Len Ironside: Who is going to stand up and fight for Aberdeen and the north-east?

Aberdeen and its surrounding areas are losing out on so many fronts, and the political system is letting us down, writes Len Ironside.

The city of Aberdeen is on its knees and desperately needs quality leadership. Recently, it seems the political system has failed the citizens.

Although our council is led by the SNP, and our city SNP MSPs, Kevin Stewart, Jackie Dunbar and Audrey Nicoll, represent us in Holyrood, their combined influence has gone either unseen or ignored by their colleagues.

We lost out on the Acorn carbon capture and storage project, the beachfront plans, and the green freeport bid – valuable initiatives which would bring jobs and prosperity to our part of Scotland.

To be fair, I have heard both Stephen Flynn, the SNP leader in Westminster and Conservative MSP Douglas Lumsden arguing for Aberdeen jobs. The problem is that there is no practical way of following the argument up.

It’s a similar situation when it comes to local government funding. Despite Aberdeen being Scotland’s third city and, through the good energy years, the financial powerhouse of the UK, our funding from the Scottish Government settlement is way behind that of Edinburgh and Glasgow.

It’s a fact that we give the Scottish Government more money in taxes than we receive in Grant Aided Expenditure. And all this when ordinary people are facing a massive cost-of-living crisis, and 40% are having difficulty paying their bills.

The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (Cosla) decides council budgets in discussions with the Scottish parliament. The leader of Cosla is also a north-east SNP councillor, Shona Morrison. Although our area has links to power and, indeed, to the first minister, via elected councillors and MSPs, it hasn’t helped the city of Aberdeen. It has not been translated into action.

Aberdeen is losing out on so many fronts

This year, the city is likely to face budget cuts of up to £50 million. Despite an SNP manifesto commitment in 2007 to abolish council tax, nothing has changed. It was frozen for a number of years, in the hope that someone would come up with a new idea, but no political party has produced anything.

As the political system is letting us down, we need to rethink our approach to encouraging and developing the city and its hinterland

It seems ironic that, now, when workers are unable to pay their bills and having to use foodbanks, the government is advising a council tax rise of between 3 and 5% – a move which will simply create further hardship.

And, when government ministers seek headlines by complaining about removing the chewing gum from our pavements, they should equally call on their colleagues in government to provide the money for the equipment and staff to do so.

That culture of double standards – where one has power but takes no responsibility, and would rather find somebody else to blame – is part of the problem.

Aberdeen is losing out on so many fronts, and, as the political system is letting us down, we need to rethink our approach to encouraging and developing the city and its hinterland.

We have a wealth of talent right here

Who is the voice of Aberdeen and the north-east? Who will fight for us?

What’s needed is a fresh approach. Not private meetings, bringing in individuals from outside the local area.

We have a wealth of talent right here; people who constantly come up with solutions and positive ideas. Somebody needs to take them on board and act.

There have been some very useful suggestions from the policy unit of the Chamber of Commerce, but, again, no one appears to be listening.

I’ve talked many times about the cruise ships coming to Aberdeen, and the opportunity of a “golden mile”, leading from the new harbour into the city. Refurbishment of the Torry area is needed, to encourage small business growth, with cafes, shops, large visitor centres and more, heading into the centre.

Otherwise, all the tourists from those cruise ships will simply board buses bound for Dunnottar Castle, Balmoral Estate and the whisky distilleries.

Visitors should be encouraged to travel the north and north-east more widely, but we also need to try to keep some tourist money in the city.

Let’s set up a marketing partnership group

In my view, setting up a marketing partnership group is necessary, involving stakeholders who have an important role in promoting a vibrant and dynamic city – those involved in tourism, retail, hospitality, the Chamber of Commerce, our world-renowned universities, the energy industries, the food and fishing sectors.

The group would also need to work closely with our neighbouring council of Aberdeenshire.

The city council could drive and coordinate things. We already have a similar set-up in Community Planning, which has key players producing plans for improving our local communities.

A new marketing partnership would bring together the various talents and experiences which the council lacks. The group would have a stronger influence speaking as one voice for the city and shire – a voice which could not be ignored.

But this plan would require strong and direct leadership. Perhaps that’s the biggest challenge of all.

Len Ironside CBE is a former champion wrestler who served as an Aberdeen councillor for 35 years, with four years as council leader