But the closure of the Telford factory, which lies a few miles from where the Industrial Revolution began at the Coalbrookdale iron works, is not a consequence of shifts in the economic balance of power, but a straight, visible swap of jobs in Britain for jobs in China.British Polythene Industries (BPI) owns 60 per cent of the Chinese plant. Introductions were made by interpreters, and the management ordered the bemused staff to train the Chinese to use the 60 extruders, rollers and blowers that were squirting out millions of carrier bags for Britain’s supermarkets.
“We were a little suspicious,” said one. “There had been talk about closure ever since BPI took us over two years ago But the boss told us not to worry .. that our futures were secure. 1500, commemoration service and parade, York Minster.MIDLANDS AND EAST ANGLIATODAY: VE aircraft and vehicle display, Biggleswade Service and parade, Bury St Edmunds Parade and drumhead service, Leamington Spa.
RAF Benevolent Fund concert, Birmingham.TOMORROW: VE market, Northampton Liberation lunch, Evington House, Leicester VE celebrations, Harlow Town Park. Air show, Imperial War Museum, Duxford.SOUTH TODAY: Parades and services, Portsmouth, Sherborne, Bridport, Maidstone. Giant street party, Weymouth.TOMORROW: Celebrations in Salisbury, Chatham, Brixham, Helston, Plymouth, Folkestone. Salute to Victory, English Heritage event, Dover Castle, Kent.. THE FIRST time the workers at British Polythene Industries in Telford ran into the global market was when 40 Chinese arrived at their factory and began to inspect their machines.
RAF flypasts at Lerwick, Inverness and Aberdeen.TOMORROW: 1100, service of thanksgiving, St Giles Cathedral, Edinburgh, with Princess Royal. VE Day commemorative concert, Kirriemuir, Tayside.NORTHERN IRELAND TODAY 1100, Service, St Anne’s Cathedral, Belfast.TOMORROW: Activities in 30 towns and cities including Belfast, Ballymena, Bangor, Londonderry and Lisburn.WALES TODAY: VE Day parade, Llandudno Gala concert, Cardiff. Concert, Newport.TOMORROW: Service, Llandaff Cathedral, Cardiff, with Prince of Wales. Concerts at Dyffryn Gardens near Cardiff, St David’s Hall, Cardiff, Bodelwyddan Castle, Clwyd and Tredegar House, Gwent.THE NORTH TODAY: Service at Ripon Cathedral VE Day horse parade, Bradford Drumhead service, Richmond VE service, Liverpool Cathedral. Other events include:
LONDON TODAY: 1100, Queen and heads of state attend service of thanksgiving, reconciliation and hope, St Paul’s Cathedral. 1230, Queen hosts lunch for heads of state, Buckingham Palace. 1515, Queen and heads of state at central ceremony, Hyde Park.