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 …

  1. Ralph the Wonder Llama

    Hmm

    "The government has also bet big on artificial intelligence"

    Might as well, they don't display any real intelligence.

    1. Voland's right hand Silver badge

      Re: Hmm

      My dad (a professor of mathematics in the area of optimal control and differential equations) used to have a saying: "There is no need to apply artificial intelligence where natural stupidity will suffice".

      1. John Smith 19 Gold badge
        Unhappy

        "and was always seen as a beachead into the continent for US or Asian firms"

        Not for much longer.

    2. macjules

      Re: Hmm

      Augmented Reality:

      "These are not deserted factories, formerly occupied by Mercedes, Peugeot or BMW: these are thriving technology incubators simply waiting for the occupants to arrive."

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Hmm

      you're (too) harsh. The problem is, we don't have anything unique or attractive to offer to the world that can't be had elsewhere. Other than being a tax heaven for Russians, but that has recently been (officially) declared undesirable. So, let's be the leaders of AI and hope that this AI takes mercy and makes us dispensable last, as it goes, in due course, through its own "streamlining" and "asset optimisation" process.

      1. Drat

        Re: Hmm

        "you're (too) harsh. The problem is, we don't have anything unique or attractive to offer to the world that can't be had elsewhere"

        We do seem very good at putting ourselves down

        1. Voland's right hand Silver badge

          Re: Hmm

          We do seem very good at putting ourselves down

          Even in that Brits are very far behind Slavic nations. So it is neither unique, nor best in class.

          1. Rich 11

            Re: Hmm

            Even in that Brits are very far behind Slavic nations.

            We must try harder!

      2. Stu Mac

        Re: Hmm

        If one ignores the Green and Pleasant being one of the best (few) places in the world worth living and a favored destination for a large part of the world (it would appear).

    4. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Hmm

      The MayBot isn't exactly showing the best in British intelligence. You'd get more out of a slightly racist speak-your-weight machine.

      1. Stu Mac

        Re: Hmm

        Mrs May doesn't have a racist bone in her body, I'm quite sure. Unfortunately she is also a god bothering fool.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Hmm

          >Mrs May doesn't have a racist bone in her body, I'm quite sure. Unfortunately she is also a god bothering fool.

          She certainly appears spineless, but not sure that shes had a complete bone-removal....

  2. Gordon Pryra

    Good old Alan T

    At least he wasn't mentioned as part of the reason we should allow the NHS to have all our data in some anonymised uber database which is anonymised with only a single identifiable key in a table (whatever that is, but I bet its anonymised!!)

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Good old Alan T

      They're going to keep bringing Alan Turing into anything vaguely tech-related aren't they? Everyone knows the man was a hero and a genius, so they assume their pet projects will get some reflected glory from Turing's work. Expect any number of PPE ministerial statements along the lines of:

      Alan Turing would have loved automated car tracking.

      Alan Turing understood the importance of technology in war so he would have worked on our new megadeath 7000 hunter-killer drone project.

      Alan Turing's work made biometric ID cards possible.

      ...

      1. Cynic_999

        Re: Good old Alan T

        The implied message that I get is, "If you are brilliant, come and devote your life to serving the British government, who will pay you a pittance and then castrate you for your trouble."

        1. heyrick Silver badge

          Re: Good old Alan T

          "who will pay you a pittance and then castrate you for your trouble"

          And remember, big megacorps, once we're out there will be no pesky EU "rights" telling you how to treat your workforce, so feel free to skimp on protective clothing, put the entire lot on zero hour contacts, change their positions and remuneration from month to month, and to top it off, feel free to dump all the waste in any nearby river.

          Isn't Blighty marvelous?! Come, please, for the love of God come, before another high street name goes under...

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: Good old Alan T

            + no need to pay any tax

        2. hplasm
          Meh

          Re: Good old Alan T

          " "If you are brilliant, come and devote your life to serving the British government, who will pay you a pittance and then castrate you for your trouble.""

          And then say how brilliantly British you were, a shining example to all, after you are dead.

  3. Dr Paul Taylor

    Brexit Schmexit

    That slogan was on EU in Brum banners in September 2016. (Credit Alan Suter I think.) When I went into the pub after the demo to "welcome" to Tories to Brum for their conference, people asked me what Schmexit meant.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Brexit Schmexit

      Dammit Janet?

