Jockeying for position in the new world order

Eminent figures with haughty titles and impeccable connections are jockeying for position in the new world order.

Now the coalition has swung the axe on SEEDA and the grand old gravy train is reaching the end of the line, veteran quango wonks across the county are looking over their shoulder and pondering the whereabouts of their next free lunch.

Something called a LEP looks very likely to be the source.

That’s a Local Enterprise Partnership and it’s what the coalition has proposed to replace eight of the nine old regional development agencies.

In many ways it’s a great idea – a genuine partnership between business and the public sector to promote enterprise in whatever way is deemed best to meet local needs.

Slashing the vast bureaucratic machine attached to monsters like SEEDA and giving businesses a key role in flexible decision-making on the issues that matter – on the face of it, it’s an exciting opportunity.

And yet… it’s all the usual suspects that are lining up in the background.

The same names and the same old faces are determined to make this little more than a smoke and mirrors reshuffle of the comfortably established order. White knuckles are clinging onto the golden goose to prevent it flying off to pastures new.

And in the scramble to cling onto power, venomous politics and infighting are infecting important debates: What area should be included in the LEP, who should run it, who should be included on its board, what should it do?

Key players down here are warring over these and other all-important details.

Right now is a golden opportunity to deliver a body that can drive real change and give the |economy a shot in the arm that will benefit everyone for years to come.

But unless we’re careful, all we’ll get is an elaborate game of high-stakes musical chairs where the only one left without a seat when the music stops is Joe Public.