A 2010 message from BCC President, Neville Reyner, CBE DL
The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) recently published our fourth quarter 2009 Economic Survey results. Although we are not quite out of the woods yet, the results were promising and reinforced the latest GDP figures, confirming that the UK is now out of recession. The improvements in employment and exports within the manufacturing sector were particularly encouraging. British exporters are likely to benefit from the weak pound which will strengthen Britain’s trade position globally, and help rebalance the economy away from the public sector.
So, what is in store for the BCC over the coming months? During 2010, the BCC will reinforce its strategy around the five themes of:
- governance
- international
- accreditation
- policy
- commercial services
which will further strengthen our relationships within the network.
The BCC are making good progress with the Annual Conference, which will take place at Bafta in London on 18th March. To date, we have an impressive list of speakers lined up including the likes of Lord Mandelson, Ken Clarke MP and France’s Economy Minister, Christine Lagarde. It should be a prestigious event, and we hope to attract a lot of interest from business and the media alike.
We are also in discussions about the forthcoming party conference season and how best to make sure our presence is felt at each event. This year, the Conservatives are in Birmingham, Labour will be in Manchester and the Lib Dems in Liverpool, so we are working together with the relevant Chambers to plan our own events in each city.
In the meantime, we will continue to focus on our three campaigns:
- tax and regulation
- infrastructure
- trade
to make sure that our views on these subjects are heard at the highest level of Government.
Neville Reyner CBE DL, is President of the British Chambers of Commerce