      1. Trigonoceps occipitalis

        Re: Brexit Schmexit

        Slut!

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Brexit Schmexit

      people asked me what Schmexit meant.

      Schmexit means Schmexit. I thought everybody knew that.

      But rather than demonstrating against the Tories, why didn't you demonstrate against the clueless twats of the Labour party who have kept the Conservatives in government through a string of utterly dislikeable and incompetent leaders, all with weird, incoherent policies that have made the Labour party unelectable even against the dislikeable, colourless, cloth-eared, lightweights of the Conservatives?

      My sympathies are somewhere towards the right wing of the Conservative party, but I'd welcome a good, strong, electable Labour party, simply because as things stand nobody's happy, and still nobody would be happy if that bearded communist idiot were PM. The same situation applied in 2005, when a Labour party that had run out of steam and ideas was re-elected with a dead duck MP, simply because the Tories were led by the unelectable Michael Howard, a shadow cabinet largely composed of talent free nobodies, and no clear ideas or agenda. Considering the past two decades, the political mess we're in can actually be attributed more readily to the failure of opposition parties to up their game than to lacklustre governments who ideally wouldn't even be in post if the opposition were competent.

      1. Phil O'Sophical Silver badge

        Re: Brexit Schmexit

        the political mess we're in can actually be attributed more readily to the failure of opposition parties to up their game

        I think that's a fair summary of politics worldwide at the moment, at least in those places where opposition parties are allowed.

      2. amanfromMars 1 Silver badge

        Re: Brexit Schmexit and other Perverse Costly Abominations

        But rather than demonstrating against the Tories, why didn't you demonstrate against the clueless twats of the Labour party who have kept the Conservatives in government through a string of utterly dislikeable and incompetent leaders, ..... Ledswinger

        You could also include the self-righteous bigots of the Democratic Unionist Party leadership in that twat collective, Ledswinger, but whether clueless is appropriate whenever they are reported to have wrangled £1billion from the Conservative government for the continuing support of their ten MPs even as they are disgracefully paid from the public purse and blatantly are allowed to continue drawing their benefits cheques for work they were elected to try and do at Stormont, but which they haven't signed in for for well over a year now, is quite another matter.

        And lo and behold, one has to ask why, whenever everything is running just as smoothly as it is ever was, why on Earth does anyone think they are needed. It's all a right royal farce and tragic comedy show, is it not?

        It is hard not to imagine them all as being parasites in public office with not a titter of wit or novel intelligence to share and driver everything in a new direction between them.

        And there is a certain arrogance and profound ignorance which easily descends into certified madness to think that anyone with anything worthwhile would consider being a supportive party and party to anything such folk might be involved in.

        1. This post has been deleted by its author

        2. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Brexit Schmexit and other Perverse Costly Abominations

          What's going on? amanfromMars1 made sense to me!

          1. Vinyl-Junkie
            WTF?

            Re: What's going on? amanfromMars1 made sense to me!

            I know - scary, isn't it!

          2. Chris G

            Re: Brexit Schmexit and other Perverse Costly Abominations

            " What's going on? amanfromMars1 made sense to me!"

            He always makes at least as much sense as anyone in any of the parties in Parliament, sometimes much more. He doesn't seem to lie either.

            I'd vote for him if he stood for election.

            1. Mark 110
              Pint

              Re: Brexit Schmexit and other Perverse Costly Abominations

              I'd love to go for a pint with amanfrommars. Would love to know how he constructs his usual posts. They are genius.

              Lets face it we are all strangers in a strange land to some degree.

            2. heyrick Silver badge

              Re: Brexit Schmexit and other Perverse Costly Abominations

              "sometimes much more"

              I think in these post-referendum days, the verbal landscape has changed so much that amanfromMars1 is now understandable. It's all the rest of them that make no bloody sense at all...

          3. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: Brexit Schmexit and other Perverse Costly Abominations

            What's going on? amanfromMars1 made sense to me!

            That is because it take a 'man from mars' to understand the absolute mess we are in and make sense of the Political Parties and their stances, while we head towards the 'BrickWall' called Brexit, at speed.

