Atherton Online

It cannot possibly be true, the signature Red Double Decker buses are one of the things you would immediately associate with our capital and if we were asked that question on Family Fortunes I’m sure Buses would be one of the top answers on every bodies lips. It is true however, London big bus tours have ordered 20 buses which are to be made in China & arrive in time for the 2012 Olympics.

A £5million contract has been awarded to Anhui Ankai Automobile in Hefei in eastern China in order to get the wheels on the bus as it where.
Conveniently, it was back in march when Chancellor George Osborne said:

“We want the words ‘Made in Britain’, ‘Created in Britain’, ‘Designed in Britain’ and ‘Invented in Britain’ to drive our nation forward.
“A Britain carried aloft by the march of the makers, that is how we will create jobs and support families.”

MP Chris Williamson has hit out at the Government branding the situation “disappointing” & speaking to the Daily Express he said:

“It is symptomatic of the problems that we have been experiencing.
“The Government’s rhetoric is great but we need to see them put their words into action.
“It is very worrying that we have a Government which says one thing but is doing something else.
“If the Government is genuinely serious about re-balancing the economy it needs to do more to create the right conditions to retain skilled engineering jobs in the UK.”

The new buses are to be made by Anhui Ankai Automobile in Hefei in eastern China. Buses from there have not been seen in Britain before because they have previously failed to meet European safety and technical standards.

Keith Spicer, commercial director of Big Bus Tours, said that the company had been using buses manufactured from abroad for many years.

He said: “I wouldn’t accept that we are flying the flag for the British bus industry here in London. I think the company represents London but I don’t think that people recognise us as a symbol of London.”
“We have taken Ankai buses into Hong Kong, the Middle East and America. They have worked for us, they have delivered and they have been successful.
“Of course they are very keen to get their buses into the central London market.
“We’ve been working with them for years and they’ve kept coming back and saying ‘Will you take them to London?’
“Clearly it is in their interest to do it and we’ve got a very good deal to get 20 buses which happen to be delivered for 2012.”
“They are not for an Olympic contract. They are for sightseeing in London.”

Surely we cannot be too surprised at this Revelation however? The likes of our cameras, computers & household were is 99% likely to be made in foreign countries and indeed realistically purely on the basis something isn’t made in Britain would we really refuse to buy it?
Cars such as Renault & Jaguar used to be made on our fair land and of course now they aren’t... but have we stopped buying them? certainly not!

If there is a choice between something which has been made on foreign parts against something which is wholeheartedly British then I shall always ensure I get the latter to support our economy but the reality is things just financially are unable to be made here anymore. The British industry is more or less none existent and it is an absolute shame that job losses are happening due to production moving elsewhere in another country... but just what can we do about it? Shall giving David Cameron a much needed shake solve anything? no! will it make us feel better? yes of course! The country is in an absolute uproar and you are left wondering exactly what happened to good old British Values and Products? even our meat is usually imported these days! Take a trip down memory lane to the good old days, that is when Britain was REALLY its own country, our own status and people were proud! now? we don’t even make our own Buses! If our iconic British culture is now mostly made elsewhere then it really doesn’t have the same meaning does it? I shall never look at those smart, eye catching red buses in the same way again!