Quote of the day 13

Britain threw away the wealth of generations in two world wars with a great depression in between. Post World War Two America – seizing the chance to finish off the British Empire – turned off the financial tap to us even as it poured money into western Europe to rebuild it and prevent an outbreak of communism. The terms on which we joined the EU withered many of our industries for over 40 years. Meanwhile the Third World gained our technological know-how and exploited it with desperate urgency as only the poor can – one company I used to advise specialised in exporting large machine tools from our closing factories. Is it a surprise that money-making seems to centre around housebuilding these days, rather than industry? It is as though Stone Age men could eschew hunting in favour of selling each other caves.

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