Part of the anger many consumers feel about rising energy bills – opportunistically tapped into by the Labour leadership this week – is that foreigners are partly responsible. Since privatisation, Britain’s gas and electricity supply industry has become substantially foreign-owned. To the bogeyman of supposed profiteering can therefore be added a further demon – that of remote foreign ownership with no loyalty to these shores or interest in their economic wellbeing.
Twenty years ago, less than a fifth of the UK stock market was foreign-owned; new figures published by the Office for National Statistics show that the proportion has risen to 53.2 per cent, up nearly 10 percentage points in just three years. For the first time in history, UK plc is majority‑owned by foreigners.
What with the Asian invasion of London’s housing market, it sometimes seems the entire country is under the hammer. The recent Chinese purchase of the iconic Lloyd’s of London building in the City, and the Sunseeker yacht business in Poole, is further evidence of this mass sale of national silverware.
On one level, these trends should be viewed positively, for they demonstrate an economy of almost unparalleled openness and welcome. The rule of law, economic and political stability, and a still relatively competitive tax system make Britain attractive to foreign investment. It was these virtues that Labour’s Ed Miliband put at risk this week with his ill-thought-out wealth grab.
Yet there is also a more negative side to the story, for burgeoning foreign ownership is only the flip side of a persistent current account deficit – Britain ran a deficit of a massive 5.5 per cent of GDP in the first quarter of this year. So much for the economic recovery; it’s happening all right, but it is also based as much on a continued propensity to live well beyond our means as it is on the solid foundations of rising productivity and enhanced competitiveness. » | Jeremy Warner | Thursday, September 26, 2013
My comment:
Have you not heard the old saying: He who pays the piper calls the tune? Only a fool would think it a good thing that foreigners are buying up Britain. What good can possibly ever come of that?
The British political élite behave like prostitutes: They prostitute themselves; they prostitute the country's assets; they prostitute the country – and leave the rest of us like slaves to foreign powers.
This is a disgraceful situation. It is a situation which even a bright child in junior school would be able to understand as being stupid. Yet the powers-that-be do not. Incredible!
What happens if a major war broke out? We wouldn't be in control of our country: We wouldn't be in control of the water supply; we wouldn't be in control of the power supplies; and now, it seems, we won't be in control even of our money supply. And you, Mr. Warner, call this a good thing? Where did you study your economics, your history? Naïveté is a mild word for this nonsense.
Look at the successful countries in Europe: Germany and Switzerland as perfect examples. Do you think the Germans or Swiss would allow this? Go try and buy a property in Switzerland and see what restrictions apply. It will be an eye-opener for you.
I am tired of being governed by nitwits. I am tired of my country being driven into the ground. I am tired of my country being raped. And if I ask myself if I am proud to be British, my answer is not really. I used to be, for sure. But there is little left to be proud of. The country has been brought to its knees. And it will be all even worse from here on in. Rule Britannia? I don't think so. It can no longer rule itself, still less the waves. – © Mark
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