![](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/603e6df5fbb8861bf7864b6c/3be8c720-3b21-4cf2-b2c9-bce67bfa1630/Background+image+UKTBC.jpg)
The UK Trade and Business Commission is a cross-party, cross-industry body established in 2021 to conduct the most comprehensive consultation of UK businesses since leaving the European Union.
In 2025, the Commission is relaunching to help fix the problems business faces after Brexit.
The UK Trade and Business Commission will host an event in Parliament today to officially launch landmark new research on the economic impact of UK-EU regulatory alignment.
What is the Government’s current advice on the new GPSR regulations, just over a month after the rules became enforceable? Find out in this helpful FAQ and find links to other helpful websites to guide you and your business.
Today, hidden from the icy January cold inside the Capitol, Donald Trump becomes the 47th President of the United States. The President is riding on a high, fresh from hosting a rally for his supporters on Sunday where he promised to bring down inflation, bring back jobs to America and impose tariffs on competitors around the world. But whilst Trump may be insulated from the cold today, how might the UK’s economy fare when exposed to an increasingly protectionist United States?
Mutual Recognition Agreements of Conformity Assessments (MRCs) might sound a bit technical, and in a lot of ways they are. But they are also pretty important, especially when it comes to economic growth and the ongoing UK-EU reset. So to help you out we have created a handy FAQ outlining what they are, why they matter and most importantly, how they impact our relationship with the EU, so that you too can be an expert on all things MRC related.
On 13 December, the European Union’s new General Product Safety Regulation (GPRS) law came into effect, impacting businesses across Britain by updating requirements on manufacturers, importers, and distributors of products into the EU and NI by introducing new obligations around risk assessment.
Today is the United Nations' International Migrants Day, a day to shine a spotlight on the invaluable contributions of millions of migrants around the world. In a debate so often defined by negativity and misrepresented by those on the right of British and European politics, we want to highlight six ways immigration benefits the UK.
Today the European Union’s new General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR) comes into effect, impacting businesses across Britain by introducing new post-Brexit trade barriers with our closest overseas market, and delivering another blow to businesses exporting to Northern Ireland.
What is the current status of the UK-EU relationship reset, and what should be the UK’s priorities for 2025? Analysis by trade expert David Henig.
Following Labour’s ascension to Government there has been a conscious effort to reset the relationship between the EU and the UK. From Starmer meeting von der Leyen, Lammy attending the EU Foreign Affairs Council and Reeves meeting the Eurogroup finance ministers, what progress has been made? And what more can we expect in 2025?
A major new poll reveals twice as many voters think the Prime Minister should prioritise trade with the EU over trade with the USA. The findings come as the influential UK Trade and Business Commission reconvenes.
Members of the Commission
-
Andrew Lewin MP - Chair
Andrew was elected Labour MP for Welwyn Hatfield in 2024. He is committed to reforming the economy and delivering both sustainable energy and housing reform. Andrew’s background is in communications and before becoming an MP he was the Director of Clarion Housing Group who aim to deliver houses to those most in need.
-
Peter Norris - Vice Chair
Peter has chaired Virgin Group since 2009. He is also Chair of Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Hotels, as well as for Agilyx AS, a leading chemical recycling company. He has over 40 years’ experience in business management and investment banking and brings knowledge and understanding of the international economy and impacts on business and international trade. Peter is also the current Chair of internationalist campaign group Best for Britain.
-
Sir Jonathan Faull - Vice Chair
Jonathan is Chair of European Public Affairs at the Brunswick Group. He was previously Director General in various departments at the European Commission. He has authored numerous articles on European law and policy and co-edited a leading work on EU Competition Law. He is a Visiting Professor, King’s College London and College of Europe, Bruges; Emeritus Professor, Vrije Universiteit Brussel; Board Member/Fellow, Centre for European Reform, Institut Jacques Delors, Centre for Competition Policy, British Institute of International and Comparative Law, European and International Analysts Group, Institute for European Policymaking, Bocconi University.
-
Baroness Ros Altmann - Vice Chair
Ros is a non-affiliated peer in the House of Lords who has served in the chamber from 2015. She was Minister of State for Pensions in David Cameron’s Government. Well-known for leading the ‘pensiontheft’ campaign and advocating for the rights of women, Ros is also renowned for her economic analysis. Following her academic economic work at Harvard University and PhD from the London School of Economics, she worked as an international economist and fund manager in London and has advised governments, investment banks, research institutes and institutional investors on long term investment and pensions policy. She is an LSE Emeritus Governor and Visiting Professor.
