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PASTOR GENERAL'S REPORT, FEBRUARY 1, 1985
PAGE 9
kins has•••sometimes•••seen the chance for a miraculous regenera
tion. But last fall he took "the gloomy view that the adaptation
that would be required of us, after all that has gone before,
will prove too great--and that, like Venice, success will consist
in managing.! long, civilized and dignified demise."
An editorial in the January 20 SUNDAY TIMES of London also took stock of
Britain's declining fortunes:
The rest of the world is sending us two messages, both of them
profoundly depressing. First, the world's money men now seem to
regard Britain as a one-commodity country. Just as if we were a
Third World nation dependent on one crop, the value of sterling
on the exchanges now seems to depend on oil prices: when they
weaken, so does the pound. Of course, we can protest that North
Sea oil accounts for less than 6 per cent of our national wealth.
But in international finance perception is often more important
than reality.
Oil is so important to sterling because the rest of the world
sees North Sea oil as about the only thing Britain has going for
it. For it seems that, and this is the second message, the
world's money men are beginning to realise that, even after five
years of Thatcher government, the economic decline of Britain
continues apace. Despite the progress that has been made (the
turnaround in Jaguar cars is one of the best examples),� remain
� inefficient, uncompetitive nation, afraid of� technology,
uncomfortable with competition, short 2B business enterprise and
management fl� long on appalling unions and still obsessed
with class divisions which are the joke of the world•••• Every so
often the rest of the world takes stock of our nation, and marks
sterling down••••
To reduce unemployment from 3.Sm to a still-too-large 2m by 1990
it is estimated that about 2.2m new jobs will be needed over the
next five years--an increase in employment of 10 per cent. Noth
ing in the recent performance of the British economy suggests it
will generate anything like that number of jobs in the rest of
this decade•••• There are still far too many ingrained impedi
ments in this country for business enterprise to flourish using
the latest technology, free from union restrictions and the old
school tie. Until the government starts to tackle these supply
side constraints in a radical way, Mrs. Thatcher risks becoming
yet another prime minister who� !,2 power determined !,2 �
verse
.QY£
decline, but who� destined to fail.
The "Chunnel"--Will It Go Through at Last?
Britain's economic doldrums are partly responsible for the revival of an
old idea--that of constructing a tunnel under the English Channel linking
Britain with France and tying into the continental transport network. Many
thousands of presently unemployed workers stand to profit, in the short
r�n, from the project (which probably would entail a twin-bore rail link).
The idea of a Channel Tunnel (or a "Chunnel" as some call it) is further en
hanced by desire on the part of some in Britain to show that the country is