New blue UK passports will be . . . made in Europe.

Or more accurately, France, and curiously enough France has just come on-side about (yawn) Russia's aggression. Don't know about anyone else but I smell a quid pro quo here?? But hey, when it comes to international 'diplomacy' what does it matter that a few jobs at De La Rue will go? Not one jot nor tittle to May apparently - but she'll still have hers, more's the effing pity!

https://www.theguardian.com/politic...t-to-print-uk-passports-abroad-will-save-120m

 

it just sucs...

 

It's like...
How much would the UK company charge me for a new/replacement passport compared to this Dutch-Franco company and....
Was any French or Dutch money from the EU from the UK used to win this contract? - Was this company ever state sponsored/benefited from any public money which is still my money here in the UK.

 

If none of my money was used to out bid this UK company; fine.
If so; no, take it back, appeal it and win it.

But if none of my money was used and it'll end up saving me money...
What's the harm in a little bit of Free Trade here and there?
And since our passports will be made in the EU... (IDK) Come back to me later to see if I think this is good or bad now for Brexit.

 

It's not Free trade.
We chose a foreign company over our own because the EU said we had to.

Right after we told the government EU rules no longer apply here.
Tossers.Giving us the finger.

Let's give it back.

 

I don't buy that - as I've said, I think it was a sweetener by May to get Macron on-side against Russia.

 

Don't care if it is.
Same **** still applies.

Put Britain first, not Macron.

Sweeten me. Get me onside.

 

Free Trade, Global Britain.
I know £120m insn't £120bn or £120trillion, but £120m is still something.
And that's how much we're saving making them in Europe.
Now do you want a protectionist UK or a UK that trades with the world?

 

This is the opposite to being stuck with a monopoly, and competition has driven the price down.

 

I think the UK has multiple domestic printing companies and if not a new one can always be started.

 

I think it's moaning that the company who prints them lost fair and square so argues it's not fair.

Saying how they lost because they'd cost more, then in a move which wants to stick us into a protectionist racket saying.

'We can't bid in France to make the French Passport, it's so unfair, moan moan, moan, complain complain, complain, Prime Minister, you come to my factory and tell them why we won't be getting a contract...'

Moaning petty saying 'it's unfair' when it's free trade.

How about that factory explains why they couldn't compete so wants to force us to spend more to save them when they couldn't even save £121m or £122m to beat the Dutch-Franco firm.

 

We save it in other ways. Charge them 121 million in tax for example.
Don't pay them unemployment benefit for example.

I have zero problems with protectionism. I will always shop at my friends shop, because I like my friend.
He may not be the cheapest, but I make him buy me beer after work.

Plus, he shops at my shop. He reciprocates my trade.
The money stays in the family.

The French, won't allow other countries to make their passports.
We should we allow them to make ours?

My business is not a right. It is a privilege. I choose who I trade with. Being the cheapest isn't always the decider.


Outside of the Brexit debate I would be leaning in favour of your argument.
But we aren't outside of the Brexit debate.
Loyalty has been rightly questioned and not yet clearly displayed.

 

TAX!? .... 'why?'
'So Westminster can take control?'
'Giving Westminster something else it has to worry about?'
'What of free trade?'
'What of De La Rue laying off to compete?
What of De La Rue restructuring to save jobs?
It's just a passport.
That thing you take with you abroad.
That's it.
It's usually on your person when you're travelling on an aeroplane; it lets you into the EU/UK like an automatic pass...
So what if it's made in France?
I care about £80.00 to renew it not going up, but coming down.
I feel the value of the Passport comes from being able to get one/
How a British Passport says British Citizen, calling you to the world; British.
And if you're a British Citizen born in the UK, it even says where in the UK you're born.
I love being British because of my passport/yes.
But... If it's going to be made cheaper in France... Good for 'em.
What else can De La Rue print?
Why have they invested into Passports all of a sudden risking jobs if they didn't get it in a way to suggest they would.
"Assuming things is never good."

What? How do we pay for food stamps? (I want food stamps to ease the spending on drugs and prostitutes and bookies with cash money) - because these people still have to eat.
We still need to entice people like Tesco and Sainsbury's, on to the scheme, how are we going to be able to afford that if we spend on protectionism to save a moaning country and turn our back on the promise of Global Britain.
We can't announce being Global then pull this on Germalto because De La Rue won't cut costs.

There's nothing wrong with supporting local business with global business, but shutting the door to price hike me either through tax or higher cost to save some jobs in a company that might be able to save those jobs by coming up with something for me to print instead - there's a non hostile way to save De La Rue jobs, print something else.

That's a good relationship and understand why you'd value that.
I too have my own loyalties to local business I like.

to quote the above.
"WE ARE NOT THEM!"
"We are not them."

We are British, and in Britain, we do things OUR way.
And you know what.
That's what being British is all about.
And hey, saved me £120m in doing it.