            The Tories are only concerned about the 'Party' and the Country comes somewhere near the bottom of the list of priorities. Meanwhile infighting in the Labour Party is the norm as there is obviously no reason to change the standard focus on trying to get to the top of the Greasy pole as the country has plenty of time before something important has to be done ....... if I could just remember what that was it would be such a help !!!

            The two major parties are so focused on themselves that the country can 'spin & burn' while the EU laughs at the chaos and gets to take free potshots without being noticed by any party.

            I am begining to think that the chaos is deliberate to ensure the result is such utter chaos that the people are forced to protest in the streets to force a 'new' focus on fixing the mess. This would make dropping Brexit much much easier and the subsequent protests would be lost in the other Shouting and Screaming taking place.

            1. Dalkeith

              Re: Brexit Schmexit and other Perverse Costly Abominations

              I'm beginning to doubt whether political parties can do anything deliberately - accidental cockups is generally the order of Business.

        3. TheVogon

          Re: Brexit Schmexit and other Perverse Costly Abominations

          "are allowed to continue drawing their benefits cheques for work they were elected to try and do at Stormont, but which they haven't signed in for for well over a year now"

          That's mostly the fault of the republicans though, with never going to be acceptable policies like insisting on brits having to learn a near dead and close to useless foreign language in schools. And it was the republicans that broke up the assembly in the first place.

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: Brexit Schmexit and other Perverse Costly Abominations

            Gaelic is hardly dead or useless in Ireland or Scotland, despite 200+ years of draconian politically-driven attempts to eliminate it. The DUP hate the whole idea of Gaelic because it is, in NI, Irish rather than British - but then the DUP version of British no longer exists anywhere else in the UK.

            Since every NI person I know has an Irish (so EU) passport as well as a British one, I personally think we'll end up with the UK/EU border in the Irish Sea.

            1. Anonymous Coward
              Anonymous Coward

              Re: Brexit Schmexit and other Perverse Costly Abominations

              Since every NI person I know has an Irish (so EU) passport as well as a British one,

              You have a small & select group of acquaintences. Few of the nationalists that I know would want a British passport, and most NI brits that I know (I'm one) have little interest in having an Irish one. Last year only a little over 82,000 people in NI (out of 1.5 million) applied for an Irish passport, only a 28% increase year-on-year, so the totals with both are small. I live in an EU country & see no point in having an Irish passport as well as my UK one.

              1. Mark #255
                Boffin

                of Irish Passports

                Given that a passport is valid for 10 years, and that 82,000 applications is only a 28% increase, that means ~64,000 applications in the previous year.

                The most pessimistic assumption (that prior to that there were no applications), would mean over 9% of NI has an Irish passport. If 64,000 is assumed as a baseline, that's over 40% of NI has a non-expired Irish passport.

            2. strum

              Re: Brexit Schmexit and other Perverse Costly Abominations

              > I personally think we'll end up with the UK/EU border in the Irish Sea.

              It'll be divided between Beszel and Ul Qoma.

              1. hplasm
                Thumb Up

                Re: Brexit Schmexit and other Perverse Costly Abominations

                dreamshit is rife in the Government? Explains a lot...

            3. TheVogon

              Re: Brexit Schmexit and other Perverse Costly Abominations

              "Gaelic is hardly dead or useless in Ireland or Scotland, despite 200+ years of draconian politically-driven attempts to eliminate it"

              It is versus English. And pretty much anything else is more useful to learn even just inside the UK such as French, Spanish or German. Anyway there is nothing to stop someone choosing to learn Gaelic. The republicans wanted to force it on everyone which is never going to happen.

              1. Anonymous Coward
                Anonymous Coward

                Re: Brexit Schmexit and other Perverse Costly Abominations

                >The republicans wanted to force it on everyone which is never going to happen.

                So a bit like Welsh then? Which all kids in Wales now learn at school.

        4. Stu Mac

          Re: Brexit Schmexit and other Perverse Costly Abominations

          The DUP are a required party. Required to counter SF/IRA and keep NI the green and very pleasant land that it is. Certainly the nicest part of the YooKay to live. When the IRA go away so will the DUP.

