The All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Trade and Investment, which is chaired by Margot, held its Summer Reception on Monday in the House of Lords.
The reception, kindly sponsored by the London Stock Exchange, was well attended attracting some 150 parliamentarians, foreign embassy representatives, business organisations and British companies, both large and small. Margot kicked off proceedings with a short speech touching on the work of the APPG since it was launched at the end of May and the progress that has been made so far, with particular reference to her own constituency area.
“The export story in the West Midlands is particularly strong”, Margot said. “Exports rose from £13.5 billion in 2009 to £20 billion in 2011. And that, of course, is a microcosm of the position across the country as a whole. Make no mistake, growing our exports and improving our trade balances is the one way we are going to return the UK economy to growth.”
Other speakers included Lord Green, Minister of State for Trade & Investment, Alexander Justham, CEO of the London Stock Exchange and Karen Murray, Director of Business Administration for medium sized exporters Dryad Maritime. Karen spoke about Dryad’s dealings with UKTI so far and how it had helped them to engage with foreign markets and secure the funding they needed to expand.
Margot James MP
Lord Green
Karen Murray, Dryad Maritime
Alexander Justham, London Stock Exchange
The All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Trade and Investment speakers heard so far: Karen Murray (Dryad Maritime), Andy Mears (Deltex Medical), David Smith (Specac), Lord Green and Tony Hughes (Hughes Safety Showers)