Business is business.
Being cheaper was the decider here and, I hate how the passport has gone up in years.
Why on Earth would I want to be taxed for mine now though; In the face of Global Britain, in the face of Free Trade and trading with here, just to save a company heavily invested into this project it might end up costing me taxes just in case any Geniuses get the bright idea to take control/taking over a company...
You have a company, what if you lost the bid, but because you're British, gave you money from tax payers;
You could be thinking of what else to print if you want to save jobs.

Yeah, I voted remain but hey, got dragged out of it.
However, I learned EU were like the 4th Reich and UK paid for it all...
Then I was for Brexit.
Germalto sound more German and Italian to me then Dutch-Anglo; don't trust the EU, never will.
They're not "evil" like the third reich.
But hey... I don't agree with China.
But my old iPhone was made there.
If my Passport was being made in China, given local labour law, it would be a big NO NO.
Too much of a security risk.
But let's assume the EU isn't a country, France have decent local labour laws, and feel safer with France printing my passport than being taxed so some French sounding British company can print it.

 

France will take the tax from this deal.
If it is more than 120 million, we have lost money on this deal.
Because that tax could have been taken by us.
It's a government contract. Paid for out of tax.

So all income taxes the employees pay. All NI, all business rates, capitsal gains, corporation taxes and vehicle tax and VAT would all be a direct discount on the price of the contract.
A saving = >121 million.
Will this affect the price of a passport?
It's not really set by commercial demands. It's set by government edict.

The cost will be cheaper if we make it here.
Because all the tax they pay is a reduction in manufacturing costs. The government is the client. (We buy it on from the government passport office not directly from this company).
The government will get a 60% rebate on the price in taxation.

We are giving these millions to the French for no good reason whatsover.
Just to show them how easy we are to rip off, in the hope that they will rip us off some more in the future.

Britain Last.

 

We could take Tax from De La Rue if De La Rue worked out what else it can sell to keep income tax flowing.
Corp tax should be Tax Haven low.
So, we want to make it good for De La Rue.

 

We tax De La Rue already. But each contract we attract to the UK pays more tax. Given the government is the client... it can choose to do this if it wishes to. If it gave a **** about tax our money. But it doesn't.
Corp tax should indeed be low. If not zero.
But too many politicians have ideas for the money. So it won't happen.

De La Rue means nothing to me personally never heard of it before today. Sounds French.

Let's make it good for everyone here.
And place all our people at a higher priority than foreign people. Let us be a nation.

Like the EU is so desperately trying to be, but isn't.

 

Yeah, well, De La Rue shouldn't force us to buy from them.
That's not free, **** De La Rue trying to bring us down to a French level of Protectionism in the face of Global Britain and Brexit if they don't think of another contract they could win or how to win contracts if their price is too high to be competitive.

 

De La Rue, suck it up buttercup.
I live in the real world.

Doesn't matter to me where it's printed as a patriot but taxing me and going back on a deal made with Germalto sounds less British and more Zimbabwean to me (with Robert Mugabe in power) - It sounds corrupt and stupid.

 

It's only too high because the client is over taxing them.
It doesn't have to be that high. The very government that is refusing them the contract over price sets 60% of their price. and would receive back 60% of any fee it was charged by them.
It is ludicrous to just give our taxes to France when we don't have to.
France can tax it's own people.

France would not do the same thing back to us in reverse.
It does not do the same thing back in reverse.

France looks after the French first.
Unfortunately Britain looks after the French first too.

What on earth is the point of Brexit if not to make our government loyal to us?
This is a piss take.

 

De La Rue,
"LOWER YOUR PRICES, Not the nation. Not Free Trade."

"Don't Depend On Me To Run Your Business"
I should picket De La Rue.

 

We're not French, they get French Citizen Passports, what they do is up to EU.
We're British, we get British Citizen Passports.... We have Free Trade, we have Brexit, we have Global Britain.
These people are backwards, and it's just ink and a company wanting to play God with our passports risking jobs over it instead of moving forward, it wants to pull me back since I'm British.

 

Let De La Rue restructure for all I care, let them not hold Free Trade up to be more French crying that they lost instead of lowering price on the contract.

 

The point of free trade is to make us money not to lose us money.

I don't want free trade just to have "free trade". It's not the goal in and of itself.
It is a tool to an end.

I want free trade when it advantages us and protectionism when it advantages us.
It is advantage that I seek not ideological dogma.

And make no mistake, this isn't free trade. France refuses to allow other countries to make their passports. This is a protected market.

 

It matters that it's blue.
It matters that it's true.
Doesn't matter if it's made by a foreign company in France.
It really doesn't.

It's annoying De La Rue are having this hissy fit.
It's bad management risking jobs on one contract.
It's petty to say it was a fair loss in an unfair game.
It's insulting they don't care about cost to the customer but forcing the customer to buy.

 

It's just one deal...
Let De La Rue print something else.
Let someone else buy British.