      3. Mark Dempster

        Re: Brexit Schmexit

        >But rather than demonstrating against the Tories, why didn't you demonstrate against the clueless twats of the Labour party who have kept the Conservatives in government through a string of utterly dislikeable and incompetent leaders, all with weird, incoherent policies that have made the Labour party unelectable even against the dislikeable, colourless, cloth-eared, lightweights of the Conservatives?<

        Well firstly, I'd point out that it's the tories who are actually in control, and demonstrating aginst any other party is completely pointless. Secondly, I think you'll find that the current labour leadership is eminently likeable - and it's only those who are force-fed their opinions by media moguls who don't pay any UK tax or, indeed, reside her, that believe otherwise.

        >My sympathies are somewhere towards the right wing of the Conservative party, but I'd welcome a good, strong, electable Labour party,<

        No, what you actually want is a return to 'new labour' - the aberration created by Tony Blair that turned the party into a slightly-watered-down clone of the tories. It's not an opposition if they implement the same policies, you know! And no point voting between one or the other, either.

        The fact is, the labour party has an ambitious and fully-costed manifesto put together with the aid of nobel-prize-winning economists that offers a completely different path to the one we've been following for the last 40 years, and which has left us in the mess we're in. True opposition, in other words.

        1. phuzz Silver badge

          Re: Brexit Schmexit

          The Labour party may or may not be likeable, but they really should have managed to capitalise on the sheer incompetence the tories have been displaying for the past year or so. When you're the opposition to a party with a leader who no one likes and who doesn't really want to be there, while the rest of her cabinet fight with each other, you'd expect the opposition to make a little more headway.

        2. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Brexit Schmexit

          I think you'll find that the current labour leadership is eminently likeable

          Theresa May is probably "likeable" over a cup of tea, that doesn't make her a competent politician.

          The fact is, the labour party has an ambitious and fully-costed manifesto put together with the aid of nobel-prize-winning economists that offers a completely different path to the one we've been following for the last 40 years

          And which has failed every time we've been dumb enough to let them try.

          About the only good thing that would come out of letting hard-left Labour in would be to remind the new generation why we've always thrown them out again as soon as we could.

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: And which has failed every time we've been dumb enough to let them try.

            Really? I think you've got that very wrong. Without the welfare state Thatcher wouldn't have been able to sell off the council houses, rail network and all the other infrastructure that went to start the "boom" of the eighties.

            Of course they've run out of stuff to sell now and are left trying to blame immigrants and the poor for the state we find ourselves in. Nevertheless if Labour's approach had "failed every time" the tories of the 80s wouldn't have had anything to plunder and would've been kicked out after a single term.

          2. Rich 11

            Re: Brexit Schmexit

            And which has failed every time we've been dumb enough to let them try.

            Although for some reason the party which most consistently gets trashed in the media for its supposed economic incompetence actually has the better record on reducing debt. It also has the better record on not lowering the social safety net to a mere two inches above the concrete.

        3. werdsmith Silver badge

          Re: Brexit Schmexit

          The fact is, the labour party has an ambitious and fully-costed manifesto put together with the aid of nobel-prize-winning economists that offers a completely different path to the one we've been following for the last 40 years

          LOL! Somebody who takes a manifesto seriously. Was this your first general election?

        4. TVU Silver badge

          Re: Brexit Schmexit

          "No, what you actually want is a return to 'new labour' - the aberration created by Tony Blair that turned the party into a slightly-watered-down clone of the tories. It's not an opposition if they implement the same policies, you know! And no point voting between one or the other, either".

          I certainly don't want to see a return of the Tory-lite New Labour in any shape or form. Then again, the bumbling and inflexible grandad at the helm of the party today isn't doing Labour any favours either. The Tories are deep in the morass of Brexit and all Corbyn can do is actually assist May, Rees-Mogg and Redwood in implementing their version of Brexit with his unimaginative, dogmatic and tribal approach.

          What I want to see is a proper, competent, capable and progressive social democratic leader of Labour like they have in Labour's sister parties in Scandinavia.

      4. Rich 11

        Re: Brexit Schmexit

        Considering the past two decades, the political mess we're in can actually be attributed more readily to the failure of opposition parties to up their game than to lacklustre governments who ideally wouldn't even be in post if the opposition were competent.

        Yet still more* people voted for the useless idiots who got in than for the useless idiots who didn't get in.

