Letters

摘要

Reading The Economist's conclusions on the British economy is always breathtaking ("Little England or Great Britain?", November 9th). It is true that Britain has somehow muddled through the financial crisis as it has muddled through much else. But Britain is in a mess, despite your assurances. Foreign interest in Britain comes from its membership of the European market. Workers are relatively cheap and easy to get rid of. Important personnel are simply shipped in to run things. To repeat the metaphor used by John Rose when he was chief executive of Rolls-Royce, Britain is like an aircraft-carrier: companies can easily land and leave. Their roots are not here, nor their senior management. Most of their r&d is overseas. Only a few settle, such as Nissan (which will leave if Britain pulls out of Europe) and bmw.