Lord Ben Houchen, the Mayor of Tees Valley, will next week be speaking at one of the UK’s leading global trade conferences about how exports can drive economic growth in regions throughout the UK.
Houchen was re-elected as a regional mayor earlier this year and has held the office since it was established in 2017.
As the only Conservative combined authority mayor in England, he has been described by some commentators as the senior-most elected Conservative politician in the UK.
He is also the co-chair of the International Trade and Investment All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG), which the Chartered Institute of Export & International Trade is a co-secretariat of, alongside NorthPoint Strategy.
He will be speaking at the Chartered Institute’s Import Export Show on 3 December at the Leonardo Royal Hotel near Tower Hill in London.
Timely session
Houchen will be in conversation with the Chartered Institute’s director general Marco Forgione at the event.
The session will focus on the trade policy challenges and opportunities that exist across the UK and comes after the Chartered Institute published a policy paper on how to maximise “services exports potential” in all regions and nations in the country.
The charity’s UK public affairs lead Grace Thompson said the session is “timely”, particularly given the Labour government’s emphasis on regional growth.
“The government’s mission to reboot economic growth will require close coordination with regional and devolved nation authorities.
“Maximising the export potential of businesses in regions such as Tees Valley is an incredibly important lever through which broader economic growth can be achieved.”
Set-piece event
At the time of writing (26 November), there is just a week to go until the conference on 3 December.
Members and non-members of the Chartered Institute can still book tickets for the show, at which they will also get the chance to hear a range of trade policy thought leaders, decisionmakers in government and award-winning exporting businesses.
Tickets can be booked here.
