2015 UK General Election

[downbeatplumb]

Just after World War 2 manufacturing was 40% of the UK economy today it is 20% half of what it was the decline has been relentless.

The service industry now accounts for 66% of the economy.

How else can I see this other than a shift from manufacturing to service based economy?

Never said there wasn't. In fact, I said we had a tertiary based economy, which is true. Seriously, re-read what I said and see it for yourself. I also made no comment about the diversification of the UK economy from Manufacturing to Tertiary. I agree that's happened, and disagree that that is inherently bad. Services are a requirement of our global economy.

Services are a vital part of economies true but the traditional way to extricate a country from a recession is through manufacturing exports.
Maybe the UK overall isn't as bad as I had though. However the manufacturing is being concentrated. Take my town for example. We used to have a large TV factory, Chemical plant and a wall paper factory, all gone to be replaced with service industries employing a few where once hundreds worked.

The manufacturing jobs just aren't there.

Talking of percentages of the economy isn't very helpful. You can have a 99% secondary sector economy and it still produce less than 10th of a tertiary sector (exports don't just mean hard goods/raw materials). My point is that when people say 'the UK doesn't have a manufacturing sector' or 'the UK doesn't produce anything' , they are touting a demonstrable and factual untruth.

Maybe we produce but do we employ?
Does this support societies like it used to?
It doesn't appear to.

Again, I don't know where it comes from, but the UK produces hundreds of billions of pounds worth of exports and goods for consumption (BOP in favour of exports is not universally good, either).

Again, to reiterate, the only two points (facts) I'm trying to make in response here is that the UK is neither an economy that produces nothing nor is it 'irrelevant' on the global economic and social stage. It is a major player in both, one of the most powerful in fact. I haven't made any other points that can be responded to, including trident and how great Germany is. I don't care about either of those points.

Fair enough.