Tremendous optimism on view at Chamber awards night

confidence. You only had to listen to the lists of finalists for our awards to appreciate the diversity of the great work going on in our region – from hospitals to wine merchants; community work to global trade; engineering to people development.

Part of that confidence is generated by the number of international firms who are increasingly keen to invest in Birmingham. This week I saw how Mondelez are doing just that by creating new production lines at the iconic Cadbury factory in Bournville, part of their £200 million investment in the plant over the past five years.

At a time of year when the firm is again being subject to cheap and easy pot shots by some, the reality is they should be applauded for continued investment and innovation in the country, and Birmingham, in particular.

We know this tremendous optimism was imparted to the mayoral candidates at our dinner and we are working hard to ensure that there is a large turn-out at the polls on May 4.

As part of that campaign, the Chamber policy team has put together a toolkit to provide businesses with guidance and resources for engaging their workforce with the election.

“West Midlands Mayor: Your Toolkit” contains easy to use content, images, posters and ideas for how businesses can raise awareness of the election among their staff.

It also includes a simple Q&A on common questions about the West Midlands mayor.

The toolkit is non-partisan and is aimed at raising awareness and encouraging people to vote in this important election, which takes place on Thursday, May 4.

The toolkit can be found at www.greaterbirminghamchambers.com

The West Midlands mayor will be a high-profile voice that will speak up boldly for the region on a local, national and international level.

However, for them to be effective, local citizens need to know this election is taking place and have their say on who best represents them by actually turning out to vote.

The Chamber has nearly 2,700 members employing about 200,000 people. We want to play our part in spreading the word about this crucial election.

Many of the steps suggested in this toolkit are really simple but effective: for instance, sending calendar invitations to all employees to remind them to register to vote and take part on the day.

I would urge everyone to take up this call to action and become a champion for raising awareness of this election among colleagues. Take a look, download the toolkit today and take part.

To return to Bubbling Brum, our Quarterly Business Report published today (Thursday, April 6) shows a “quiet confidence” among business leaders and that must be music to the ears of our mayoral candidates.

But whoever is elected will need to understand that assurances are needed from the Government around the Brexit negotiations and that their position will be key to creating prosperity in our region.

That is why we are calling on the Government to create favourable economic conditions to ensure our members and businesses generally are equipped with the means required to adapt to the upcoming changes and to embrace the new opportunities on offer with Europe and further afield. Paul Faulkner is chief

executive of Greater Birmingham Chambers of

Commerce