Gordon Brown risks US wrath and future business
The situation regarding the Lockerbie bomber has dominated the headlines over the last few weeks and while the Scottish executive was effectively "hung out to dry" by the UK authorities it now appears that Gordon Brown may have had a more hands-on approach in the early days. Amid signs that US consumers and US businesses are to boycott Scotland and potentially England, now that Gordon Brown has been brought into the mix, there are concerns about future business.
It is easy to forget that the US is a major trading partner of the UK and any potential fallout, no matter how long it may last, has the potential to slow down any recovery in the UK economy as a whole. The situation in Scotland is even worse because of the size of the economy and the larger impact that a US boycott would have in areas such as whiskey. Even though historically threats of boycott have often passed over with very little impact, there is a feeling that the US government, US consumers and US businesses are extremely angry about the Lockerbie bomber being sent home to Libya.
It will take diplomacy of the highest quality to resurrect UK and Scottish relationships with the US government, at least in the short term, something which was certainly not considered when the decision to free Lockerbie bomber was made.
Share this..
Related stories
Irish government deny IMF assistance will be required
The Irish government has today suggested that despite rumours of assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) the Irish economy is strong enough to survive without outside help. Despite being one of the more prosperous economies around the world, enjoying growth of up to 9% a year during the 1990s, the Irish authorities have been fighting a losing battle to keep the economy on an even kee...
Read MoreRogue Bosses In The Spotlight
Today sees the launch of the government's latest crack down on rogue bosses, poor working conditions and illegal rates of pay with Employment Relations Minister Pay McFadden set to release a major initiative. The move will be backed up by a £6 million marketing campaign, a telephone support line and greater powers for inspectors to check out workplaces throughout the UK.
While th...
What has happened to Alistair Darling?
Chancellor of The Exchequer Alistair Darling appears to have gone into hiding over the last few weeks with Gordon Brown seemingly taking control of the economic policies and strategies of the UK. This is very much at odds with Gordon Brown's own stint in the Treasury where he had constant battles with Tony Blair and refused to give any power to the Prime Minister. We only ever seem to see Alistair...
Read MoreUS authorities inject another $800 billion into their financial system
It has today been announced that the Federal Reserve in America is injecting a further $800 billion into the US credit markets which are showing no signs of unfreezing after the credit crunch. This now brings the total injected over the last few months to $1500 billion which is a serious amount of money even for the US. There is some debate as to whether the US economy is still set to lurch furthe...
Read MoreBank profits 'cost households £441 each'
Financial marketplace Zopa has estimated that the cost of HBOS and RBS' profits results in a bill to each UK household of £441, marking a ten per cent year-on-year increase.Recently, the banks made their profits known, with HBOS recording a £5.7 billion total and RBS achieving a £9.2 billion profit."The truth is that banks in the UK have let down their customers badly by failing to deliver agai...
Read More