        * Well, sort of more, given al the problems with FPTP.

      5. strum

        Re: Brexit Schmexit

        It takes a special kind of twat to blame the opposition for the gut-wrenching incompetence/maliciousness of the government.

  4. Warm Braw

    The UK may relinquish that crown before long

    I hope we give full credit to the EU for allowing us the right to be forgotten.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: The UK may relinquish that crown before long

      No worries about being forgotten. small population, small geographic area, little in the way of natural resources. Won't be long before you're forgotten. Well, the Russians may be interested.

  5. ratfox

    easy come, easy go

    Mama, life had just begun

    But now I've gone and thrown it all away

    Gallileo, Gallileo

    Gallileo, Gallileo

    Anyway the wind blows

    1. jmch Silver badge
      Devil

      Re: easy come, easy go

      Galileo, Galileo, Galileo out you go!

      Magnifico!

      Nothing really matters, nothing really matters... to EU

    2. TheVogon

      Re: easy come, easy go

      "Gallileo, Gallileo"

      In other news the UK will now be charging a £1 billion a year rental fee for the pretty much essential Gallileo uplink facilities in the Falklands and Ascension isles.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: easy come, easy go

        I imagine any support for Britain's continued occupation of the Falklands (or Gibraltar for that matter) will soon dry up.

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Tech and other firms like to come to blighty because we are moving to the American model of little regulation (after brexit) and exploiting workers.

    1. codejunky Silver badge

      @AC

      "Tech and other firms like to come to blighty because we are moving to the American model of little regulation (after brexit) and exploiting workers."

      So lets compare. Full employment, recovery from the last recession and apart from bone headed trade war tariffs economically doing well. Or the EU who are the opposite except for retaliating with bone headed trade war tariffs.

      Is it the US or EU in existential crisis again?

      1. Rich 11

        Re: @AC

        Full employment, recovery from the last recession

        Do you also believe in unicorns?

        1. codejunky Silver badge

          Re: @AC

          @ Rich 11

          "Do you also believe in unicorns?"

          Oh no, please dont tell me you dont realise this is the good times. If your a believer in Keynes then this is the time to be fixing the roof before the next recession hits.

          I am sorry to tell you that if you think normal is the peak of the greatest boom in recent history plus labour borrowing heavily and selling off UK gold, then I have bad news for you. We recovered from the recession ages ago, we need to be normalising the country now to be ready for the next recession. That means taking away the stimulus by raising interest rates and unwinding QE.

          I am of course assuming you are in the UK, the US is in a much better position (although Trumps trade war may harm that). If however you are in the Eurozone I understand the disbelief and I am sorry for the damage caused to your economy by the ECB and the currency. And I honestly wish you the best of luck for whichever country you are in.

      2. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge

        Re: @AC

        Full employment, recovery from the last recession and apart from bone headed trade war tariffs economically doing well.

        this_is_fine_dog.jpg

        Probably believes the PC bollocks, too.

        1. codejunky Silver badge

          Re: @AC

          @ Destroy All Monsters

          "Probably believes the PC bollocks, too."

          PC bollocks? At what point do you guys believe I am wrong?

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: @AC

            >PC bollocks? At what point do you guys believe I am wrong?

            I'm still waiting for you to actually be right about something...

            1. codejunky Silver badge

              Re: @AC

              @AC

              "I'm still waiting for you to actually be right about something..."

              And who are you? And at which point am I wrong? Seems to be such certainty I am wrong, just no answer as to how.

  7. Crisp

    Even with the current skills shortage in our industry

    It's nice to see the government being courageously optimistic!

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: It's nice to see the government being courageously optimistic!

      Agreed especially when banks and the car makets up sticks and move over the channel to mainland Europe or over the Irish Sea to Dublin.

      I have to ask where the Tax income that HMG needs will come from when the City decamps to Frankfurt or Paris? It will happen but might take 3-5 years. At least all those office blocks could be re-purposed as housing but no one will have a job to pay for it.

      IMHO, none of the parties in Westminster don't have a clue about how to solve the impenting fiscal meltdown especially JC who seems to think that nationalising everything in sight is the answer but has no idea how to pay for it.

      1. Mark Dempster

        Re: It's nice to see the government being courageously optimistic!

