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The Herald Scotland

We should learn a lesson from America's can-do attitude

But rather than looking at the alleged injustices of one high-profile incident, as the Orgreave Inquiry will do, it is surely just as important to explore the wider social and economic injustices inflicted by the decline of mining and other traditional industries. The most recent State of the Coalfields report from Sheffield University, which explores the condition of former mining communities across the UK, concludes that in Scotland these areas 'still display acute social and economic disadvantage'. It is something which Westminster's Scottish Affairs Committee has also touched on in its inquiry into industrial transition across Scotland. Read More: All of which underlines the necessity of sustainable reindustrialisation, the kind which rather than delivering here today-gone tomorrow employment, instead brings good jobs, skilled work and properly rewarding pay. These things should not be too much to expect. But for those who have fallen through the cracks in society in the years since the decline of older heavy industry, it has often felt that way. Now, with Scotland and the rest of the UK well placed to drive forward the industries of the future, a new era of opportunity is before us. That is why I'm delighted that we are on the verge of securing no fewer than 1,200 jobs for Ayrshire, in a development that promises to lock in growth, opportunity and community wealth for the long term. The UK-based undersea cable manufacturer XLCC is poised to deliver 900 manufacturing-related jobs at Hunterston, making the area a key hub for European and global development of technology which will help power the next generation of renewable energy projects at home and abroad. With global demand for high voltage direct current (HVDC) subsea cables rapidly outpacing supply, the company aims to build the world's biggest and most advanced HVDC manufacturing facility here in Scotland. It is hard to overstate the importance and significance of this project. For years we have been told that Scotland, with its huge green energy potential, is on the verge of a new industrial revolution which can provide the jobs and energy security we so badly need. Too often however, it has felt like we have been waiting and waiting for that long-heralded promise to become a reality. That is why the XLCC project is so vital, and so exciting. In addition to the jobs at Hunterston, 300 additional jobs are expected to be created in Kilmarnock , with the multi-award winning HALO enterprise and low carbon innovation centre identified as the preferred location. I have developed HALO over many years in the 28-acre site of the former Johnnie Walker bottling plant in the town. These posts, including project delivery and sales teams, will drive and support the manufacturing facility at Hunterston. The XLCC development has been in the pipeline since 2020, and like HALO will only be delivered through partnership between the private sector, unions, local authorities and both the Scottish and UK Governments, all working at pace to ensure this massive opportunity is secured. There are two other points worth making in relation to this promised jobs windfall for Ayrshire. Firstly, I would urge both the Scottish and UK Governments to do more to speed up the pace of investment in regeneration and reindustrialisation, including the easing of planning laws to make such development easier. Checks and balances, along with due process, are important when it comes to planning. But too often we are forced to wait too long to turn potential into reality. And delays are one reason we see valuable jobs going to other countries instead of being created here. That links directly to the second point, which is just how important it is for the manufacturing bases for the industries that will power the rest of this century to be based in this country. Scotland may have an abundance of natural resources when it comes to our energy potential. We are blessed with huge advantages when to green power, in addition to the oil and gas which is still an important part of our energy mix. But that only counts for so much if the infrastructure and industrial gain required to exploit those resources is outsourced to other nations. The arrival of XLCC in Scotland will be a powerful counter to the notion that we have to look elsewhere for energy manufacturing. And, as Scotland and [[Ayr]]shire witnessed during the visit of US President Donald Trump, we could do worse than take a leaf from the playbook of America's can-do attitude to business, enterprise and opportunity. We have the resources, and we have the skill – we just need the political will to ensure potential becomes reality. Dr Marie Macklin CBE is a leading Scottish businesswoman and investor.