Cadbury's

[Oldwrinklyone]

Another sell off to foreign ownership. I wonder how long it will be before production is moved abroad?

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/after-250-years-terrys-chocolate-factory-melts-away-509122.html

[Billtr96sn]

To be honest, I dont see that it matters as globalisation takes over and we become one world.

Kraft bought Toblerone a while ago and that still tastes nice enough. So long as my Creme Eggs are ok that is all that matters.

[Oldwrinklyone]

But do we want to become one world? Just look at the state of London and most other UK city's. The indigenous population a minority in our own land.

[John]

Cadbury had already planned to take some production to Poland.
(How much is not known)

Birmingham has suffered much in the last decade.

Gone is Rover (Now Chinese - Production Line Equipment taken there)

Gone is LDV (Russian)

Gone is HP (American)

Gone is Alstom (French)

Gone is Corus (Indian)

There must be so many more. Within these:
HP Foods and Sauces, Smedley Foods, Metro Cammell Weyman,
British Steel, MG and many many more.

Apart from Rover that cost £10, that was British and
allowed to be Fund and Asset stripped.

The Directors allowed to put millions into their own
pensions pots.

[lwt big cheese]

But do we want to become one world? Just look at the state of London and most other UK city's. The indigenous population a minority in our own land.

Yeah. It's outrageous that those Asian types come over here. Married, supporting there own families and working all hours doing unpleasant low paid jobs. Paying taxes and looking after the old within their own family. Outrageous!

They should learn from our nice British types. Whole families on the dole, generations who have never worked. Having babies so that they get given one of the few council houses available, then spending the child allowance on cheap cider and tattoos. Knowing all their rights, but avoiding all their responsibilities. That's the way to do it.

God bless The Daily Mail!

[mac1934]

If Kraft cheese slices are anything to go by, we should be really worried for our Cadburys chocolate ?

[Billtr96sn]

Kraft own Toblerone as well, and that tastes OK

[John]

"If Kraft cheese slices are anything to go by, we should be really worried for our Cadburys chocolate ?"

Don't worry too much - Cadbury Chocolate is not see as the real thing outside the UK.

It is made on the cheap with adulterated vegetable fat rather than cocoa butter.

It can not be called 'chocolate' outside the UK in Europe.

Last year, Cadbury reduced the size of their bars and also the percentage of cocoa used.

That is really low when compared to proper chocolate.

So it is closer to processed cheese then you may have thought...

[lwt big cheese]

The Europeans wanted it to be called vegelatte as it has so little to do with chocolatte.

[John]

The name was vegelate.

But this post was from someone who had come to disrupt.

[Papaumau]

Kraft have promised that the cadbury's taste will not change when they take over.

That aside I think that globalisation is unavoidable and while we might all like things to stay nationalistic I do not think that the global multinational corporations are going to allow that to happen.

It has been mooted in many intellectual tomes recently that eventually the global multinationals will become more powerful than the national governments themselves and if and/or when that happens we may find that national GDPs will be controlled by these monsters and it will be THEM that will have the money to spend - or not - to make our lives better or worse.

There are government watchdogs - like the Competition Commission in Britain - that are supposed to ensure that this does not happen but already they are quite toothless and as the years go by they are going to become less and less relevant to our daily lives.

This may sound like a depressing and negative train of thought but I cannot see any way that this situation can be avoided !

Can any of you ?


Out of interest, see these:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Globalization

http://www.globalissues.org/issue/50/corporations

[John]

Blame this incompetent Government - they removed 'not in the interest of this Country'
from Competition Laws.

Many Global Companies are financially stronger then many Governments.

Cadbury was trimmed and ripe for take over.

It didn't take much and in real terms - it was a done deal.

There has been posturing by Mandy - but yet again this Government has lost face.

The sooner they go - the sooner we can take stock of the damage done.

[Geezer]

Many years ago I read "The Iron Heel" by Jack London, I will try to get it from the library to have another look. I think Jack anticipated the power of International Capitalism to the extent that he sets the book in a time when the world is controlled by a few multinational capitalists.
I am never surprised by the ability of Labour politicians to defer to wealthy bosses. I remember just before the 1992 general election when Neil Kinnock was openly grovelling to Robert Maxwell, Maxwell had just sacked the staff of Pergamon Press and was obviously anti trades union. I was in Brighton campaigning with some Shop Stewards on another matter and Kinnock was entertaining Maxwell at the Grand Hotel. Kinnock had previously been labelled a "left wing firebrand" by the press. We can all see how left wing he was.

[Papaumau]

Many years ago I read "The Iron Heel" by Jack London, I will try to get it from the library to have another look. I think Jack anticipated the power of International Capitalism to the extent that he sets the book in a time when the world is controlled by a few multinational capitalists.
I am never surprised by the ability of Labour politicians to defer to wealthy bosses. I remember just before the 1992 general election when Neil Kinnock was openly grovelling to Robert Maxwell, Maxwell had just sacked the staff of Pergamon Press and was obviously anti trades union. I was in Brighton campaigning with some Shop Stewards on another matter and Kinnock was entertaining Maxwell at the Grand Hotel. Kinnock had previously been labelled a "left wing firebrand" by the press. We can all see how left wing he was.

Yes Geezer, nobody can say, ( and I agree with Ivanhoe here ), that New-Labour is in any way "leftist" in philosophy. It is BECAUSE Labour has lurched to the right  that we need a new wave of Socialist thinking in the politics of tomorrow. As my own "New-Socialist" group are not yet strong enough to take any seats in Westminster I suppose that the nearest thing to that desire has to be the Liberal Democrats.

This is why I think that the next government in Britain will be a co-alition one with the Lib-Dems holding the balance of power.

John said:
Blame this incompetent Government - they removed 'not in the interest of this Country' from Competition Laws

And again I say to John that he has too short a memory !

The Tories under Thatcher and Major and a few more part-time leaders were the ones that started to "remove Britain from the competition laws" as they wanted their friends in the CBI to have an easy run at her "free-market economy".

[John]

I love the old 'started' smoke screen.

Brown and his deceptive entourage would be proud.

It is this present Government that took the toothless
road to ensure the loss of 'British Jobs for British Workers'.

That used their majority to introduce laws.

Starting with the Competition Act 1998 - with added policies
in 2001 to not involve itself in matters of Public Interest which
is the political correct way of saying 'British Interest'

The Enterprise Act 2002 rounded it out as a green light for anything goes.

Putting Great British Businesses on sale to the best bidder.

Watching Rover and Cadbury and other Directors walk off
with millions of pounds stuffed in their pockets.

Watching thousands of British Jobs lost or on the brink of being lost.

I can image Nero Brown fiddling on his balcony as he must need
something to do, while Great Britain is effectively dismantled.