        >IMHO, none of the parties in Westminster don't have a clue about how to solve the impenting fiscal meltdown especially JC who seems to think that nationalising everything in sight is the answer but has no idea how to pay for it.<

        I suggest you read the labour party manifesto - how we pay for things is described quite clearly, despite what the media might tell you.

        For instance, renationalising the railways costs nothing - you simply wait for the franchise to expire, and don't put it back out to tender again. The train operators only lease their rolling stock, so we'd take up that lease & retain the profit that they make.

      2. MJI Silver badge

        Re: It's nice to see the government being courageously optimistic!

        JC does have a clue

        Borrowed this from Independent as it is not the well known video

        “I suppose that now is as good a time as any to declare my hand. I’m with the man whose wife we fancy. I’m in,”

        “Isn’t it better to stay in and try to make the damn thing work properly? To create a United States of Europe that functions as well as the United States of America? With one army and one currency and one unifying set of values?

        “Britain, on its own, has little influence on the world stage. I think we are all agreed on that. But Europe if it were well run and had good cohesive, well thought-out policies, would be a tremendous force for good”.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: It's nice to see the government being courageously optimistic!

          “Isn’t it better to stay in and try to make the damn thing work properly?

          Isn't the standard definition of insanity doing the same thing over and over, and expecting a different result? We've spent 25 years trying to make it work properly.

          To create a United States of Europe that functions as well as the United States of America? With one army and one currency and one unifying set of values?

          One army, one currency, one set of values we're all expected to share? There you have the best argument for Brexit there could be.

          1. MJI Silver badge

            Re: It's nice to see the government being courageously optimistic!

            Didn't anyone notice I was quoting the most well known living JC.

            Jeremy Clarkson

            To me JC is him, not that wrinkly CND person

            1. heyrick Silver badge

              Re: It's nice to see the government being courageously optimistic!

              JC? I can't help but to think of a dead guy who was supposedly important two millennia ago.

              1. MJI Silver badge

                Re: It's nice to see the government being courageously optimistic!

                I did say living!

        2. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: It's nice to see the government being courageously optimistic!

          ...

          “Britain, on its own, has little influence on the world stage. I think we are all agreed on that. But Europe IF it were well run and had good cohesive, well thought-out policies, would be a tremendous force for good”.

          That is one humongous 'IF' !!!

          There is NO track record of this in the past or the present ..... so we are depending on a sudden and inconceivable change of mind for the future of not just one but dozens of Politicians that have taken years to agree anything (read: lets ignore the requirement for 'good cohesive, well thought-out' to allow this sentence to work.).

          In short, will never happen without a major global event to change the minds of the many many countries that cannot agree anything unless the 'real benefits' are watered down to avoid any perceived gain by their rivals.

          The big problem with the 'US of A' vs 'US of Europe', even if we ignore the above, is there is no concept of Europe that pulls the 'US of Europe' together while the 'US of A' is one country with one identity with a population that has been programmed over generations to think of the US of A as one entity that they as a whole support with their very fibre.

          Conviction is a very powerful thing and the US of A thinks and knows it should be No. 1, it drives everything that is done and the EU will always be at a disadvantage.

          That is the final nail in the coffin for the US of Europe Idea ......... a very big nail that some of the countries in the EU would be driving into the coffin themselves because of History and basic political reality.

          So how does the UK change that and influence the hearts and minds of countries that have no reason to listen to us and in actuality are positively anti-UK, again because of history.

          Which is the bigger fiction 'Brexit' or the UK changing the EU from within to create a Bigger, Better and Fairer 'US of Europe' !!!???

        3. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: It's nice to see the government being courageously optimistic!

          @ MJI

          I agree. There are a variety of reasons to stay in and one of those is that as Trump is proving is the US cannot, any longer, be trusted to be the world police. After WW2 the US made arms and protection pacts with much of the world and as they appear to be no longer willing to do that a strong, unified Europe would have both the economic clout and military might to take up that slack. A fragmented Europe can do neither and plays into Putin's/Jinping's hand.

          https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-06-05/trump-refuses-to-learn-the-lessons-of-the-marshall-plan

      3. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: It's nice to see the government being courageously optimistic!

