Blog by Meetpie.com's Editor and first posted on Meetpie.com

“We’ve never had a greater position with government.”

So said Michael Hirst, chair of the Business Visits and Events Partnership, speaking to me at a welcome reception ahead of the Business of Events Leadership Forum. And as someone who has been championing the industry in Westminster for as long as he has, he should know.

By Simon Hughes, Vice Chair BVEP

Having lived through a version of ‘The Thick of It’ for 10 years as a civil servant, I have always admired the work of Armando Iannucci, so you can bet I’ll be booking a ticket to watch ‘The Death of Stalin’ when it comes out. Taking on a story about the death of one of the most blood soaked dictators in history and finding a place for humour in that tale requires a brilliant script, some fantastic actors and sensitive direction. Sadly I don’t have access to any of those things but curiously find myself pondering on the comedy potential that might lie ahead of us all at the end of March 2019. Just imagine – no Brexit deal and Tom Daley has been wheeled out around all the major media outlets to explain how dangerous diving off a cliff actually is.

By Simon Hughes, Vice Chair BVEP

Snap – and we’re off again into the hurly burly of a general election. In the statement that we drafted for the BVEP on the surprise decision taken to hold a general election the overarching theme was interpreted as ‘steady as we go’. Given that one of the stated reasons for this change of mind was to create a stronger sense of unity both across the nations and within Westminster itself, I’m reasonably confident that everyone in the event industry is united in hoping that the achievements and advances we’ve managed to secure over the last few years survive the inevitable turmoil that follows general elections.

By Simon Hughes, Vice Chair BVEP

The merry band of fans that await these blogs with bated breath can breathe easy. I’m at it again, as requested by the webmeisters that control the ebb and flow of the essential information, best practice and regular updates supplied by the BVEP. This time around it’s to support the work we’ve been doing to get our partners focussed on the recent Green Paper on Industrial Strategy. If you’ve not spotted it there is a consultation in process that is inviting industries and sectors to respond to the opportunity of establishing sector deals to support the new global trading position UK plc finds itself forging, as the clock ticks down to our exit from the European Union.

By Simon Hughes, Vice Chair BVEP

God had to admit it – he was tired out. 2016 had been a really busy year and quite frankly he’d just about had enough.