A message from Nick Timothy MP:
“On Friday 24 October 2025, I was pleased to join six of my fellow Suffolk MPs at the Suffolk Business Convention, hosted near Ipswich by our excellent Chamber of Commerce.
“In a lively question-and-answer session, we discussed the key priorities for our county — including the need to press ahead with improvements to the A11 and A14 corridors, deliver more business-friendly policies, boost skills and training, and tackle local challenges such as flooding and poor digital connectivity.
“It was a very valuable opportunity to hear directly from business leaders about how we can protect and strengthen Suffolk’s economy.
“I look forward to working closely with the Chamber in the months ahead to make real progress on these issues.”
BELOW IS THE SUFFOLK CHAMBER OF COMMERCE MEDIA RELEASE FROM THE 24th OCTOBER 2025 EVENT
The Suffolk Convention 2 summit: “helps set out businesses expectations for the new Mayor”
Over 125 senior business and political representatives from across the county gathered together at the second Suffolk Convention summit on 24th October to discuss their shared progress in lobbying Westminster for greater funding and to identify their combined asks of the forthcoming Norfolk and Suffolk Mayoral Combined Authority.
Organised by Suffolk Chamber of Commerce, and hosted at BT’s iconic Martlesham research centre, the summit was facilitated by Dr Adam Marshall, a leading business expert and a previous director-general of the British Chambers of Commerce.
Following on from last year’s successful inaugural meeting, the delegates heard from Mark Thurston, chief executive of Anglian Water, of the challenges and opportunities for the eastern region as a whole in better persuading Westminster to fund infrastructure and skills projects through a more joined up approach to lobbying.
Seven of the county’s eight MPs then gave short accounts as to what they had done to advance the eight economic asks* identified at the first Suffolk Convention, with searching questions from both Dr. Marshall and delegates,
After the break, The Suffolk Convention heard a second keynote speech, this time from Edward Colman, head of communications, engagement and public affairs at the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Mayoral Authority, who shared their years of experiences in improving cooperation with businesses and other parts of the public sector to sharpen their advocacy to ministers and senior civil servants.
Spurred on by these insights, delegates broke into groups to outline what projects they hoped the new Norfolk and Suffolk mayor would help support and fund, once they are elected in May 2026.
Suffolk Chamber’s policy and public affairs team is currently collating this feedback and will be producing a report later in the year which will in turn be used to evaluate mayoral candidates’ election pledges.
John Dugmore, Suffolk Chamber’s chief executive said: “The Suffolk Convention 2 summit brought together some of the most influential people in the county into one room.
“The delegates took advantage of this opportunity to explore whether and how we wanted to more effectively than ever before to influence Government and help set out the business expectations of the forthcoming Norfolk and Suffolk Mayor. I believe Suffolk will be better placed, more focussed and able to persuade both levels of Government to help us make our fullest contribution to national prosperity.”
Catherine Johnson, Suffolk Chamber’s president, observed that: “It was fascinating to hear the wise advice from both Mark Thurston and Edward Colman as their experiences in lobbying Westminster and running a mayoral authority respectively will help sharpen the voice of the Chamber in representing the best interests of the county’s businesses. It was also very heartening to see such a large number of delegates so wholeheartedly engaged in shaping Suffolk ongoing growth ambitions.”
Paul Simon, head of public affairs at Suffolk Chamber added: “This second summit was about both holding our MPs to account and mapping out how the county’s business and political leadership hopes to work with the new Mayor for Norfolk and Suffolk and his/her team.
What was so impressive was just how keen all the delegates were in their shared desire to share ideas and back the ongoing efforts to secure the county’s key road, rail, mobile and water infrastructure asks, as well those relating to improved education and skills development programmes.”
The Suffolk Convention 2 summit also received an update of the work of the Suffolk Coordination Office, managed by Suffolk Chamber and funded by the Suffolk Business Board, in helping the county to land clearer and more consistent messages into Westminster as to the greater contribution its economy can make to sustainable national prosperity and growth.
Additional Note:
*The economic asks arising from The Suffolk Convention 1 summit are:
Facilitate Adastral Park and Innovation Martlesham to generate support from DSIT and DBT and determine funding options.
Progress on Ely-Haughley rail upgrades, with £2.1 billion investment to provide a clean growth productivity boost for the region.
Investment along the A11 and A14 corridors and wider strategic roads network brought forward into RIS3, including identified junction upgrades, Orwell Bridge, and surrounding road network.
Boost skills, training and education outcomes by lifting education spending per capita in Suffolk year-on-year to match the national average by the end of the current Parliament.
Pilot an enhanced direct community benefits scheme for low-carbon infrastructure sites.
Planning reform to expedite network of smaller reservoirs and lagoons, such as a North Suffolk Reservoir delivery plan from 2040.
Government grant support for water trading pilot schemes, to scale up UK-wide.
Establishment of a UK Business Bank scheme for East Anglia by 2027.