        I totally agree

        A quick manifesto

        Whack up Capital Gains Tax on land and property - prevent monopolisation of property by investors - land is finite it needs to be used for living

        Reduce Income tax - if you work hard you should earn money

        Get rid of denominational education and private education. If parents want to assist their children they can contribute to the school they attend.

        Try to separate the requirement of degrees from professions in all but the most vocational of courses. I reckon if the assessment of candidates into professions was completely separated from the teaching you could reduce the cost of assessments to the students while limiting numbers by simply making any assessment bloody thorough. This should allow decent colleges moocs or self studies a good chance of getting through if they don't have the money to attend high class uni

        Just open up borders but track people for dodgy backgrounds. Borders are S*** the more people mingle less likely wars are.

  8. Jove Bronze badge

    With members of the Eurozone acting like brigands by not settling their bills what else would you expect from them. Several states are now effectively insolvent, with Euro-bonds and high Corporate Taxes on the way to finance their fantasies - reneging on promises made in return for British money is is just an easy path for them - for now.

  9. RobertLongshaft

    Here is how you make the UK the number one destination for business. Cut business tax rates to 17.5%.

    Cut income tax rates to 20% for everyone and the first £20,000 of everyone earnings are completely tax free.

    Dismantle the welfare state entirely and allow private free enterprise to take care of the rest.

    If we have a tariff free trade deal with the US and EU we become the best place in the world to do business and companies would flood here from all over the world.

    This isn't rocket science, it's simply a total rejection of socialism, marxism and post modernism which are a cancer that eat away at the soft under belly of our nation.

    1. Aitor 1

      Services

      But then how do you propose to keep the roads, army and NHS? are you proposing we go back to the XIX century? poorhouses?

      1. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

        Re: Services

        "But then how do you propose to keep the roads, army and NHS?"

        I'm assuming he forgot the joke icon.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Services...I'm assuming he forgot the joke icon.

          Look at the comments on Ars. There are plenty of people who write like that and they mean it.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Here is how you make the UK the number one destination for business. Cut business tax rates to 17.5%.

      Cut income tax rates to 20% for everyone and the first £20,000 of everyone earnings are completely tax free.

      Dismantle the welfare state entirely and allow private free enterprise to take care of the rest.

      If we have a tariff free trade deal with the US and EU we become the best place in the world to do business and companies would flood here from all over the world.

      This isn't rocket science, it's simply a total rejection of socialism, marxism and post modernism which are a cancer that eat away at the soft under belly of our nation.

      Would you like a fried egg on that? Or a pineapple ring?

    3. Dr. Mouse

      This isn't rocket science, it's simply a total rejection of socialism, marxism and post modernism which are a cancer that eat away at the soft under belly of our nation.

      You are right in a way: as long as they can still get access to the quality of labour and the services they need, companies would flock here if taxes were lower than everywhere else. It would be a paradise for corporations and the better off.

      However, if the welfare state was dismantled, where is the safety net if someone loses their job? Where does the care for the disabled, elderly, and most vulnerable come from? With lower tax receipts, how will the government fund the armed services, the emergency services, and the NHS? Bin collections? Road networks?

      And when these all suffer, how will the corporations feel about having to pay higher wages to fund private insurances? Where law and order is breaking down? Where garbage piles up in the streets? Where their employees end up ill because they can't afford to see a doctor? Where the roads are crumbling (even more than now) and wagons can't get where they need to go (or where they have to pay extra to use private toll roads)?

      You are also assuming that we would get a tariff free trade deal with the EU and the US, which are definitely not guaranteed.

    4. Phil 54

      And why on earth would the EU and USA sign tariff-free trade deals when you've essentially become a tax haven?

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        >And why on earth would the EU and USA sign tariff-free trade deals when you've essentially become a tax haven?

        Ireland, Luxembourg, Monaco, Cayman Islands Etc.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          >>And why on earth would the EU and USA sign tariff-free trade deals when you've essentially become a tax haven?

          >Ireland, Luxembourg, Monaco, Cayman Islands Etc.

          Monaco, Luxembourg and Ireland are already in the EU, so all deals are signed on their behalf.

          Apparently the biggest imports and exports from the Cayman Islands are recreational boats....

      2. TheVogon

        "And why on earth would the EU and USA sign tariff-free trade deals when you've essentially become a tax haven?"

