Could workers join together to buy doomed BAE factory?

From: Steve Waldenberg FSCA, Evesham Croft, Bridlington.

IT is indeed a sad reflection on the UK’s skilled engineering industry when some 800 workers, mostly highly-skilled in aero engineering are to be thrown on the scrap heap by BAE at their factory in Brough.

Why, I ask, does not the union get together with these 800 workers, and with the pooling of say, £2,000 each, from their redundancy package, purchase the factory and machine tools, which will more than likely be sold off piecemeal?

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It gives a starter of £1.6m and if the union instead of huffing and puffing, puts up a like amount, I am sure it could be done. Then it is a job for some good salesmen to go out and get some skilled engineering sub-contract work. There is talk of Siemens setting up a factory to produce wind turbines in the area, so there is a starter contract.

This factory was also, when owned by the former Blackburn and General Aviation, the owner of the “remains” of the Jowett Car Company.

It might be appropriate for the place to once more enter the motor industry as a manufacturer of parts for the burgeoning UK motor industry – mostly Japanese / Indian owned but none the less employing British workers at several expanding UK factories.

Or how about going in to the manufacture of a small “Jowett” sports car?

From: David W Wright, Uppleby, Easingwold.

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IT is heartening to read the letters from Barrie Frost, Colin McNamee and Phil Hanson (Yorkshire Post, February 28) and to know that there are people who recognise the seriousness of the current political and economic situation in the UK, and the apparent inability of the political class to listen to public opinion (with a few notable exceptions) or even to express forthright opinions in this newspaper.

However, it is imperative that the ills of the EU, ECHR, multi-culturalism, political correctness and the erosion of our past standards of behaviour and ethics in public life are publicised (but not at the expense of a responsible press and media which are in urgent need of radical overhaul).

While the media is being scrutinised there is also an urgent need to sort out the political scene, firstly by reducing the numbers of MPs, and secondly to abolish the House of Lords by replacing it with a wholly-elected second chamber.

But overall, we need a better qualified and higher standard of people entering politics who have had real experience of work in industry or commerce.

Easier said than done!