London draining life out of rest of country

Pisces CloudPisces Cloud Posts: 30,239
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I think Vince Cable makes a good point.
London "is becoming a giant suction machine draining the life out of the rest of the country", Business Secretary Vince Cable has warned.

"More balance in that respect would be helpful."

http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-25444981
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Comments

  • jmclaughjmclaugh Posts: 63,988
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    Good old Vince with a headline catching bit of rhetoric and he completely ignores one salient fact. If there was a demand for an international airport hub somewhere else in the UK it would have been built.
  • AnnsyreAnnsyre Posts: 109,476
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    I think Vince Cable makes a good point.



    http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-25444981


    Without the tax contribution of the City of London, the country would be broke.
  • BrokenArrowBrokenArrow Posts: 21,665
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    Stop being diplomatic and tell us what you really think Boris !

    But Mayor of London Boris Johnson said Mr Cable's assertion was "stupefying and ridiculous".
  • AnnsyreAnnsyre Posts: 109,476
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    Cable is a busted flush imo.
  • Biffo the BearBiffo the Bear Posts: 25,859
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    He's right, but I've never really bought into the Cult of Cable. All he's ever done is point out what people have been saying for years.
  • Ethel_FredEthel_Fred Posts: 34,127
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    Annsyre wrote: »
    Without the tax contribution of the City of London, the country would be broke.

    Making a virture out of an industry that has harmed most of London, let alone the rest of the country. It's like praising your drug dealer for a speedy service
  • Ethel_FredEthel_Fred Posts: 34,127
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    Stop being diplomatic and tell us what you really think Boris !

    Boris fawning over the City

    Why am I not surprised?
  • spiney2spiney2 Posts: 27,058
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    move stock market to manchester? after all its electronic now .....
  • spiney2spiney2 Posts: 27,058
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    Annsyre wrote: »
    Without the tax contribution of the City of London, the country would be broke.

    i wonder how many dictatorships we are keeping in power across the world ......
  • jmclaughjmclaugh Posts: 63,988
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    spiney2 wrote: »
    move stock market to manchester? after all its electronic now .....

    Thank you Chairman Mao.
  • Pisces CloudPisces Cloud Posts: 30,239
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    We are always hearing about the lack of space for housing and the costs, so it makes sense to start distributing more equally around the country. I've always thought that Parliament should be moved to a more central location, for a start.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 2,967
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    London/SE is not draining the UK. Westminster is doing that job already by treating London/SE as a neglected cash cow and the rest of the UK as little better than a wasteland...
  • BrokenArrowBrokenArrow Posts: 21,665
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    spiney2 wrote: »
    move stock market to manchester? after all its electronic now .....

    If it really was electronic, it would be in Delhi, but its not, its in London because that is where the stockbrokers and bankers want to be.
  • Speak-SoftlySpeak-Softly Posts: 24,737
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    We are always hearing about the lack of space for housing and the costs, so it make sense to start distributing more equally around the country. I've always thought that Parliament should be moved to a more central location, for a start.

    I read on here just recently that half the population of the UK was based in the south.
    Which I found quite shocking.

    So if that's true, then Parliament is central by population rather than geography I would have thought.
    By population it may even be further north than central?

    I don't disagree with your idea necessarily, but I think the distribution of people in the country does need to be better understood.
  • angarrackangarrack Posts: 5,493
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    He's right, but I've never really bought into the Cult of Cable. All he's ever done is point out what people have been saying for years.

    I agree that Cable likes to shock even though stating the bleeding obvious, but when he does come up with a valid point its worthy of debate.

    Too many people in power ignore this imbalance. Most of them, of course, are dependent on London in some way; either they work there or live in London or nearby. They have a vested interest in London. One would expect the capital city to be dominant but there is an overwhelming imbalance which is shown up by the statistics.
  • jjnejjne Posts: 6,580
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    Cable's right, and eventually this will lead to the breakup of the UK. Of course when that happens the centralists will fail to link it to what has gone before.
  • thmsthms Posts: 61,002
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    http://wingsoverscotland.com/victims-of-the-bedroom-tax/

    "The majority of the poor are now people in work, not the unemployed. And a vastly disproportionate share of all UK wages are now paid in and around London. Which suggests that Londoners are better able to afford even their sky-high rents, and as a result get proportionately less housing benefit.

