie Jones Silver badge

        Re: This isn't rocket science, it's simply a total rejection of

        Ah yes. Ayn Rand. The bullshit maker and welfare state hater that received public social security and medicare in her later life.

        Libertarian with a typical Liberterian/Republican attitude - it's only wrong when the "other people" do it.

        https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/ayn-rand-social-security/

    1. Dalkeith

      Partially agree with you - I wouldn't dismantle the welfare state in particular NHS and Education I would also whack up capital gains tack on property and land - its being used by investors as a bubble - too many people are having to pay most of their wages into renting property when the bricks and motor actually costs are very affordable.

      You might want to read Kenneth Arrows - economist - he makes a good argument that free markets are poor when the vendor is very knowledgable and the customers are very innocent and lacking knowledge (eg health) (Govt IT systems)

      1. Jamie Jones Silver badge

        - too many people are having to pay most of their wages into renting property when the bricks and motor actually costs are very affordable

        Yes!

        We also need to reverse the mindset that increasing house prices is a good thing! If you own a house, it means nothing, because if you decide to move, your new house will be expensive too.

        House price rises only benefit those with more than one property. They penalise those stuggling to get on the housing ladder.

        How is that anything but a lose-lose?

  1. Gordon Pryra

    Its the Will of the People!!

    by 1.89%

    So that is a mandate for suicide, STFU with your treasonous comments!!

    There is NO skills shortage, The UK will lead the world in Tech Solutions and anyway, its the Will of the People!!

    1. Aitor 1

      Re: Its the Will of the People!!

      Actually, there is no skills shortage.

      Pay more and people WILL flock.

      1. Len
        Unhappy

        Re: Its the Will of the People!!

        I am not sure it's just about money. In a country where people rather study media studies or history instead of engineering or computer science, where people rather want become journalist than engineer I don't think paying more will help alleviate a skills shortage.

        1. CrazyOldCatMan Silver badge

          Re: Its the Will of the People!!

          where people rather study media studies or history instead of engineering or computer science

          History is a valid subject to study - as the old saying goes "those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it". And not everyone (even in IT) has the aptitude or ability to do engineering or computer science..

          I agree about meeja studies though. It's a worthless[1] piece of paper that just proves that you managed to get through 3 years of university without dying or getting kicked out..

          [1] And very expensive - £30k in debt for a degree that has a high rate of unemployment by graduates?

          1. billat29

            Re: Its the Will of the People!!

            History is a valid subject to study - as the old saying goes "those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it".

            Does that mean history graduates actually choose to make the same mistakes over and over? 'cos that's the way it looks to me....

          2. Len
            Paris Hilton

            Re: Its the Will of the People!!

            History is just Media Studies for posh people. I am not suggesting that history is not a useful science but I don't think it prepares people for the skills of the job market (apart from jobs in academia or teaching).

            The only reason people who read history tend to still do well is because many of them come from a background where they don't need skills, daddy can get them a job in his bank whatever their degree.

          3. werdsmith Silver badge

            Re: Its the Will of the People!!

            [1] And very expensive - £30k in debt for a degree that has a high rate of unemployment by graduates?

            £30K ? Bargain.

            But £9250 per year plus at least £4K per year for maintenance is closer to the real number (which is higher than the £40K that works out to)

            1. Anonymous Coward
              Anonymous Coward

              Re: Its the Will of the People!!

              Total student unpaid "debt" by 2040 is projected to be around 1.2 trillion pounds, at which point the taxpayer will have to start paying it off as the 30-year expiry dates are reached. For context, that is in the same ballpark as the current UK national debt (well, that part of it hasn't been 'accounted' away).

              Of course a lot of the affected taxpayers will have spent the previous 30 years paying interest on their student loans...

              1. Anonymous Coward
                Anonymous Coward

                Re: Its the Will of the People!!

                Total student unpaid "debt" by 2040 is projected to be around 1.2 trillion pounds, at which point the taxpayer will have to start paying it off as the 30-year expiry dates are reached. For context, that is in the same ballpark as the current UK national debt (well, that part of it hasn't been 'accounted' away).

                Of course a lot of the affected taxpayers will have spent the previous 30 years paying interest on their student loans...

                That's ok. Surely they can just sell their houses.

                ... oh.

        2. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

          Re: Its the Will of the People!!

