I find myself on the same side of the argument as Ken Clarke.
The former Conservative chancellor Ken Clarke has dismissed the row about Britain’s passports being printed abroad as “nationalist nonsense”.
The government faced a backlash last week when it emerged that the Franco-Dutch firm Gemalto had won the contract to print Britain’s post-Brexit blue passports, beating British-based De La Rue, which had also bid for the work.
I’ve already made my views on this petition perfectly clear and nothing has been said or done to change that opinion.
Clarke said there had been a “childlike, jingoistic element to this debate”, since it emerged last week that the job of printing Britain’s new dark blue, post-Brexit passport would be handed to Gemalto.
Well, yes. Quite. Nuff Sed. If this is the best deal, so be it. The Mail can stick its petition and its nationalism up its editor’s arse.
Clarke pointed out that De La Rue “makes a great deal of money for this country by printing passports and currencies for other countries”, because it “wins fair, international contracts” – and it would be “totally ridiculous to abandon that principle in order to give in to nationalist nonsense which ought to be ignored”.
Precisely. My word! Whatever next? I agree with Ken Clarke. I think I need a lie down.
Martin Sutherland, the chief executive of De La Rue, called on Theresa May and Amber Rudd to visit the company’s factory in Gateshead, to “explain to a dedicated workforce why they think this is a sensible decision, to offshore the manufacture of a British icon”.
For the same reason other countries offshore their production to you. Idiot.
I think I need a lie down.
I know that feeling- after I found myself nodding sagely in accord with something Farage had said….I had to go shower with all the vigour of a rape victim and resort to using washing up liquid and a nail brush to feel clean again.
Joking apart, it is good to suddenly find oneself agreeing with someone from the opposite ‘side’, its a sign one’s head isn’t so far up one’s own colon that one can’t judge each argument by its merits and not its origin.
De La Rue need to stop producing passports for other countries, unless they want to explain to workers in those countries why it’s a sensible decision to offshore the manufacture of those countries’ passports to them.
No? Then shut up and play nice. This is business.
The reason that De la Rue produce passports and banknotes for other countries is that the technology, security features and the anti counterfeiting features are beyond the means of those countries to afford or implement. Don’t forget that many countries around the world have corrupt officials, workers and others that would enable fraud and counterfeiting to occur. Besides the costs of the machines and printers are prohibitive and are tightly regulated so criminals cannot buy them and print their own counterfeit banknotes. Such printers are restricted exports and need beaucoup paperwork and justification before an export license is issued.
On the same measure, companies in the UK, Germany, France and the USA should stop manufacturing power stations, cars, and other infrastructure and allow those countries to do it themselves … makes sense, right?
De La Rue make/print/supply:
Passports for ~80 sovereign countries
Banknotes for ~40 sovereign countries
Royal Mint make coins for many sovereign countries
All/most countries never disclose supplier as it is too emotive.
Why did Rudd/May make their decision public?
I work on the principle that no one can be wrong all the time, even if they try. Even a politician will occasionally get something right.
I’m sick of all this talk about what colour it should be and where it should be produced. At the end of the day, we still have to pay our government eighty five quid for a bit of paper, to leave or enter our own country
True but at least they have managed, finally, to provide a fast, efficient service for your money.
https://headrambles.com/2018/03/27/do-you-know-the-bishop-of-norwich/
I’m still somewhat gobsmacked by their new found elan.
Yes, Mrs B just renewed hers and the same happened. The website wouldn’t accept any picture she used though, so she just submitted it anyway and it still worked
If it’s all automated now, they could at least put the price down a bit
Pretty sure I only paid about £70ish for mine, did Mrs B use the Premium service? I suspect the Photochecker function only accepts photos taken with an I-Phone…*pass the tin foil please*
I’m just guessing at the cost from what I remember, so chances are I’m wrong. £70 is still a curry and a night down the pub though…
But not in France 😉
€70 est toujours un curry et une nuit au pub
I can’t say I’m bothered what Clarke has to say about anything, perhaps this is one of those ‘stopped clock’ moments?
My general impression about this ‘row’ is one of glee from the ‘remainers’, in which case Clarke deserves some credit for not joining in.
One of the annoyances if you have ever been involved in placing contracts for the public sector is fending off the MPs from constituencies that think they lost out. Perversely that might mean that procurement rules have been followed ‘to the letter’. That doesn’t mean that the rules are ‘fair’ or that they take allowance of indirect ‘discounts’ such as taxes on UK companies and their employees, in which case it is the rules that need changing.
The problem for the remainers however, is that they have been claiming that, after Brexit, all trade with the EU would come to a shuddering halt.