Press Release 27 May 2008

Chamber of Commerce 10th Anniversary

I would like congratulate the Chamber on its 10th Anniversary. As one who was on the original Board of Midlothian Enterprise Trust, we discussed the potential a few years earlier of establishing a Chamber of Commerce as we felt that Midlothian’s needs were substantially different from companies based in Edinburgh as a semi-rural area.

I understood how important it was that the transition be made from heavy industry, such as coal mining, textiles etc moving towards a position of recognising the massive changes taking place in Midlothian.

It was important to recognise that Midlothian had changed and we now required to give physical support to small businesses which moved us towards the establishment of the Chamber and along with Midlothian Enterprise Trust this allowed us to engage with a wider range of organisations/companies that could be supported within Midlothian.

I am therefore very proud to have been a founder member of the Chamber and indeed I believe at the time Midlothian was the only local authority that was represented on a board of a Chamber of Commerce.

As MP for Midlothian I have spoken of the Chamber and the Enterprise Trust and the work that they are doing with a great deal of pride and a recognition that for such a relatively small County we have one of the most, if not the most effective Chamber of Commerce in the UK.

[Back to press release index]