          "where people rather want become journalist than engineer I don't think paying more will help alleviate a skills shortage."

          If being an engineer doesn't pay well, partly because of off-shore competition, then paying more would help.

          Going slightly OT could the numbers of media studies/arts students reflect the numbers of places available and could that in turn reflect the relative cost of providing such places? There's an argument that the media studies students are subsidising the provision of STEM courses.

          1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

            Re: Its the Will of the People!!

            Going slightly OT could the numbers of media studies/arts students reflect the numbers of places available

            No it's simple economics.

            Any indoor job with no heavy lifting now requires a degree.

            The employer doesn't care what degree you have - just the grade.

            Why work hard at school and risk not getting the required 17 straight As in whatever A Levels are called today.

            Then put in 9-5 lectures and labs for a science degree when you can do history of Art, get in with a couple of Cs, pay the same fees and get the same office job

            Actually you get a better job, with your nice shiny management studies degree you get to be the boss of those specialists that did physics.

        3. Chris G

          Re: Its the Will of the People!!

          @Len

          I think you can add MBAs to that list.

          I have yet to meet a freshly minted MBA who a. knows anything useful in a practical sense and b. isn't overly impressed with their shiny degree.

          It seems the title; Master of Business Administration, makes them think they are going to go straight out of Uni and into a top manglement job.

          1. Len
            Headmaster

            Re: Its the Will of the People!!

            I fully agree on the MBAs. There is actually some good data available on MBAs, the essence is that it is useful to study for an MBA, it is not useful to hire an MBA.

            If you've got an MBA you are likely to earn more than the same person without one. If you hire an MBA you don't necessarily get someone who performs better than the same person without one. It's a very one-sided deal.

      2. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

        Re: Its the Will of the People!!

        "Pay more and people WILL flock."

        Only if they're allowed to.

      3. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Its the Will of the People!!

        Actually, there is no skills shortage.

        Pay more and people WILL flock.

        Worked in Bangalore.

        Now all they have to do is build some infrastructure, so the workers can get to work before it's time for them to go home,

    2. FlossyThePig

      Re: Its the Will of the People!!

      by 1.89% - Where did that figure come from?

      ...and nearly 28% of the electorate didn't even vote...

  2. katrinab Silver badge

    "The government trotted out statistics claiming that 2.1 million people are currently employed in the digital economy"

    Does that include Über drivers, Amazon warehouse staff and so on?

    1. sandman
    2. Len
      Meh

      Our future is India!

      Who knows, post Brexit the UK could become a valuable destination for companies wanting to near shore their call centres. No goods need to cross a border, just a few data cables. Call centre jobs are digital jobs too. Sunny uplands await, the UK could become the India of Europe!

      1. Dan 55 Silver badge

        Re: Our future is India!

        Obviously people who know languages will choose to stay in the 17.5% free market paradise (see above) with a welfare state and a society to match.

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Our future is India!

        Sadly, my employer has just spent the last year moving many the service desk jobs to Poland for customers who want to ensure that their data will be processed in the EU after Brexit. After the post-referendum currency adjustment it was actually cheaper to keep the jobs in the UK, but our customers were very keen to have the work done in the EU. We've only lost a thousand or so UK jobs so far.

        1. H in The Hague

          Re: Our future is India!

          "Sadly, my employer has just spent the last year moving many the service desk jobs to Poland ..."

          Not the only ones. Started doing a bit of work last year for a US company selling kit into Europe. Their European headquarters used to be in the UK. Received a memo on Tuesday that they're about to open their European head office ... in NL. (Think the UK office is just going to deal with UK sales.) Yes, Brexit is creating jobs, just not in the UK :(

          1. TVU Silver badge

            Re: Our future is India!

            "Not the only ones. Started doing a bit of work last year for a US company selling kit into Europe. Their European headquarters used to be in the UK. Received a memo on Tuesday that they're about to open their European head office ... in NL. (Think the UK office is just going to deal with UK sales.) Yes, Brexit is creating jobs, just not in the UK :("

            Brexit has turned out to be a wonderful jobs creation mechanism...but only for regions in the Republic of Ireland, France, Germany and elsewhere in the EU and all we get from Leave supporters is complete denial that this is all actually happening.

      3. CrazyOldCatMan Silver badge

        Re: Our future is India!