-
Layla Moran MP - Vice Chair
Layla Moran has been the Member of Parliament for Oxford West & Abingdon since 2017. In 2024 she was elected Chair of the Health and Social Care Select Committee.
Her previous roles include the Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and International Development and spokesperson for Science, Innovation and Technology. Before being elected to Parliament she worked as a maths and science teacher, and is passionate about education.
-
Claire Hanna MP - Member
Before her election to Parliament in 2019, Claire was a Belfast City councillor and a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly, formerly acting as the SDLP’s Brexit spokesperson. Claire currently sits on the Commons’ Northern Ireland Affairs Committee. Prior to elected politics, Claire worked in international development, in a range of policy and education roles, taking her to parts of the world such as Haiti, Zambia and Bangladesh.
-
Lord Darroch - Member
Lord Darroch’s diplomatic career has spanned four decades. He served as the British Ambassador to the United States between January 2016 and December 2019, and previously as National Security Adviser and UK Permanent Representative to the European Union. He was Chair of internationalist campaign group Best for Britain between 2021 and 2023.
-
Liz Saville Roberts MP - Member
Liz is leader of the Plaid Cymru group of MPs in Westminster and Plaid’s Spokesperson for Home Affairs, Justice, Business and Equality. Prior to becoming an MP, she specialised in developing ‘Welsh medium’ further education and staff training.
-
Stephen Kinsella OBE - Member
Stephen practised for 40 years as an EU competition lawyer, mostly in Brussels, including as Managing Partner of the Brussels office of Herbert Smith and global head of the antitrust practice at Sidley Austin. He is deputy chair of the anti death penalty organisation Reprieve, founder of the campaigning groups Clean Up The Internet and Law For Change, board member at Hacked Off and chair of the Press Justice Project.
-
Sir Simon Hughes - Member
Simon was a Liberal Democrat MP for Southwark and Bermondsey from 1983 to 2015. During this time he took the role of Minister for Justice and Civil Liberties, deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats, and President of the Liberal Democrats. Since leaving the House of Commons in 2015, Simon has worked with the Open University, Talgo, and become Chancellor of London South Bank University. Prior to politics, Simon spent six years as a barrister.
-
Rachel Blake MP - Member
Rachel Blake MP is the Labour MP for Cities of London and Westminster. Rachel spent ten years as a councillor in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, and was deputy mayor from 2018-2022. Rachel spent her early career at the City of London Corporation, and subsequently as a Policy Adviser at HM Treasury, spearheading work at multiple local authorities across the capital on issues such as the provision of affordable homes, how best to bolster and preserve London’s economic prosperity, and supporting vulnerable and at-risk Londoners.
-
James MacCleary MP - Member
James is the Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Lewes and his party’s spokesperson on Europe. With a wealth of experience in British politics and campaigning, James was a prominent advocate for a public vote on the Brexit deal. As Campaign Director for the European Movement UK, he played a pivotal role in launching the People’s Vote campaign, which mobilised hundreds of thousands of people to demand a vote on the deal. James has also worked at a national level for the Liberal Democrats and for major charities such as the RSPCA and National Literacy Trust. Before becoming an MP, he ran his own small business, giving him a firsthand understanding of the challenges faced by British businesses in the post-Brexit landscape.
-
Eman Martin-Vignerte - Member
Eman is the Director of External Affairs and Government Relations at Bosch UK. With over six years of experience in software and hardware engineering in the automotive industry, she has played a key role in business development for telehealth in the UK and Ireland. Eman is a member of Buckingham Business First, CBI Southeast, Local Enterprise Partnership Buckinghamshire, and UK5G. She is also a member of OCAVIA, the Oxford-Cambridge ARC Virtual Institute for Aviation, and serves as an advisor for WE-Transform, the Workforce Europe transformation agenda for transport automation under the EU Commission. Eman is also a fellow at the Society of Leadership Fellows, St George’s House, Windsor Castle.
-
Carma Elliot CMG OBE FRSA - Member
Carma is former senior British diplomat of over 30 years, with postings in China, the EU and the Middle East, focused on trade and investment; education and culture; and wider people to people relations. She has also worked in international education as College President of UWCSEA and in social enterprise at a global level. Carma has led initiatives to advance youth mobility and currently chairs a Community Interest Company which promotes impactful UK/China cultural relations. Carma is a proud "Global Scot" and champion of the importance of diversity and inclusion in the UK's international connections.
