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Why we need to give Sir Humphrey a black eye and keep fighting for our city ; John Forkin, managing director of Marketing Derby, believes that,... [Derby Evening Telegraph (England)]
[September 07, 2011]

Why we need to give Sir Humphrey a black eye and keep fighting for our city ; John Forkin, managing director of Marketing Derby, believes that,... [Derby Evening Telegraph (England)]


(Derby Evening Telegraph (England) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Why we need to give Sir Humphrey a black eye and keep fighting for our city ; John Forkin, managing director of Marketing Derby, believes that, despite the crisis which is facing Derby's rail industry, business prospects in the city are very much alive and kicking. Talking Business SEPTEMBER could be the cruellest month.



This is most certainly when the Thameslink debacle enters its end- game.

The stakes are high: the loss of thousands of jobs in Derby (plus many more beyond) and the beginning of the end for train manufacturing in the UK.


If the Government does not review its decision to award the Pounds 1.4bn contract to Siemens soon, events will take over as Bombardier is likely to announce its next wave of redundancies.

The world's largest rail manufacturing company has been open in saying that it is reviewing its UK operation.

The facts are stark: without Thameslink, there is only work for 300 people in Derby and, even then, only for a year or so. This could mean a further 1,200 redundancies to add to the 1,500 already announced.

This time it will be terminal as the skills lost will include the designers and engineers who create the train concepts, thus, disabling the UK's ability to do this ever again. It really is hard to believe that a country which is seeing rising unemployment and which suffered terrible summer riots is about to wave goodbye to a manufacturing sector that was born here and is growing globally.

The pressure on the Government to review the decision is intense but so far its ears are closed to all but the civil servants who peddle their narrow, dysfunctional and dishonest, self-serving briefings. Chalk one up for Sir Humphrey over UK plc.

Derby's campaign has been intense and the issue has received phenomenal attention from a national media rarely interested in our city.

There is a downside to this. We have already had to settle some investor concerns that the city is about to go into meltdown.

That is simply not the case. Derby is a resilient place and many of our city's employers are surviving, some are thriving.

In particular, our high-tech and advanced engineering employment base continues to grow. There are positive trends to be found in some of Derby's key sectors such as aerospace, nuclear research, software development and, yes, despite the Bombardier situation, rail technology.

These are all wealth-creating sectors with valuable benefits to the wider economy in terms of spending and services. During the autumn, whatever the Bombardier outcome, it will be crucial for Derby to use its current national platform to get across the message that this city is alive and kicking and very much open for business.

Marketing Derby will intensify its targeted promotion activities as Derby needs many new jobs and only inward investment can create the numbers now required.

Business bondholders have come up trumps once again as they are putting their money into supporting the city in ever greater numbers.

This is being matched by a city council acting as a catalyst for the next phase in Derby's regeneration by investing Pounds 100m in key developments over the next few years.

There's a maxim that describes leadership as a foul-weather sport.

With Thameslink, Egg and the wider economy we've got plenty of foul weather.

As for leaders? In a year or so we will be able to look back and see who stepped up to the plate and who passed the buck.

This month's battle is to support Bombardier. Next month's is to deal with the legacy, win or lose.

"In a year or so we will be able to look back and see who stepped up to the plate." JOHN FORKIN (c) 2011 ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved.

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