        Sunny uplands await, the UK could become the India of Europe

        Just without the weather..

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Our future is India!

          Just without the weather..

          Climate change will fix that...

      4. H in The Hague

        Re: Our future is India!

        "Sunny uplands await, the UK could become the India of Europe!"

        Now that's actually one of the better ideas! After all, chicken tikka massala was invented in the UK (or not https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_tikka_masala )

    3. This post has been deleted by its author

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Laws forcing anyone to hand over encryption keys and tech companies to back door their products (with gagging orders.) Potentially losing access to the European market after Bexit... Theresa May was at the helm when all of these things were enacted.

    I wouldn't bring a tech business here.

    1. amanfromMars 1 Silver badge

      The Enigma to Embrace, Expand Upon and Enjoy .....

      Laws forcing anyone to hand over encryption keys and tech companies to back door their products (with gagging orders.) Potentially losing access to the European market after Bexit... Theresa May was at the helm when all of these things were enacted.

      I wouldn't bring a tech business here. .... Anonymous Coward

      Are you suggesting, AC, and could we agree, that politicians have hardly ever, and most probably even have never led anything worthwhile and lasting, with them being far too busy following scripted orders from others with briefings to the media which perform ritual routines to dull crowds in furtherance and maintenance of a previously established inequitably advantageous status quo position which is personally extremely rewarding to just an unjust few?

      I suggest to all reading here now that they consider and realise that clouds are the new crowds to impress and win over with scripts, if systems of operation/SCADA Administration are to remain effectively in place and ostensibly intact and safe from all manner of both real and virtual attack/flash markets crash and digital assault. The difficulty there then though of course, is that clouds are neither dumb nor stupid and do not so the grand folly of fools tending and tendering to past glories.

      But hey, that is Progress for you, both real and virtual, and quite natural too whenever it be clearly explained to you.

      The Past is gone and the Future is completely different from the Present too, and yet there be oh so many who be just as blunt tools enabled to do precious little more than try to block change, both rapid and rabid, fundamental and disruptive.

      1. batfink
        Alien

        Re: The Enigma to Embrace, Expand Upon and Enjoy .....

        Either amanfrommars1 has been hacked, or he(she?/it?) has invested in some kind of translation system. That's two posts now that have made perfect sense.

        1. H in The Hague

          Re: The Enigma to Embrace, Expand Upon and Enjoy .....

          Adjusted medication?

          1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

            Re: The Enigma to Embrace, Expand Upon and Enjoy .....

            A breakthrough in AI ?

  4. SVV

    From today's news

    Brexit: Jacob Rees-Mogg defends Ireland move by City firm he co-founded ahead of EU withdrawal

    Brexit negotiations may cause ‘considerable uncertainty’, the firm’s prospectus warns

    https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-jacob-rees-mogg-scm-ireland-city-move-eu-withdrawal-dublin-a8398041.html

    Nice to see that the Brexiteer hero is putting his money where his mouth isn't.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: From today's news

      I'm not sure that Rees-Mogg actually exists... he's basically Max Headroom in a Hitler wig.

  5. eldakka

    Just loosen up all the regulations around biotechnology testing, nanotech, drugs, human testing, gene-splicing, complete genetic engineering, fetus experimentation, and so on.

    Then give them free access to prisons to conduct unsupervised testing. Then they will be allowed to use the schools to conduct their stage 2 testing.

    That'll get you some technology firms moving in.

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    NEWS ROUNDUP JUNE 2022

    POLL RESULTS NOW IN

    Last week a national polling organisation asked 10,000 UK residents about two aspects of their opinions about Brexit:

    1) How did they vote in the referendum

    2) What did they think about the outcome

    Among the most surprising findings:

    - Of those who answered Q1 saying they voted to leave the EU, 99% agreed with the phrase "The outcome in 2022 did not please them in the slightest degree"

    - Of those who answered Q1 saying they voted to stay in the EU, 100% said "Told you so"

  7. Jamie Jones Silver badge
    Happy

    Hey Mr Psycho stalker downvoter

    I see you're back.. You seemed to stop for a few days - perhaps you were taking your meds then.

    Just to encourage you to continue, DOWNVOTE THIS YOU SAD TWAT!

    1. Jamie Jones Silver badge

      Re: Hey Mr Psycho stalker downvoter

      Cheers!

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