Mark Casci: Time to end the devolution hysteria and listen to each other

In less than 24 hours I received news that South Yorkshire was putting off elections for a mayor following issues with its deal, messages suggesting council leaders in North, West and South Yorkshire were amenable to talks over a Yorkshire-wide deal followed by another email from Sheffield MPs angrily denouncing such sentiments.

Not long after that arrived an email from more than a dozen top Yorkshire business people calling for politicians to come together in order progress the region’s economic prospects. It was a brief respite of calm and consideration on the issue.

I am well aware that marrying this political disarray with such obvious frustration from the business world is never going to be an easy task.

I also do wish to express sentiments that suggest that company bosses have all the answers, a standpoint I am sure most business leaders would support.

However the fact remains if our political leaders across all parties and regions of Yorkshire do not start seeing the big picture of what is at stake here we are on the verge of one of the biggest own goals in our region’s modern history.

Frankly, some of the debate surrounding this issue is on the verge of degenerating into the kind of hysteria we saw during and after the EU referendum campaign, where those involved were so consumed with their own self-interest and individual beliefs that any note of compromise or nuance was drowned out by a tidal wave of partisan white noise.

What was striking about the letter, which ran in Saturday’s edition of The Yorkshire Post, was how measured and positive it was. Its authors did not back any one particular approach to what form Yorkshire devolution would take, nor did they criticise any individual stakeholders.

All it did was spell out the manifold benefits that our towns and cities could bare witness to if it was able to do what areas such as the West Midlands, Greater Manchester and Merseyside have done.

I know from my conversations around the region that the tranquil and considered nature of the note does not reflect the immense frustration that we are seeing from those in charge of our offices and factories.

This week a clearly exasperated Richard Wright, the executive director of Sheffield Chamber of Commerce, let himself off the leash and said what so many are thinking: “Too many of our politicians live in their own world far away from everyday reality.

“It seems that points scoring between political parties, or different communities, is more important than proper long term decisions that have the capacity to positively impact on the livelihood of our children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.

“Sometimes short term things can be difficult but the right thing to do for the longer term and the people who will live here in the future. Good sustainable economic growth needs good economic decisions. I don’t feel we are getting that at the moment!”

Mr Wright knows a thing or two about building for the future having spent more than 30 successful years in business and I know thousands of people around the region will sympathise with his evident concern over our failure to achieve progress.

But, lest we miss out on this genuine once in a lifetime opportunity, I cannot help but think that the best thing everyone involved could do right now is stop and take a very, very deep breath. And then perhaps take heed of the words of great British writer L.P Hartley who wrote in the opening chapter of The Go Between.“The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there”.

The time to really listen to each other is at hand.