James Ramsbotham, the outgoing head of the North East鈥檚 largest business organisation, is a man fond of a saying, and has one to describe the often turbulent times in which he held that job.
鈥淚鈥檓 a sailor,鈥 he says, 鈥渁nd one of our sayings is that no-one ever learned to sail a boat on a calm sea.
鈥淭he reason that so many businesses are so good up here in the North East is that we鈥檝e got so much experience of dealing with challenges and tough times. I鈥檓 absolutely in awe of the way that people in the North East manage to knuckle down and make things happen.鈥
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That the last 15 years have included tough times is beyond dispute. Mr Ramsbotham became chief executive of the North East England Chamber of Commerce in 2006 and a year later was faced with the collapse of Northern Rock and the financial crisis. That led to years of austerity before the Brexit referendum, years of uncertainty over the country鈥檚 departure from the EU and finally the coronavirus pandemic.
And yet for most of that time, Mr Ramsbotham has mostly been upbeat and positive about the region鈥檚 fortunes, part of a deliberate attempt to change the narrative about the North East away from its problems to instead accentuate its potential. (Again, he has a well-worn - but no less true - phrase to sum this up: 鈥渢he North East is not a problem to be solved; it鈥檚 a region whose potential needs to be maximised on behalf of 海角视频plc.鈥)
That drive to focus on the positive was manifested early in Mr Ramsbotham鈥檚 tenure at the Chamber with a campaign called 50 Great Reasons To Do Business in the North East, which was sent to hundreds of decision makers around the 海角视频 but also translated in dozens of languages to go global. Another campaign - in association with The Journal - helped persuade the Department of Transport to lift an arcane regulation that was holding back an estimated 拢1bn of investment into the region (and around 10,000 jobs).
Mr Ramsbotham lists a number of other highlights of his time at the Chamber, including Newcastle Airport securing the Emirates Airlines service, the building of the Hitachi factory in County Durham and a number of successes in the automotive sector. His tenure included the Chamber鈥檚 200th anniversary in 2015 which was celebrated on Durham鈥檚 Palace Green and paved the way to two spectacular annual dinners in Durham Cathedral itself.
Yet the last few years have seen Mr Ramsbotham and the Chamber increasingly at odds with the Government, sometimes on matters at the heart of the business agenda, but increasingly on subjects that might not always be seen as being part of a Chamber of Commerce鈥檚 brief. (In July, the Chamber joined unions and voluntary groups in urging the Government to reconsider its decision to cut the 拢20 uplift in Universal Credit).
Having stayed officially neutral in the Brexit debate, Mr Ramsbotham has made no secret of the fact that his business members are being hurt by increased regulation and other barriers to exporting, while he also questions the Government鈥檚 levelling up agenda.
He said: 鈥淚t鈥檚 the right sort of political rhetoric and it鈥檚 up to us to turn it to our advantage. The problem is that, as with the Northern Powerhouse, right now it鈥檚 only political rhetoric. There鈥檚 no detail behind it and sadly this is the problem, with this Government particularly but actually several Governments previously. They鈥檙e really good at making the big, bold political statement but there鈥檚 no detail behind it.
鈥淥ne of the classics of that is Brexit. We鈥檝e delivered one of the biggest changes to this country in a century and there鈥檚 no plan. I kept saying to various politicians that when I leave the house, I know I鈥檓 going before I leave the house. We left the EU in January but we鈥檝e been driving around for nine months and we still haven鈥檛 got a clue where we鈥檙e going.
鈥淭he decision was a democratic one and it鈥檚 not up to the business community to decide on a democratic process. What businesses are saying is that the implementation of that decision needs to be done in a way that improves the lot of this country in whichever way that鈥檚 measured.
鈥淎ctually, all they鈥檝e done is deliver Brexit and make absolutely zero effort to understand the impacts, or to try and create benefit from it. That鈥檚 what I criticise them for because that鈥檚 what we look to Government to do. These big things that are way above things we can influence at a local level, but we do expect them to come up with a sensible way of making it work. And it鈥檚 just not happening.鈥
Mr Ramsbotham鈥檚 length of service means he has brushed shoulders with many politicians: five Prime Ministers, at least 10 Business Secretaries and countless other Ministers he has lobbied on a range of subjects.
It is telling that when asked to name a politician who he rates highly, Mr Ramsbotham picks two who have little or no role in the North East: Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon (鈥渟he was the only one who came to listen and to learn rather than to 鈥榯ell us鈥欌) and former Polish president Lech Walesa (鈥渙ne of the most gracious people I have ever met鈥).
As a former soldier who has been unashamed to go into battle for the North East in recent years - and possibly pick the odd fight or two - he is now returning in sorts to his other former career as a banker, taking up the position of chair of Newcastle Building Society. (Handing over the Chamber job to John McCabe, he says: 鈥淚 can鈥檛 think of a better person to take over from me.鈥)
The switch from Chamber to Building Society sees him swapping one mutual organisation for another, which seems fitting for a man who has always stressed the importance of working together.
鈥淚 am concerned that not only are there divisions within the North East, I think as a nation we鈥檙e more divided than we鈥檝e ever been in my lifetime,鈥 he said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e now divided in Europe and around the world.
鈥淎nd with the really big issues we have to face, particularly climate change, we鈥檝e got to work together. We鈥檝e got to find ways to gather our forces and cooperate.鈥
