This is an empty argument. What the Germans can work with, we can too, and that is proven by the very large number of British people who live and work in Germany and have done for years. Indeed increasing numbers have been taking up German nationality, surely a clear sign of compatibility with life, culture and working circumstances.
Minford works for the hard brexiters, whereas the Treasury's economists will make the best of the situation.
That gets us to the point where we run out of electricity due to our failure to build enough power stations, and our super economists will be learning from necessity how the abacus works.
I mentioned Donald Trump as an example. The issue is short term versus long term. The US of E won't happen for many years but it may just happen in the next 20 years.
And so are we in Britain, we take pride in working for well organised and efficient companies, Nissan Sunderland and BMW Oxford for example.
Very hard to find the silver lining delivered by, for example, hurricane Irma.
I watched a program about Anguilla a couple of days ago. After the storm, electricity was knocked out and a lot of people had to put up with candles etc.
I'm sure it would be well used!
EU structures are all that is keeping us from sinking fast.
It was their job before we joined the EEC
I suspect that after the end of WW2, the Brits took the eye off the ball a bit, enjoyed their victory over Germany and did not work as hard as the Germans rebuilding this country and pay off war related debts. Plus, pulling out of the colonies must have cost a bit too. It took a bit longer than Germany, France and the Benelux to get back to normal. The UK was member of the EAA and EFTA before 73. By 1973, the EU was clearly a better version of the EAA and EFTA. No wonder the UK, Sweden, Denmark, Austria and Portugal decided to join. The UK was still then saddled with war and colony related costs but far from desperate. If the UK hadn't joined the EU, it may still do just as well as an EAA/EFTA member.
More than a bit. It's somewhat of a myth that Britain was a successful manufacturer of good products in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Our "success" was in having a completely captive huge market in our empire. Once we started to lose that and our products were exposed to the competition we were shown to be very lacking. Hence the rapid decline and collapse of our industries then in the face of far better and sometimes but not always cheaper foreign products.
That would require that the UK performed some kind of miracle - the country was dying on its feet, the currency was going down the pan and carmakers, shipbuilders and other major producers overseas were building good quality, reliable products that people wanted to buy, all on much smaller profit margins than British industry leaders and their shareholders were prepared to accept.
the EEA and EFTA are effectively associated members of the EU, it's EU minus the political integration.
The problem was exemplified by the company I worked for that invested Nothing whatsover in updating the machine tools it bought second hand in 1909 when it started in business.
Really you are forgetting recent history the expansion of the EU was urged and egged on by who pray?
