History repeats – often. Redcar -Who’s to blame?

Back in 2009 I wrote an article, published in Scotland, after an international drinks company moved production out of a town and consolidated it elsewhere. In all the media it was noticeable that no mention was made regarding the lack of forward planning by local, regional and national government agencies – and by extension the local population.

Here again in 2015 we have a local community up in arms at the closure of a facility that is a major source of jobs ....

.... but a facility that is owned and operated by an international firm that had a £58m consolidated net loss in the second quarter of 2015 and who’s Board of Directors are responsible to shareholders to run a successful business and return earnings (where possible) to those investors.  But yet again the rhetoric - on both sides of the political divide nationally and more significantly locally – has sort to cast blame on others for their predicament.
 
These situations have been frequently seen across the world down through the years and yet we all seem unable to learn a rudimentary lesson that basic forward planning, lacking  party political interference,  is essential if we are not to get caught out by the actions of others that we know sooner or later will happen.  As I said back in 2009 “Any community that is dependant on one key market sector or industry in the same way as any company that is dependent on one customer is a hostage to fortune”.  
And yet, the media, politicians and the local population has turned on the Board of SSI and blames them for the difficulties they face. Well you say isn’t that natural? After all when a community is threatened by the exodus of a legacy industry surely the “company” is to blame?
 
Doesn't this seem a little unfair? After all in this world nothing ever stays the same. The price of steel in some cases is currently 65% of what it was a little over a year ago. Markets evolve, companies evolve and therefore shouldn’t communities?  However time and time again those responsible, both elected and civil servants, let down their communities by not actively engaging in the business of attracting viable sustainable commerce to their locality.
 
Additionally many of these politicians and their officials will also tell us it’s not their job to assist the “private” sector by encouraging companies with both meaningful financial assistance and help ease of regulation to encourage profits for re-investment and thus growth. Many, particularly in local government, see this as “lining the pockets of entrepreneurs”
 
Yet in a society that has spurned the whole notion of Nationalized Industries run by and on behalf of the people where do all of us expect the jobs of the future to come from if it’s not from those prepared to risk their cash and often homes, in order to give themselves and others an income and to evolve those businesses into the World Class leading companies of tomorrow.
 
In doing this sometimes, in order to evolve, they have to move on to pastures new. With proper planning, a population educated to understand the ever changing cycles of economic development and encouraged to support the risk takers amongst us, the moving on will not come as a shock leaving areas financially and emotionally devastated. Rather it will simply be seen as part of a growing sustainable community.