Comments by "Edmund Bell-King" (@edmundbell-king4538) on "AFP News Agency" channel.

@Threxis As an obvious Lefty, with a serious case of Oikophobia, I'm sure you'd want as many EU low-cost workers coming in to replace UK workers' jobs as possible - just to satisfy your EU socialist wet dream. Well, its obvious to everyone (but perhaps not you and other Oikophobic Lefties) that ordinary UK workers don't want to be competing with low-cost workers from the Eastern states of the EU. Hence, Labour were wiped out at the last election on this very point by the people who would traditionally be voting for them - the British working class! Call that discrimination if you want, I really don't care.
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@debugstore These are some of the similar issues we faced as well. We dealt with them. Ultimately, access to the UK market is too attractive for EU companies to ignore. Over time, the EU will quietly drop a lot of its artificial barriers as it hurts their member states more than it hurts us as we are the bigger buyer in terms of UK-EU trade.
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@Threxis A Social Democrat is a Socialist - you need to go and read you last manifesto! Yes, some businesses chose to exploit lower cost labour from the EU at the expense of UK workers - that is exploitation of both groups and that is not OK with me. However, I'll ALWAYS put my workers interests and livelihoods above those of EU or any foreign workers. I see nothing wrong in that - I certainly won't be apologising for it - call me a xenophobe if you want. If you think that is discrimination, then yes, I would then consider you to be an Oikiphobe. I really don't mind democratic unions, but those unions that use block voting to ALWAYS support just a single party, a party that does not even care for the ordinary working man or woman in this country is not something I have much time for.
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@debugstore That will be its downfall. Looking inwards has historically never turned out to be a good idea for a large economic bloc/empire.
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@Threxis You mean policies like staying in the EU that leads to lower wages for British workers because Freedom of Movement allows unfettered movement of low cost workers across Europe to Britain. This policy empowers employers to lower wages while it also increases overall social costs. Employers always benefit as they can externalise the social costs of low wage workers while they play British workers off against newly arrived EU workers to reduce their wage bill. How does that make life better for UK workers - or don't you care about them?
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@Threxis So, you think that by 'dumping' a low-cost workforce from across the EU into the UK, through socialist magic, the Freedom of Movement policy would somehow lead to a positive impact on UK wages for both our own and EU workers? What school of economics did you get that theory from, or is it all your own original thinking?
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@Threxis You have it the wrong way around. From my personal experience, (we're developing autonomous electric vehicles for small-scale agriculture) I can tell you there IS a labour shortage in agriculture - but it's totally an artificial one, as it came about for the same reason there is an artificial shortage in HGV drivers in the UK - where about 80,000 plus UK qualified HGV drivers are no longer working in the industry. Both of these problems have arisen BECAUSE we were members of the EU. The EU's Freedom of Movement attracted low-cost workers into the UK. That obviously allowed employers to reduce wages which acted as a lever to drive (no pun intended) both UK agricultural workers and HGV drivers out of their respective industries. We're never going back to the bad old days of collective bargaining, strong unions, etc. Those days are long gone.
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@Threxis I think it is pretty telling that you can't see the connection between Brits not wanting to take up low paid work, because foreign workers pushed down local wages - would you? Just try to loose the socialist group think for a few minutes. Imagine you are that agricultural worker or HGV driver and where you wages have been impacted by employers introducing low paid workers, who work, on average, for 80% of what you were paid in the past. Then try to connect that (I know this bit may be hard for you) to the reality of why the UK working class firstly voted for Brexit (in their droves), and then, also voted for the Tories at the last election. Don't tell me they are not connected. Why else would working class workers vote for the Tories and not Labour? Or are you arrogant enough to think they are all just working class thicko's?
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@Threxis So, by your logic, who do you think worked in our fields and drove our commercial vehicles before low-cost European workers pitched up? Back before Freedom of Movement was a thing, those jobs provided a reasonable living wage and far more security. If you thought about it at all (which obviously you haven't) you'd make the connection between Freedom of Movement, Zero Hour Contracts and lower pay. If you thought about it at all, you'd consider that when a large work-force of low paid EU workers left in a short period of time, because of Brexit, it was inevitable that there would be a short-term hiatus in our supply-chains. However, by your argument, all UK workers should still have to compete with low-cost workers from across Europe, just to satisfy your EU socialist dream which ensures long-term low-wages for British workers. If you thought about it at all, you'd wonder was the EU socialist dream really meant to deliver lower wages, far worse job security and fewer 'in-kind' benefits to UK workers, because that is EXACTLY what did happen. If you really think that our continued membership of the EU was worth all that hardship, then you're just another left-wing Oikophobe who cares nothing for the ordinary people of this country.
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@khanchy The UK is looking outwards, to trade with the rest of the world. The EU is a closed market, that year by year is losing its global share of trade. Go check the stats.
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@sandertu8366 There isn't a driver shortage. There is a problem with poor wages in the logistics industry. There are around 80K UK HGV drivers currently working in other areas of our economy. They should not have to suffer the low pay that low wage and poor conditions of employment (zero hour contracts) that EU workers were prepared to accept. This drove out UK HGV drivers from the industry. As many of these EU drivers have now left the industry, there is a period of re-adjustment required. Pay is already on the rise in transport/logistics in general and that will solve this short-term problem.
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@jorj008 You need to think a bit. If you give free, open access of your own national employment market to workers from other EU economies with much lower wages, then you should not be surprised your own workers' incomes will be impacted negatively. The EU's 'Freedom of Movement' was, in reality, a one-way 'shuttle bus' transit from East to West. How many UK working class folks do you know that upped sticks and moved to Poland, Bulgaria or Romania to find work there? Migrant workers from eastern EU member states moved en masse to the UK over a short period of time. This disrupted the UK labour market and allowed employers to 'play off' newly arrived EU immigrants against our own workers - to the detriment of both groups. That is why I supported Brexit. If you are really a caring socialist, and interested in the well-being and livelihoods of ordinary workers, so would you. Otherwise, you're just an oikophobe with no real interest in the well being of the ordinary working class.
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@DeFausti With an intellect like yours, I'd think you'd be rarely right about any issue of importance.
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They don't need any funding from the Tories. There is plenty of money in South Wales' communities. The real issue is how can that funding be attracted/leveraged for REALISTIC entrepreneurial-led projects. The Welsh Government needs to step back as they are, like every government, always 'big project' focused, pushing the 'Hail Mary' solution to local social/unemployment issues. A good start for local communities would to take an honest look at themselves and certainly stop blaming others for their own shortcomings, particularly the lack of local capability to develop viable business environments. You can't just fund that into existence. That has been tried countless times and has always failed.
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@MaximilienRobespierre1 Well, certainly more than you, a well known oikiphobe.
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Crickets, the sound of Welsh entrepreneurship
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@boldford Shouldn't yours be Old Fart?
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Utter jibberish.
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We're do just fine, thanks.
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@NovaWasp That doesn't explain the paucity of new start-ups in Wales, does it? Where are the new jobs coming from and why can't Wales attract them? Ah, I forgot, you've got Labour in power - say no more.
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@panzerkami2381 Yep, and getting poorer. The EU produces nothing except legislation.
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Nor will the Labour government of Wales, who, you would think, would be on the side of their constituents.
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