The Rt Hon Mark Spencer MP, Minister of State at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and Labour’s Shadow Defra Minister Daniel Zeichner MP have joined the line-up for the Horticultural Trades Association’s (HTA) annual conference on 5 October 2023 at the ICC in Birmingham. 

Horticulture, The Conference will focus on ‘Growing a Greener Future’. This theme will certainly be part of the speeches from the political keynotes, who will outline their views on the value of UK horticulture, green growth and policy priorities of relevance to the sector. Minister Spencer will be providing a pre-recorded speech and Daniel Zeichner MP will join the conference in-person. Mr Zeichner was elected to Parliament as the MP for Cambridge in May 2015, and has been serving on the Labour frontbench as Shadow Minister for Farming, Food, Fisheries and Rural Affairs for the last three years. 

Further political and economic insights will come from the multi-international prize-winning economist Dr Tim Leunig, a Visiting Professor in Practice at the LSE. Dr Leunig will deliver a keynote speech on the state of the economy and its outlook. He will give insights and reflections on what government looks like now, highlighting how it could look in the future and what that means for the economy and sector. Dr Leunig has served as economic advisor to two Chancellors of the Exchequer, and Senior Policy Adviser to the Defra Secretary of State. 

Fran Barnes, HTA’s CEO commented “The HTA is delighted to welcome such high-profile political and economic speakers at our flagship sector conference. It promises to be an important event for the breadth of UK horticulture. Attendees will hear the views and predictions of expert speakers and panellists, meet and debate with influential industry stakeholders, and get involved in shaping the future for environmental horticulture.” 

Hosted by gardening blogger, podcaster and TV Presenter Michael Perry, and including a keynote talk from award winning garden designer Manoj Malde, Horticulture, The Conference will explore key areas in which the sector is coming together to grow a greener future, including sustainability, the value of plants and careers in horticulture.  Further speakers and a full programme will be announced during the coming weeks. 

Horticulture, The Conference takes place at The International Convention Centre, Birmingham. For more information and to book your place, visit: https://hta.org.uk/conference