-
Ellie Chowns MP - Member
Ellie is the Green MP for North Herefordshire, representing the area where she’s lived for over 20 years. She joined the Green Party in 2015 and has also served as a councillor, local council cabinet member, and Member of the European Parliament. She is the Green Party’s spokesperson on Foreign Affairs and Housing and Communities; and the Green Parliamentary Lead on Education, Defence, Business and Trade, Social Care, and Constitutional Affairs.
Ellie started her career in the charity sector, where she spent 10 years working in international development. After her PhD, which focused on community management of rural water supply, Ellie moved into academia and worked for several years as a lecturer at the University of Birmingham. Ellie lives on a small organic farm and has two grown-up sons.
-
Uma Kumaran MP - Member
Uma is the Labour MP for Stratford and Bow. She is a member of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee and the UK-EU Parliamentary Partnership Assembly. Uma is also Vice Chair of the APPG on International Conservation and the Co-Chair of APPG on Waterways. She is currently the Co-Chair of the Black, Asian Minority Ethnic Parliamentary Labour Party.
Before entering Parliament, Uma was the Director of Diplomatic and International Relations at C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, one of the world’s largest climate organisations.
She holds a Bachelors in Politics and MSc in Public Policy, both from Queen Mary University of London.
-
To be announced...
More members of the Commission will be announced in the coming weeks
Members of the Commission 2021-2024
-
Peter Norris
Co-Convenor of the Commission Chair, Virgin Group
-
Hilary Benn MP
Co-Convener of the Commission
Labour MP for Leeds South -
Paul Blomfield MP
Co-Convenor of the Commission
Labour MP for Sheffield Central -
Alison Williams
Global Head of Data, DunnHumby
-
Claire Hanna MP
SDLP MP for Belfast South
-
Dame Rosemary Squire
Joint CEO and Executive Chairman of Trafalgar Entertainment
-
Stephen Farry MP
Alliance MP for North Down
-
Dr Philippa Whitford MP
SNP MP for Central Ayrshire
-
Paul Girvan MP
DUP MP for South Antrim
-
Sir Simon Hughes
Chancellor of London South Bank University
-
Professor L. Alan Winters
Director, UK Trade Policy Observatory
University of Sussex -
Dr Geoff Mackey
Fellow of the Institute of Directors, the Royal Society of Chemistry and Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment
-
Layla Moran MP
Liberal Democrat MP for Oxford West and Abingdon
-
Liz Saville Roberts MP
Plaid Cymru MP for Dwyfor Meirionnydd
-
Dr Charles Rose
Chairman of Hainsford Renewable Energy Limited
-
Stephen Kinsella
Specialist Partner, Flint Global
-
Deborah Annetts
Chief Executive of the ISM
-
Alan Lowry
Founder and CEO of Environmental Street Furniture and Northern Ireland Policy Chair of Federation of Small Businesses
-
Stephen Gosling
former CEO of Adams Aviation
-
Tamara Cincik
Founder and CEO of Fashion Roundtable
-
Mike Cohen
Chief Executive, National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations
-
Alyn Smith
SNP MP for Stirling
Advisers to the Commission
![](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/603e6df5fbb8861bf7864b6c/1631021708806-ELXRTOA4CCCOVDA1UBP3/Anatole-Kaletsky.jpg)
Anatole Kaletsky
Economics Adviser to the UK Trade and Business Commission
Anatole is an economist with an international reputation, and is active in the worlds of both business and non-profit. An award-winning author and former economic journalist for The Times, Financial Times, The Economist, New York Times and Reuters. He is now co-chairman and chief economist of Gavekal Dragonomics, an economic consulting and asset management company.
![DH_11Feb_021_Av (1).jpg](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/603e6df5fbb8861bf7864b6c/1618137980527-6MJWV8C39QTG468OJLSB/DH_11Feb_021_Av+%281%29.jpg)
David Henig
Trade Adviser to the UK Trade and Business Commission
David is the UK Director at the European Centre for International Political Economy (ECIPE) and a leading expert and writer on Brexit negotiations and the trade policy issues arising from Brexit. He worked on trade and investment issues for the UK Government for a number of years, including on TTIP throughout the three and a half years of negotiations. After the EU referendum vote he helped establish the new Department for International Trade, engaging in many of the UK’s first working groups with non-EU countries, and setting out options for engagement with the US.
The UK Trade and Business Commission has made 114 recommendations to the UK Government - solutions to the barriers to trade and growth for the UK’s businesses and consumers.