    The net effect of the bedroom tax, then, is to suck even more money away from the “edges” of the country and into the London coffers of the Treasury, where in turn it gets disproportionately invested straight back into London, generating more wages and completing the circle."


    Continues

    "Vince Cable today described London as “a giant suction machine draining the life out of the rest of the country”. That wasn’t exactly a new revelation. But we suspect few people realised that one of the engines driving that machine was the “spare room subsidy” being snatched from the poorest in Wales, the north of England and, as ever, the willing cash cow that is Scotland."
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 888
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    Living in London is shit so they deserve more planes overhead.
  • RelugusRelugus Posts: 12,044
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    Annsyre wrote: »
    Without the tax contribution of the City of London, the country would be broke.

    Without the bailout funded by British taxpayer's many of them struggling, the City of London would be broke.
  • Pisces CloudPisces Cloud Posts: 30,239
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    I read on here just recently that half the population of the UK was based in the south.
    Which I found quite shocking.

    So if that's true, then Parliament is central by population rather than geography I would have thought.
    By population it may even be further north than central?

    I don't disagree with your idea necessarily, but I think the distribution of people in the country does need to be better understood.

    Perhaps, central location was the wrong term when what I really meant was a move away from London and the South East, to relieve some of the pressure. London should be more like New York or Sydney a cultural area, great for tourists and Government should be in another part of the country. We seem to have it all centred in one city.
  • SaturnVSaturnV Posts: 11,519
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    It's easy to see why when the govt, most major companies and financial institutions are based in London.
    Almost every financial transaction (including insurance, pension etc) you make will involve someone employed in London so the overhead to that transaction is given as salary someone in London and largely spent locally.

    So we have a massive financial filter in London with a large amount of the country's wealth constantly 'leaking out' and finding itself spent in London shops, restaurants, transport, car dealers etc.

    The country would benefit from decentralisation.
  • Ethel_FredEthel_Fred Posts: 34,127
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    will_bun wrote: »
    Living in London is shit so they deserve more planes overhead.

    Make living and working in London so miserable people will move
  • paulschapmanpaulschapman Posts: 35,536
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    SaturnV wrote: »
    So we have a massive financial filter in London with a large amount of the country's wealth constantly 'leaking out' and finding itself spent in London shops, restaurants, transport, car dealers etc.

    As Boris pointed out in his rebuttal to Vince Cable TfL supports thousands of jobs all over Britain in it's supply chain. Construction in the capital also supports thousands of jobs. These people spend money in their home towns not just London.

    That and as has pointed out London (even if you take the bank bailout into consideration) has been a net contributor to the country for decades.

    Vince Cable's comment (outside of say airports) does not stand up to much scrutiny.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 3,064
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    I think Vince Cable makes a good point.



    http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-25444981

    they pave over paradise and put up a parking-lot, and airport runway, a few million more houses etc. London has always been a money black hole (in some ways) the trouble is each person there seems to have twice the voting power of the rest of us - so they get £10 per £1spent anywhere else!
    :(
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 2,967
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    I read on here just recently that half the population of the UK was based in the south.
    Which I found quite shocking.

    You mean 40-50% of the UK's Population is based in London and the South East? I certainly think so...
    thms wrote: »
    http://wingsoverscotland.com/victims-of-the-bedroom-tax/

    "The majority of the poor are now people in work, not the unemployed. And a vastly disproportionate share of all UK wages are now paid in and around London. Which suggests that Londoners are better able to afford even their sky-high rents, and as a result get proportionately less housing benefit.

    The net effect of the bedroom tax, then, is to suck even more money away from the “edges” of the country and into the London coffers of the Treasury, where in turn it gets disproportionately invested straight back into London, generating more wages and completing the circle."


    Continues

    "Vince Cable today described London as “a giant suction machine draining the life out of the rest of the country”. That wasn’t exactly a new revelation. But we suspect few people realised that one of the engines driving that machine was the “spare room subsidy” being snatched from the poorest in Wales, the north of England and, as ever, the willing cash cow that is Scotland."

    Total Rubbish, the whole of the UK is being screwed by Westminster and the elite who run it...>:(
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