YOU can imagine how the North East delegates at the Conservative Party conference will have been received this week when they raised concerns over the lack of a ‘level playing field’ when it comes to attracting inward investment.

“Here we go again, the North East whingeing it’s not getting a fair deal and looking for more hand-outs from the state. Why don’t they just get on with actually doing business?”

Such a view almost certainly exists in Whitehall where the North East has long been portrayed as a place that’s over-dependent on the public sector and where companies are unwilling to invest in anything unless the Government ‘goes halves’. It’s probably felt among a few senior ministers, too.

And it is certainly the opinion of some businesspeople in this region.

But when it comes to the specific issue of how the North East can compete with Scotland for major investment projects, this is not a case of whingeing for the sake of it or without good reason.

The different support on offer may matter little to those in the South who are unlikely to be competing head-to-head with Scotland. But if you’re located a few miles south of the border and your major growth sectors happen to overlap with those being pursued vigorously by the powers that be in Edinburgh, it begins to grate a bit that they have the power to offer a whole range of incentives that aren’t available in England.

You certainly can’t blame Alex Salmond and his nationalist Government for making the most of the chance to attract the likes of Amazon to Edinburgh. And if it costs a few quid now, it’s surely going to more than pay for itself in the medium-term through increased employment and corporation tax revenues.

Talking of which, the big issue on the horizon is the prospect of Edinburgh being given the power to set its own rate of business taxes – a prospect that is already alarming business leaders in this region.

No doubt those in more affluent areas of England which have never been able to offer incentives such as grants and tax breaks would say the North East has had it too easy for too long. Just look at the likes of Nissan and, more recently, Tesco Bank who would never have come to the region without such support on offer.

They may be right. But that is what an effective regional policy is all about – rebalancing the economy in favour of those areas which most require support.

What we have now is a hotchpotch of a system that threatens to drag investment out of the North East just as it needs it most.

andrew.hebden@ncjmedia.co.uk