GFTU BGCM Minutes 2017

would be doing is disintegrating the value of their cash assets potentially. You

would be demolishing what little is left of their wealth. I suppose the issue for

me and the question for me is, having got into this dreadful mess, how on earth

does Europe get out of it?

SIS JANE COLCLOUGH (Prospect): I agree with Larry that the fundamental

problem, the most important problem is the weakness of the manufacturing

base in this country and it is a real concern that actually the economy of this

country could well collapse as a result of that. We cannot carry on as an

economy with 10% of the economy as a manufacturing base, nor can we

simply throw money at it without thinking where that money is going. Giving

people more money to buy more imported goods is not the answer and what

really concerns me is that none of the political parties seem to have any proper

detailed responses to this. None of them that I can see have got any real plans

to revive the manufacturing base of this country and that is a real worry.

(Applause)

BRO JOHN FRAY: Thank you, President, for allowing me to speak as an honoured

guest and also I am very honoured to be here. I am quite ashamed that my

own union are not having a delegation here, the National Union of Journalists,

but I am very honoured that Larry is here speaking on behalf of common sense

and what we expect from true journalists. In that respect I think Larry is

completely correct in his analysis. I come from a university town, Oxford, which

is also a major, major working class town as well. That is why in Oxford,

Oxford East is that little red dot when you see all that blue around us that it still

Labour. It voted to Remain. You could understand it. We have got BMW who

is one of the main employers still in Oxford. But I agree with Jane in terms of

the manufacturing base that we lost. As a person that spent 16 years in the car

industry as a toolmaker, we believed that if you took a piece of steel and you

made it into something you added the value that was needed and that was

what gave us the wealth in this country.

I do not know whether Larry would have a view on this, but in the last few

months I have heard this country described as the third wealthiest country in

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