Me, me, me...

Scottish Enterprise is apparently wedded to the notion of metropolitan regions. (Don't ask me why they could not be called city regions but let that one stick to the wall for now.) But, as the Executive refused to allow them to restructure the local enterprise companies (LECs), the whole implementation of the concept depends on co-operation with adjoining LECs. The Scotsman shows that the Chairman of Scottish Enterprise Edinburgh and Lothian is somewhat lacking in diplomacy:

"WELCOME to Metro Region East, formerly known as Edinburgh. In the brave new world of the re-organised Scottish Enterprise network, the capital is being refashioned as the hub, whose spokes stretch far beyond the Lothian backyards, up the Forth Valley, and through Fife to link up with the linked mini-metros of Aberdeen and Dundee.
Will we notice the difference from this cartographic rethink?
Charles Hammond, the chairman of Scottish Enterprise Edinburgh and Lothian, believes that the plan will take time to settle, but that the implications for increased efficiency will soon make themselves felt.
"The metropolitan region strategy is still at the inception stage but SEEL [Scottish Enterprise Edinburgh and Lothian] will have a central role. From our work in the Lothians we are used to balancing different regional concerns and priorities, and it will be relatively easy to extend that up to Fife and Grampian."

Given this arrogance about the dominant role to be played by SEEL, I wonder if Mr Hammond has given any thought to how the chairman, members and staff of Fife Enterprise, Forth Valley Enterprise and Grampian Enterprise will feel about the peripheral role that he has assigned them to play in this brave new world?

I appreciate that, to some, it may seem tiresome and petty. But, if public sector authorities are to work successfully together, you have to pay due regard to the feelings and aspirations of others. Scottish Enterprise has been criticised for not doing so on many occasions in the past. It seems that lessons have yet to be learnt.