        Because a trade deal gives them some leverage on how that tax haven is accessible by their citizens.

    5. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      @RobertLongshaft

      Can I ask you a question on your utopia? How does it work with things like privatisation and PFI's?

      Does free enterprise and privatisation work? Can you name one privatised service that didn't either rip of the tax payer or fail to live up to it's basic expectations?

      Having no welfare state is what we had in the 19th century, do you propose we go back to people dying before they hit 30 or living in slums? Why stop there? You might as well bring in slavery.

      1. Jamie Jones Silver badge

        ah, RobertLongshaft... let's just hope you or your family members never get ill, or have an accident.... or do you think the feckers should just lose their house and go bankrupt like those lovely republican americans do?

        I know it's childish, and against El Reg rules to post personal insults, but sorry. You, sir, are a top class tosser.

    6. Mark Dempster

      >Here is how you make the UK the number one destination for business. Cut business tax rates to 17.5%.

      Cut income tax rates to 20% for everyone and the first £20,000 of everyone earnings are completely tax free.

      Dismantle the welfare state entirely and allow private free enterprise to take care of the rest.

      If we have a tariff free trade deal with the US and EU we become the best place in the world to do business and companies would flood here from all over the world.

      This isn't rocket science, it's simply a total rejection of socialism, marxism and post modernism which are a cancer that eat away at the soft under belly of our nation.<

      In other words, let people starve as long as the 1% get richer. Well done.

    7. Blank Reg

      @RobertLongshaft

      An unfettered free market just leads to disaster. And many aspects of modern society just won't work in a purely capitalistic world. Just look at the joke of a healthcare "system" in the USA.

      And I could never understand the idiotic view of slashing taxes and social programs. Are you going to start paving your own roadways and act as your own fire department, police force etc. Someone has to pay for all that, it won't just magically happen. And cutting social programs just leads to more poverty, that isn't good for anyone. Poor people don't help grow the economy much, and any money you saved would be made up by the increases in crime and additional expenditures on policing and the rest of the judicial system.

      P.S. We're currently looking to expand our company into Europe, The UK isn't even up for consideration, largely because of Brexit, and nothing you've proposed would change that. Even if Brexit were canceled I'd wait a few years before considering the UK just to make sure things are stable. We'll most likely pick France or Germany.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        We'll most likely pick France or Germany

        Me, I'd go for Ireland. Cheap, an economy more likely to succeed than strike-ridden France, and a much nicer place to work than Germany.

        1. James 47

          Ireland is not so cheap any more. And another housing bubble is brewing

          1. werdsmith Silver badge

            Poland is good for cheapness but that's changing. Some Baltic states like Estonia have some really good people.

            1. Anonymous Coward
              Anonymous Coward

              Some Baltic states like Estonia have some really good people.

              And a land border with Russia, unfortunately.

              1. Anonymous Coward
                Anonymous Coward

                And a land border with Russia, unfortunately.

                We're going to end up with a land border with Scotland!

        2. Korev Silver badge

          We'll most likely pick France or Germany

          Me, I'd go for Ireland. Cheap, an economy more likely to succeed than strike-ridden France, and a much nicer place to work than Germany.

          Ireland offers what Britain did up until recently: EU membership, native English speaking, a timezone that kind of works for the America and Asia.

          1. MJI Silver badge

            Ireland

            Also friendly people, within Astra 2 footprint. Some nice beaches, lots of countryside, mad drivers. Good places to drink.

            It is the nearest thing to a foreign Britain (well it is British Isles).

            Lovely place, if I had to leave it would be there or Netherlands

            1. Anonymous Coward
              Anonymous Coward

              Re: Ireland

              >It is the nearest thing to a foreign Britain (well it is British Isles).

              It's like a nice version of England. Rains too much though.

    8. Chris G

      @RobertLongshaft

      Two things, you forgot the Troll icon and you forgot the part about flogging the proles on a Sunday morning before church.

    9. Tom 7

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

      reality.

      Ayn Rand wrote fantasy childrens books where the underpinning of even primitive economies just magically appears out of fresh bullshit.

      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/

    10. 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?

  10. 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...

  11. 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

  12. 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 ?

  13. 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.

  14. 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.

  15. 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"

  16. 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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