Please don’t be a cretin and resort to petty toilet insults, we’re supposed to be grown ups on here.

Chronic underinvestment in a state owned company is still the responsibility of the state. But if you knew anything about cars from the British Leyland era, you’d know that many of the faults were not with investment, they were with poor quality checks and standards.

Who says we’re supposed to be adults here? I certainly have no intention of behaving like an adult to the likes of the sort people who congregate here.
Furthermore, much of what I see writtten on here (you can include yourself in that too) mitigates against pretty much everyone here being an adult, and if you insist on talking cr*p, then I’ll make toilet references and call you out on it.
And maybe I am a cretin but as the man once said: it takes one to know one.

Going on to British Leyland, which with dull predicability you did, the problem was underinvestment. Has it ever occured to anyone that the original owners of Austin and Morris and all the other constituent companies that made up what was initially BMC, couldn’t get out and get their fat rewards for being nationalised quick enough..?
And British Leyland wasn’t actually nationalised until 1975, so I suggest their problems might have started much earlier than that.
They wanted out because they woke up to the knowledge that they weren’t going to be able to compete in World markets in a post war, post empire World–well not without sticking their hands in their pockets and investing. So it was easier to run with a handout and go.
The same with aviation–in fact run by an even bigger group of spivs if that was possible, and the railways, three out of the four constiuent companies who made up British Railways asked to be nationalised (The Great Western didn’t). That’s why we don’t make motorbikes here anymore because the Government were not interested in bailing them out and quite rightly because they were even more crappily built than the cars.

In other countries of course, governments very wisely assisted their manufacturing industries through the bad times, knowing that happy workers pay tax and don’t sponge off the system.
So, when last year, despite a World recession (well we’re told there’s one by our masters because the British economy is actually f*cked but no one dare admit because it doesn’t win votes) happy German BMW workers were on seven day shifts and full overtime trying to fill all the orders for the far east.
Just imagine what ‘Just Call Me Dave’ and that other other mindless t**t from The Meaningless Party’ who keeps him in the job would make of that. I bet they’d nearly p*ss themselves with glee if we were ever in that fortunate position. But then again of course, the krauts always did take a long term view of investment over the spiv-ism of this miserable little pellet of land.

And as I remain non-aligned, yes before with further dull predictability you raise it, the unions at places like Longbridge were a spanner in the works, and the work force were certainly very poor in productivity terms. Labour relations in this unhappy country were certainly a problem in the post war period. Sadly I think further self interest was at work here too, with senior union people doing quite nicely thank you off the backs of the people they were meant to represent–very sad.

In closing, up until very recently, I owned and drove a product of British Leyland.
Much of the design ethos which went into their vehicles was actually sound.
Dead easy to spanner too, parts were cheap and spares lived throughout so many models that it was easy to find them.
Surprisingly rugged too.

I like the way a load of otherwise unemployable cretins get an all expenses paid holiday to Africa to go rafting and then try and sell it to us as a charitable exploit.
They must think we have the word ***t tattoed on us somewhere.

Speaking personally, if Jack Dee or a Spice Girl or three did drown in the Zambezi it’d cheer me right up.

State control destroyed most of the UK manufacturing industry.

And frankly if you believe that sh*t then you probably do need a helper in the bathroom of a morning.

Could you indicate which industry you’re refering to..?
I’ll happily discuss specifics with you on that score.
I can furnish practical examples if you want–I have a 1964 Francis Barnett in my workshop which is a bag of sh*t compared with a Honda of the same vintage.
Could it be something to do with chronic under-investment…?
Cars, electronics, motorbikes, railways, chemicals, etc etc.

Once again a thread descends into a tedious left/right slanging match with both sides stuck on ‘transmit’ at maximum wattage and no one else listening because they’re bored.
F*ck me my patience is wearing thin with this sh*t.
Surely anyone intelligent enough to be able to wipe their own bottom in the mornings should be able to see that unbridled capitalism is no healthier than unbridled socialism/communism–call it what you will.
Neither system has really worked and unless you’re totally on the side of the rich, and don’t mind seeing the small man screwed over then raw capitalism isn’t your answer and unless you want to see everything rounded down to the lowest common denominator then socialism appears to be not much better.

There are plenty of reds and not just under the bed – take it from me !

John.
Why do you seem to fear them so..?
Is there anyone out there really trying to do you harm–do you think..?

I can’t say I see any side of the argument is hugely scary–or particularly dangerous.

I’ve often wondered though if anyone here (or elsewhere) is sponsored in some small way by a political organisation to make comment. I know that some years ago a right wing political organisation associated I think with the young Conservatives (at best a highly disreputable bunch of farmers spawn and other undesirables) were paying people to ring into radio phone ins to slew arguments. I believe at the time the Jimmy Young show was demonstrated to have been a victim. Local radio had also been targeted.
To be fair, I suspect the left have tried it too, they’ve just not been caught.

I wrote the above on the 21st February on another thread.
See, they all do it.
They’re all scum together as far as I’m concerned.
A.

I am a nice guy–well was once.
Might be again one day if things go half right.

As the ‘non-aligned’ member here, it’s my job to keep you all honest….:);):)

Dunstable is my nearest town, and these days it really is a ghastly place.
Shops closed, pubs gone and those that are left are just binge drinking joints for Friday and Saturday nights.
When I moved here 23 years ago, the town was a bustling, thriving place but it seems to me, even with the obvious changes in shopping habits that have occured over the years, the council still have a lot to answer for.
In those days, the car parking was free, and one could never find a parking space on a Saturday.
Then some bright spark decided that parking wasn’t going to be free anymore. They also introduced parking wardens who made the Waffen SS look like a friendly and equitable bunch.
Overnight, not only could a parking space be found, but the car-parks were half empty.
The change was so marked that in my opinion the decline started that day.
Since then they’ve made shopping there less and less pleasant until today, it’s a grim and now pointless exercise as there are no worthwhile shops left.
It seems to me that councils have made shopping such a grim experience in many places that no one wants to go to town centres anymore.

A.