Building Britain for Generations
Family Business UK Policy Summit will provide a unique opportunity for family businesses from across the UK to engage with policymakers, industry leaders, and key stakeholders on the pressing issues shaping the family business sector. It will provide a policy platform for FBUK to present the views of Members and all family businesses to those shaping the policy landscape, and to hear from key figures from across Westminster.
Click here to reserve you place on our booking page
Agenda
09:00-09:30 Arrival, registration and refreshments
09:30-09:50 Welcome and introductory comments
- Polly Mackenzie, FBUK Board adviser
- Catherine van Weenen, Regional Director, NatWest
- Neil Davy, CEO Family BusinessUK
09:50-10:00 Launch FBUK’s policy platform
10:00-10:10 Keynote address
10:10-11:00 Panel discussion: Education & Skills: Building a future-ready workforce for UK family businesses
- Matthew Jaffa FBUK (Chair)
- Claire Barker, Association of Colleges
- Ellie Jobes, Bagnalls
- Steve Rigby, Chair FBUK and Co-CEO Rigby Group
- Representative from West Midland Combined Authority
11:00-11:10 Keynote address: Daisy Cooper MP, Deputy Leader Liberal Democrats
11:10-11:30 Refreshments and networking
11:30-11:40 Keynote address
11:40-12:20 Panel discussion: Elections 2026: What is at stake for UK family businesses?
- Anita Boateng, Portland Senior Partner (Chair)
- Alison Philips, CEO, Labour Together
- John Johnston, POLITICO
12:20-12:30 Keynote address: James Evans MS, Reform party
12:30-13:00 Fireside chat
- Polly Mckenzie, FBUK Board Adviser
- Iain Anderson, Non-executive Director Department for Business and Trade
13:00 Close, lunch and networking
Kindly hosted by our Corporate Partner NatWest
Date
31 March 2026
Location
NatWest Conference Centre
250 Bishopsgate
London EC2M 4AA
Time
09:00 Registration
09:30 Start
Polly MacKenzie
FBUK Board Adviser
Polly Mackenzie is a policy leader with a career spanning government, think tanks and innovation.
She served as Director of Policy to the Deputy Prime Minister from 2010 to 2015, shaping major reforms across business, welfare and education before helping set up the Women’s Equality Party, leading the think-tank Demos and founding the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute.
Polly is a regular contributor to Times Radio on matters of politics and public policy and has extensive experience in non-executive roles in the charitable and private sectors. She is also co-founder of a science-focused venture builder, Zinc Innovation Partners.
Iain Anderson
Non-Executive Board Member Department for Business and Trade
Iain Anderson is a senior public policy and communications leader with over 30 years’ experience advising organisations across the public, private and voluntary sectors. He was a Founding Partner and long-time Executive Chairman of H/Advisors Cicero, working with major UK and international clients.
He has served as a Non-Executive Board Member at the Department for Business and Trade, providing strategic advice on policy and business engagement, and in 2024 led the independent review A New Partnership, examining how government and industry can work together to boost UK competitiveness and growth.
In 2021, he was appointed the UK Government’s first LGBTQ+ Business Champion, promoting inclusive workplaces and the role of business in advancing equality and opportunity.
Dame Harriett Baldwin MP
Conservative MP for West Worcestershire
Dame Harriett Baldwin MP is the Conservative Member of Parliament for West Worcestershire, first elected in the 2010 general election.
Before entering politics Dame Harriett spent two decades in finance, culminating as a Managing Director at JPMorgan with responsibility for currency and pension fund markets.
In government, Dame Harriett has served as Economic Secretary to the Treasury as well as City Minister. More recently, she was Chair of the Treasury Select Committee (2022-24) and is currently Shadow Minister for Business and Trade.
Anita Boateng
Senior Partner, Portland
Anita Boateng is a British government affairs, public policy and communications specialist and Senior Partner at Portland Communications, a leading UK public affairs and strategic communications agency. She advises organisations on navigating regulatory, reputational and political challenges with integrated campaigns spanning policy, media and stakeholder engagement.
Before joining Portland, Boateng served as a senior special adviser in the UK Government (2016–2019), working with multiple Cabinet ministers on strategy, policy communication and stakeholder engagement at the heart of Whitehall. She also began her career as a political producer on BBC Question Time, bringing media insight to her communications practice.
Daisy Cooper MP
Deputy Leader Liberal Democrats
Daisy Cooper is the Member of Parliament for St Albans, first elected in December 2019, and re-elected in 2024.
She serves as the Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats, a role she has held since September 2020, and is the party’s Treasury spokesperson in the House of Commons.
In her Treasury role, Daisy has been a leading voice on economic growth and fiscal policy, campaigning against the Government’s changes to Business Property Relief (BPR) and urging for a fairer business rates system for hospitality, retail and leisure businesses.
James Evans MS
Member of the Senedd for Brecon and Radnorshire
James Evans MS is the Reform Member of the Senedd for Brecon and Radnorshire.
Before his election to the Senedd, James served as a County Councillor and Cabinet Member on Powys County Council, focussing on local economic development and housing.
Prior to joining Reform UK, James served as the Conservatives’ Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care and Shadow Minister for Rural Affairs.
James was born and raised on his family farm in Brecon and Radnorshire and has been a vocal critic of the government’s reforms to inheritance tax, including Business Property Relief.
Ellie Jobes
HR Director, Bagnalls
Ellie Jobes is HR and SHE (Safety, Health & Environment) Director at Bagnalls Group and a fifth-generation member of the family business.
Since joining in 2011, she has led the company’s people strategy, including its award-winning apprenticeship programme and wider recruitment and skills agenda.
She also represents employers nationally through the Painting & Decorating Association and the Apprentice Ambassador Network, championing workforce development, apprenticeships and long-term talent - priorities closely aligned with the family business model.
John Johnston
Reporter, Politico
John Johnston is London Influence reporter at POLITICO Europe, where he writes the weekly London Influence newsletter covering political campaigning, lobbying, political finance and influence in Westminster and beyond.
Before joining POLITICO, he spent several years as a political correspondent at PoliticsHome, reporting across UK politics and public affairs.
Steve Rigby
Co-CEO Rigby Group and Chair FBUK
Steve Rigby is Co-CEO of the Rigby Group, one of the UK’s largest family-owned business groups operating across technology, real estate, airports, hotels and more. He has more than three decades’ experience leading the company’s growth, strategy and investment activity.
Rigby also plays a prominent role in the wider business community: he is Chair of FBUK, where he champions policies that support long-term business success, and he engages with government, MPs and business leaders on tax, growth and competitiveness for privately owned family firms.
Beyond FBUK, Steve chairs the Private Business Commission, is a patron of the Entrepreneurs Network and chairs the Rigby Foundation, combining business leadership with philanthropy and advocacy for enterprise and inclusive economic growth.