Home -> News List -> A 2010 message from BCC President, Neville Reyner, CBE DL

A 2010 message from BCC President, Neville Reyner, CBE DL

"Happy 2010 to all Chambers and members.  I hope you all, like me, are looking forward to an eventful and exciting year ahead.

We recently published our fourth quarter 2009 Economic Survey results, which had responses from over 5,400 companies. 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 after the economy saw growth of 0.1 per cent in the last quarter.  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. 

I would like to take this opportunity to personally commend British businesses for their resilience, and also thank Chambers for their continued, and much-needed support to the business community during these difficult economic times.

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 and commercial services, which will further strengthen our relationships within the network.

We 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.  It will be particularly interesting this year, as it will be the first party conference season after the General Election in May, and we are looking forward to seeing what the outcome will be.

In the meantime, we will continue to focus on our three campaigns - tax and regulation, infrastructure, and trade - to make sure our views on these subjects are heard at the highest level of Government.

Finally, I would like to congratulate the BCC on reaching its 150th anniversary this year.  We now serve over 100,000 businesses across the UK, helping them grow, generate wealth and create jobs in their local communities. However, we are not alone in our celebrations. Leicestershire Chamber and Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Chamber are also turning 150 this year. Liverpool Chamber is entering its 160th year and Isle of Wight is now in its centenary year. A well deserved congratulations to you all.

The BCC would not have been able to achieve this milestone without the help and dedication of the Chamber network, and we look forward to building upon these relationships over the coming months as we move from recession to recovery in 2010."

Neville Reyner CBE DL, is President of the British Chambers of Commerce