Mark Casci: Our British reserve is part of our national character, but is it harming business?

This week the most profound of questions about our national identity is to be put the public at large as Britain votes on Thursday in a referendum regarding our ongoing membership of the European Union.
Richard Flint at the launch of Digital City. PIC: James HardistyRichard Flint at the launch of Digital City. PIC: James Hardisty
Richard Flint at the launch of Digital City. PIC: James Hardisty

It is a debate that has proved polarising, with deep divisions having widened during an often ill-tempered and distasteful campaign.

However it is not sovereignty or patriotism that I have found interesting about our national character this week but rather something virtually divorced from the EU referendum, that of our willingness to talk up our own economy and business community.

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I had the good fortune to travel to China last week as part of the inaugural flight from Manchester to Beijing, the first direct flight between the north of England and the nation.

The launch of Digital City with SkyBet. PIC: James HardistyThe launch of Digital City with SkyBet. PIC: James Hardisty
The launch of Digital City with SkyBet. PIC: James Hardisty

During my time in the Chinese capital I met with many of the city’s business and administrative leaders who were hugely excited at the creation of a direct route to the region.

However what really struck me was how reserved we Brits were about talking up not only the North’s economy but rather the country as a whole.

While delegates from the United States and China would readily boast about growth in their respective fields within seconds of being introduced, those from the UK were more reticent, highlighting the challenges faced, not least of which being the ongoing uncertainty from the impending referendum.

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This was further born out from yesterday’s Leeds Digital City launch, wherein several of the sector’s leading lights were unanimous in the view that we are not doing enough to highlight and triumphalise the vast expansion in the city’s tech centre and that more needed to be done to talk up the success.

The launch of Digital City with SkyBet. PIC: James HardistyThe launch of Digital City with SkyBet. PIC: James Hardisty
The launch of Digital City with SkyBet. PIC: James Hardisty

It is inherent in our national character that we do not do brash or self-aggrandisement, and indeed the process of doing so is often deeply frowned upon.

But why should we?

Is it not right that we are proud of our unique commerce, our global status as a centre for business and our capacity for innovation?

I can tell you first hand that business and tourism bosses in China are extremely keen to do business in the North of England. They were fascinated by the idea of the Northern Powerhouse and a far more mobile and interconnected United Kingdom brought about by high speed rail links across the nation.

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Many of them had studied at our top universities, Leeds in particular takes thousands of Chinese students each year. They know our region and what we can do and there are opportunities there for us all.

Similarly a visit to any of our cities’ tech companies or a chat with their owners will within minutes fill you with unbridled optimism for the future.

The growth some of these firms are posting is exceptional.

As a region which is home to one of the country’s oldest newspapers (The Yorkshire Post was first published more than 260 years ago) and gave the world the Wharfedale printing press in 1856, helping to revolutionise commercial printing, we have never been far from innovation in the communications sector.

Yorkshire is one of the passionate and proud regions in Europe. Attend any business round table and you will see people queue up to assert their White Rose County credentials. However this has never translated into arrogance or self-aggrandisement.

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Our British stiff upper lip and our Yorkshire propensity to describe even the most of unqualified successes as ‘fair’ does us no favours when it comes to the art of self-publicity.

But in an increasingly globalised marketplace wherein competition can be felt from across the globe it is imperative that we do not rely on reputation but rather that we bang the drum for what we can do.

Only then can Yorkshire and Britain gain the recognition it deserves.