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no but yes, but no

Catch phrases and one-liners from our favourite TV shows have the capacity to capture the mood of modern society in a word or two.

As far as street philosophy goes, Vicky Pollard’s catch phrase from the “Little Britain” show – “no, but yes, but no” - caught the imagination of viewers, but cannot compete with some of the riper observations of street philosopher Rab C Nesbit. My favourite is his comment to camera on the quality of the action in his Govan bar (this was during his teetotal phase) – “It’s like Strindberg in here. With glottal stops.”

Sometimes I feel that the quality of the public debate in and around the City and Shire is “like Strindberg with Glottal stops.” (Wikipedia summary of Strindberg given below.) The tensions are just below the surface, and unless resolved through engagement and compromise, will cause us all grief from the lack of resolution. It can take an awful long time to get agreement, and turn it into constructive action for the North-east economy. If you want some examples, then look how long it’s taken to get the AWPR up and running; compared to other parts of the world look at the complicated processes that the Trump development has to go through; this downturn has thrown into sharp relief why Chamber members want a clear plan for the city centre – sooner rather than later.

Over the last few months, I’ve been taking a brief from members of the Chamber, and when discussing these issues have received a similar response, along the lines of: “We’re our own worst enemies in the North-east. When we don’t get the funding/decision/support that we’ve asked for, we just go off and do it ourselves anyway.” This response betrays both strength and weakness. The great strength is that the region, its’ businesses, its’ institutions and its’ residents are tough and resilient – no dependency culture here. The great weakness is that we end up with depleted resources and constrained ability to invest in the future - because we don’t fight together we fall apart – time to stop blaming the central belt for our woes.

This city region has got some great things going for it: tough people; a cluster of a major global industry in oil and gas (with the potential to segue into an ‘energy’ focus); a good forward economic strategy produced by ACSEF; a habit of working together across the public and private sectors; a great quality of life; two excellent universities – the list goes on. But there is also the downside – a range of unresolved opportunities as a result of insufficient resources and our introverted view of the world. In a national context, we need to argue for more resources being deployed into backing winners in the NE rather than propping up losers elsewhere. We can create jobs and wealth for the country – whether you regard that as the UK or Scotland – but we need the investment to deliver.

So our natural attitudes and approach to life have an upside and a downside, which are two sides of the same coin. I’ve taken to characterising this in conversation with members of the Chamber as “big” Aberdeen City and Shire, and “small” Aberdeen city and shire – and members agree with the analysis. “Big” is the region that is brave, open, international, keen on change, ready for investment, and willing to take risks. “Small” is the region that is wary, indecisive, ready to take no for an answer, lacking vision and the energy to make constructive change. It is important for businesses, jobs and the people of the region that “big” Aberdeen city and shire wins this stushie.

So, I guess as a region we are a bit bi-polar – a mix of the negative and the positive – a bundle of strengths and weaknesses. Which part of our make-up do we choose to emphasise to the world?

Back to Little Britain, where this piece started. We’ve all got the choice to be “No But” or “Yes But.” There is always a “but” - life is complicated and agreement takes effort. But we have a fundamental choice to make. Do we start with the negative – “No but” or start with the positive – “Yes But.” Your choice.

We know which the Chamber will choose. We are committed to backing “big” Aberdeen city and shire and the ACSEF plan. Our answer to today’s challenges will be “yes, but.” Then we’ll work on the “buts” to be left with the “yes.” That “yes” approach will create jobs and prosperity.

Are you with us? (The answer, if you’re not sure, is “yes, but.”)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strindberg

Johan August Strindberg (22 January 1849 – 14 May 1912) was a Swedish playwright and writer. He is arguably the most influential of all Swedish authors... Strindberg is known as one of the developers of modern theatre. His work is of two major literary styles, Naturalism and Expressionism. Many of his works however had at least some politics and sometimes an abundance of it. They often displayed the conviction that life and the prevailing system was profoundly unjust and injurious to ordinary citizens. Strindberg wanted to attain what he called “Greater Naturalism.”