What the craze for Haynes car-manual T-shirts says about the economy

Could the raised eyebrow of the hipster be the thing to save Britain from complete economic collapse? I ask because empirical observation – in the form of noticing what people are wearing on the streets – suggests we are completing our move from an economy based on things that serve a purpose, such as making things we can export (tanks, guns and missiles – that sort of thing), to one based on the knowing smirk.

In the last few days alone, factory closures in Leicester (BAE Systems), Hull, Lowestoft and Poole have accounted for the loss of around 570 jobs. The Scottish publisher DC Thomson – the company that gave us the Beano and the Dandy – plans to close one of its production sites, which will put 350 people out of work. A scan through any local paper or trade magazine will bring you more horror stories about towns around Britain bearing witness to the slow, sad death of hope. Read more