Bernard Ginns: The bulldog spirit hailed in celebration of our finest

Instead, there was a much needed and long overdue celebration of the very best in business in this most enterprising of regions.

I don’t need to say much too about the prevailing sentiment. We have been through three tough years and things don’t look like they are about to get much easier in 2012.

The general view seems to be that austerity measures will continue to bite, the harried UK consumer will carry on cutting back and many company directors will continue to be cautious about committing to new investments when the outlook is so uncertain.

But last week’s awards ceremony provided a brilliant riposte to that bleak vision. There are amazing companies here in Yorkshire that are fighting back and achieving phenomenal success in spite of the unremittingly hard conditions. It’s enough to make you feel inspired.

The Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg paid tribute to this bulldog spirit when he hailed the “absolute bloody-minded Yorkshire gritty determination to see opportunity where others see pessimism and to see growth where other people see a contraction”.

Mr Clegg earned some respect from this correspondent by remaining long after his address to hand out the awards to the winners, who were clearly delighted.

Most of us like a pat on the back sometimes. To get one from the Deputy Prime Minister made it a bit special.

n My remarks last week about the long-running search for a new chief executive for inward investment agency Marketing Leeds certainly ruffled a few feathers. I make no apologies for any bruised egos and merely point out that the comments were made with the best interests of the city and wider region at heart.

It is well known that the recruitment process has not gone very well.

One wonders how a city so obviously as great as Leeds could find it so hard to find a talented individual to sell its attractions on a national and international stage.

As you know, my attempts to shed more light on what went wrong via the Freedom of Information Act have been stonewalled by the city council, which refused to disclose any correspondence relating to the process.

To bring matters up to date, I hear that interviews are taking place this week with around six candidates facing the selection panel, including one from a big law firm.

For the sake of the city’s reputation, I hope that the panel – led by the council’s assistant chief executive James Rogers – finds the right man or woman soon.

Whoever ends up with the CEO role will be working with the Marketing Leeds chairman, Andy Clarke, the chief executive of Asda, and deputy chairman, Roger Marsh, the head of PwC in Leeds.

He or she should have 12 months or so to get the city geared up for the very important year of 2013, which will see the launch of both Trinity Leeds, the £350m Land Securities shopping centre, and the Leeds Arena, the eagerly-awaited £60m entertainment venue. These are two events that will attract a lot of national attention.

According to Gerald Jennings, North and Scotland portfolio director at Land Securities, Leeds will probably be the only city doing anything in the year after the London Olympics.

“This gives Leeds a huge opportunity to have a London role,” he told me yesterday.

“That’s why it’s important that we have the Marketing Leeds team in place and we have a strategy for building up to 2013.”

The clock is ticking.

n More details emerged yesterday from Sheffield and its ambitions to become the host city for the Government’s forthcoming £3bn Green Investment Bank.

Last week I reported that the city’s chief executive John Mothersole had submitted “a bid/expression of interest” to the Government. This, I pointed out, represented a clear challenge to Leeds’ own bid to land the iconic bank.

Mr Mothersole played down talk of any competition.

He said: “We are not aiming to compete with Leeds, we believe we have a strong proposal to make and when the time comes for detailed bids will happily work with Leeds to ensure the region puts a strong offer forward.”

Both Leeds and Sheffield obviously have a great deal to offer as choice locations for the Green Investment Bank.

But who decides which should go forward as the anointed one?