By Karam Chaggar, (L6T)
In recent times, there has been an exacerbation in anti Tik-Tok zeal - the criticism of the platform outlined by policy makers is primarily one concerned with ‘national security’, insisting that Tik Tok excessive access to user’s data can lend itself to Beijing’s aim of world domination. Whilst there is little doubt to be cast over the invasive data harvesting deployed by the Chinese social media giant, the more worrying impact of Tik Tok is identifiable in what it has done to our attention spans - the persistent, endless stream of immediate gratification is eroding our brains. And this epidemic of non stop satisfaction has infected our political and economic landscape - take the revolving door of 10 Downing Street, or COVID hysteria. The scourge of short termism is not a modern episode - as we will explore, the lack of a palpable project to steer our nation has culminated in what we see now: an economy projected to perform worse than Russia’s. The unravelling of British motor production serves as a microcosm for the institutional weaknesses which contributed to the wider deterioration of the British economy.
As of 1950, there were 35 registered British car makers, with the UK accounting for the majority of the world’s exported vehicles. Today, only 7 of the aforementioned names endure, with none of these being British owned. Britain’s dominance of the international automotive scene can be at least in part attributed to the lucrative colonial market. Moreover, the British Isles capitalised on infrastructural damage inflicted upon Europe over the course of the second world war, in this context, particularly to factories, practically granting Britain an open goal. Effectively, GB inherited its post war automotive success. Time, however, has indicated that this was a concealed curse - ironically, the nations which lost WW2 (Japan, Italy, Germany) are today known for their successful car industries, despite nations such as Germany seeing arguably the most considerable infrastructural damage over the course of the war - 75% of Hamburg was destroyed. In turn, Germany, and its WW2 allies, were subsequently forced to rebuild and evolve production methods in order to regain competitiveness.
Workplace culture also warrants an interrogation - the predominant narrative of recent times posits that tea and biscuits contributed to the downfall of British manufacturing. However, this banal analysis, which overemphasises indolence, doesn’t capture the horrific work conditions which compelled ordinary people into resent; ‘Working for Ford’, a detailed account of the experiences of working class labourers in Merseyside, documented the relentless, brutal attitude and apathy of managers - “They would never stop that…(production) line. You could be dying and they wouldn’t stop it…”. An account of a man presumably suffering from a cardiac arrest: “He went an awful colour…and he collapsed again. The foreman came across shouting “get to work…get on the line. And there we were, sticking things on the cars, and he was lying there…dead.” (6) Evidently, a conspicuous dichotomy between ‘them’ (white collar, middle class managers) as opposed to ‘us’ (the working class) was present. Further exacerbating this problem was that those on the production line oftentimes possessed considerably more knowledge about vehicles, in contrast to those running the show, who oftentimes had a CV which boasted nothing more than a management degree. The pathetic lack of quality control in these factories can be no better exemplified by the Austin 1800, which was too wide to fit through many bridges. In turn, managerial incompetence, dismal conditions, along with a degree of excessive union power, laid fertile ground for industry strikes which brought British Leyland to its knees - in a tenth month period in the 1970s, industrial action led to the loss of 250,000 vehicles.
On a more macro level, the role of the government cannot be under emphasised. James Rupert puts it eloquently: “Whereas foreign governments have been clearly protective of their car industries, the British simply interfered and relocated parts of it to inappropriate areas of the country…it is unthinkable that Mercedes or BMW would fall into foreign owned hands. They have been guided, protected and subsidised by regional governments where the factories are based.” Analysts who postulate that a government is unable to support and direct an economy ought to assess the technologies which they may be reading this piece on; the GPS, internet, lithium ion battery, all derive from government funded schemes. Apple subsequently converted these technologies into commercially successful ventures, such as in the form of the iPhone. The cell phone camera, cordless vacuum and memory foam are amongst many NASA spinoff technologies. Moreover, ever since the conception of the industrial revolution, our educational standards have been lacklustre at best, and woeful at worse - up to the 1930s, less than a quarter of the population had received a secondary education.
Whilst many, including, formerly, myself, lazily attribute this primarily to Mrs Thatcher and globalisation (which Germany too has experienced), a thorough analysis would underline the neutral reality that British industry had fundamental problems since the conception of the post war consensus. The swelling in size of our service sector arguably is the foremost, tangible legacy of Thatcher’s neoliberal agenda, which is symptomatic of the absence of a vision for Britain’s transition away from heavy industry. The lack of a thorough project by the UK government condemned not just industry, but the entirety of the economy, to decline. For example, in 1979, the Thatcher government recognised the exhausted capacity of Heathrow airport - it took over 40 years until an expansion was solicited. Historically, Britain has repeatedly failed to commit to long term projects, employing a stop and go, seasonal attitude. Coupling this is the poorly documented poverty which plagues the UK today - in 1973, according to ‘The Poor and the Poorest’, 13.4% were living below the national subsistence level. Today that figure is closer to 20%. The most unequal nation in Western Europe is the UK. An indirect consequence of our increasing derelict economic landscape, one characterised by nail parlours, bankers and barbers, is a lack of national identity. Research conducted by the University of Derby spotlighted that the volume of young people being cautioned was 21% higher in the regions with the highest quantity of job losses, compared to those areas with the lowest hikes in layoffs. When our high streets are almost pervasively indistinguishable and drab, and all our modern culture has to show for is Gogglebox, whilst our Royal Family is cheapened by the likes of Lady Diana and her son, newer generations have no source of pride. Arguably, the best current English establishment is the Premier League, which as of writing, sees Arsenal 5 points clear at the top of the league. At this same point, last season, the gunners were fourth, 19 points of league leaders Manchester City. Rewind yet another season, and Arsenal were 29 points off the top. What metamorphosed the North London institution was the presence of a decisive vision, insulated from the reactionary calls of fans. Contrastingly, as previously mentioned, the leaders of the UK have persistently deployed a green light, red light approach. Ex PM Boris Johnson had laid out his vague, albeit promising, levelling up agenda; pressure arising from the UK’s panic-inducing media has led to the approach being ditched by the current PM, in favour of austerity measures. Had Arsenal chosen to abandon Mikel Arteta following an 8th place Premier League finish in the 2020/2021 season, and opted for a short term, fan pleasing option, it is nearly irrefutable that Arsenal would not be in the position they are now. Reckless impatience today compromises the so-called ‘Pride of London’ (Chelsea FC) to mid table mediocrity. It has equally fated Great Britain to modern day mundanity.
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