Uk's Economy To Overtake Germany's ?

[FredPuli43]

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/dec/26/britain-europe-top-economy-by-2030

Well, that's what the report says . Anyone believe it?

[jim360]

If the current trends hold, yes. But they surely won't. 17 years is far, far too long and economists should have realised that by now, surely?

[emmie]

we don't have to get big we have to ally ourselves with people who have a large economy, we want to produce goods and sell, not just buy from them or our immediate neighbours,

[mushroom25]

//Britain 'will be Europe's top economy by 2030'//

is that with or without HS2?

[anotheoldgit]

Could this be the Guardian reporting untruths or perhaps relaying election propaganda on behalf of the Tory party?

Who would have thought it?

[jomifl]

France will sink like a stone if it doesn't change it's ways, but I can't see UK overtaking Germany. It has 20 million more people and far more resources.

[Gromit]

No AOG, it is in the Daily Mail as well.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2529306/British-economy-largest-Europe-2030-Austerity-UK-surging-ahead-Germany-France.html?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490

[jno]

this did sound a rather implausible story - speculative, to say the very least - but Gromit's analysis of past predictions, and the apparent motives behind them, makes a lot of sense.

[youngmafbog]

Very unlikely but then Germany is pretty much propping up the Euro so anther big problem there could see it struggle. We woudl only overtake it if Germany failed rather than we suddenly got good.

Perhaps it could benefit us not to have a strapping economy then we would not have to give billions away, we could not afford to give health care to the world and benefits to all and sundry who arrive at our shores. And even more importantly we could not afford to go into wars that dont concern us.

[anotheoldgit]

Gromit

/// No AOG, it is in the Daily Mail as well. ///

That may well be, just pointing out that the link put up for reference was from the Guardian no less.

Now had it been from the Daily Mail there would have been more scepticism show from some regarding this forecast.

[janbee]

Nope ! Not one single word of it.

[Gromit]

AOG
I read it first in the Telegraph and remembered that we had discussed a previous CEBR prediction here on AB so I looked that up first. A very optimistic economic forecast, a year before the election was always going be suspicious.

[modeller]

jomifl //...................It has 20 million more people and far more resources. //
Yes and it's main resource is it's 'work ethic ' and pride in its achievement.
If it wasn't for the dampening effect of E.Germany , Germany as a whole would be even more successful.

No I don't believe the report . A combination of our benefit system and the unions prevents it from happening. That's been the pattern since the last war.

[jno]

the unions?? Which unions exactly are going to prevent this happening?

[mushroom25]

modeler, the unions have had their teeth drawn - partly as a result of declining membership (more than half since 1979) and partly because fragmentation of industries/services by privatization or part-privatization and changes in living practices (such as the rise in on-line purchasing) mean that strikes no longer have the widespread effect that they used to.

[modeller]

mushroom //........................strikes no longer have the widespread effect that they used to. //
That's true but the old socialist mentality is still there; as soon as they can use a bit of blackmail whether it's at holiday time , Olympics , the Jubilee or when the economy starts to pick up , up go the threat of strikes.

At a recent meeting discussing attitudes at work the Chairman of the local Labour Party summed it up rather well when he said: " Who do they think we are, B***** Germans !" I know what he means because I worked with Germans for a number of years, and it's a totally different mindset.

[mushroom25]

// it's a totally different mindset. //

a few years ago waiting to cross the Kardinal Galen Ring in Rheine (westfalen), us Brits saw a gap in the traffic, and just walked. our german hosts were horrified.

[modeller]

When I was there jaywalking was an offence, and the Germans have great respect for authority. We don't.
When a German says he is only obeying orders , he probably is.

If you tell a German he has to sort his household rubbish into 12 separate bins , he does. We complain if it's into two.