All party line-up of speakers to appear at FSB Annual Conference

Wednesday, 10 February 2010 12:00 AM

Small businesses will be hearing from a cross party line-up at the FSB's Annual Conference this year, just before the country goes to the polls.

Lord Mandelson and the First Minister of Scotland Alex Salmond will both address the conference, held at the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre, as small businesses examine how they can support a full economic recovery this year. Leader of the Conservative Party, David Cameron and Leader of the Liberal Democrat Party, Nick Clegg, have also been invited.

The event - the largest non-Governmental small business conference in the country - will be opened by the Lord Provost of Aberdeen, Peter Stephen and the theme will be 'The Brave Heart of Small Businesses'.

John Wright, National Chairman, Federation of Small Businesses, said:

"The FSB's Annual Conference is set to give small businesses the information they need to survive the year ahead as the country gets ready to go to the polls, and we look to an incoming Government to continue to move us forward on the road to recovery. The event will give small businesses the chance to hear exactly what politicians will do for them before the General Election.

"Small businesses truly are the lifeblood of the economy and are doing all they can to ensure the country fully recovers from the recession this year. The FSB Annual Conference 2010 in Aberdeen will give small firms the chance to debate the issues that really matter to them."

ENDS

Notes to Editors

1. The FSB is Britain's leading business organisation with over 213,000 members. It exists to protect and promote the interests of the self-employed, and all those who run their own business. More information is available at www.fsb.org.uk

2. The FSB Annual Conference will take place between 18 and 20 March 2010 and will be held at Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre, Aberdeen, Scotland. Exhibitors include Towergate, Visa, Dell, Co-op, ASC Finance, British Gas, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Department for Work and Pensions.

3. The FSB's Annual Conference is the biggest non-governmental SME conference in the UK. Previous conferences have been held in Cardiff, London, Birmingham, Manchester, Edinburgh, Belfast and Leeds. For more information go to www.fsb.org.uk/conference2010

4. The main sponsor at Conference 2010 is Visa. In Europe, there are over 380 million Visa debit, credit and commercial cards. Visa Europe is owned and operated by over 4,000 European member banks and was incorporated in July 2004. In October 2007, Visa Europe became independent of the new global Visa Inc, with an exclusive, irrevocable and perpetual licence in Europe. Visa enjoys unsurpassed acceptance around the world. In addition, Visa/PLUS is one of the world's largest global ATM networks, offering cash access in local currency in over 170 countries.For more information, visit www.visaeurope.com

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