Newcastle top of the 'soviet state' list

Newcastle top of the 'soviet state' list

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/...ls/One+in+four+is+on+the+state+payroll+in+UK+'Soviet+blocs'/article.do

One in four people in the North East is on the state payroll - comprable to Soviet Russia way back when. (of all workers)

If/when Gordon brown has to make cuts to fund the 40 odd billion quid he's overspent by ... the North East is gonna suffer.

I only wish governments past and present had more of a universal approach to attracting business to the UK, rather than just concentrating everything in the south east and making it more of a nightmare than it already is.

... That way, maybe we wouldnt be (in the NE) so much at the mercy of government spending, and tax payers wouldnt have to bear so much burden financing admittedly badly run (some of them) public 'services'.

The call centre jobs and low skilled labour (in classic definitions) are not what the region needs.

The pay divide needs to be sorted out, and not just 'accepted'.

Im no economist - but how about massive tax breaks for high tech companies who base themselves in certain zones of the UK...... China is doing it with Shenzen just over the border from Hong Kong - the place has went from a swamp, to a massive city in less than 15 years - its quite incredible.

Unfortunately, the NE attracts nothing more than companies wishing to take advantage of the low paid to put in jobs answering customer services telephones .... theres no localised corporate taxation policies, which is why every big firm wants to base themselves in and around london since its where everyone else is.

Bingo.

The talent goes south (in worrying amounts) since its pointless trying to better yourself, or even make use of your skills, up here.

Unless your in the kind of job that can go anywhere, like accountants and lawyers and the like - theres little incentive for highly skilled people to stay in geordieland.

Re: Newcastle top of the 'soviet state' list

I blame Thatcher for the rapid closure of the major employment sectors in the north east area, leaving a huge unemployed workforce, prepared to work for low wages just for the sake of working, hence being exploited

Re: Re: Newcastle top of the 'soviet state' list

She closed the mines, and tried to (badly) encourage people to upgrade their skills in order to work in a modern world.

.... things like Nissan in Sunderland happened under a tory 'rule' and were touted as the kinds of things that a workforce could transition to doing, instead of digging coal out of the ground that actually cost money, instead of making money.

The low wages is probably due to the fact that the workforce has a high proportion of low skilled people.

exploitation as you call it, is a corporate activity - i cant see how the government is responsible for that.




You sound like another impressionable kid who was brought up listening to their parents blaming the tories for everything

The unions needed to be broken - the country was a shambles in the late seventies.

Your two comments about pfi and blair being a tory are laughable - labour is responsible for its own fuckups and NOT the tories. Gordon brown went ahead with PFI - it was THEIR choice.

Decent hard working people are people who want to go out and work for a living - i dunno what point your trying to make.

Im glad im outside the M25 now - working and living inside it for just over a year was more than enough for me.

London is great if :

- your young, starry eyed and want to spend a while doing the bars and clubs while your only responsibilities are to yourself and the only things you have on your mind are alcohol and getting inside someones knickers/boxers.

- you dont have kids, or a wife/husband

- you work in the city and make 100k a year, or have a very high earning job

- your visiting it for a daytrip and dont actually live or work there


For anything other than that, i just dont see the appeal - Most people bleat on about all the galleries, shows, restaurants and all that fluff - but for the most part people just DONT do any of it much ... its a big lie. The lifestyle that is presented in the various london magazines is pretty much out of reach for the vast majority of the people there because its just too expensive.

I dont hate the place - far from it, im glad i live only 45 minutes away on the train. But i certaintly dont think its the best thing in the world.


Aye, i'd move away from it all, or abroad if given the chance..... preferably to Hong Kong (rosy tinted spectacles on here).