In a time of rising costs and wavering business confidence, the voice of Staffordshire’s business community rang loud and clear in a candid conversation with Newcastle-under-Lyme’s newly elected MP, Adam Jogee.

Elected in the 2024 General Election, Mr Jogee is one of four new local MPs now representing our region in Parliament.

Staffordshire Chambers’ of Commerce was founded in 1813 and some 212 years later, we continue to be the voice of our members, helping to amplify their concerns and connect them to key decision makers and political leaders.   We recently sat down with Adam Jogee, MP for Newcastle under Lyme,  Mr Jogee was elected as MP in the 2024 General Election and is one of four local Members of Parliament who are completely new to the role. 

The constituency of Newcastle under Lyme stretches from Betley in the west, all the way to Wolstanton and covers much of the urban area of Newcastle under Lyme, bookended by junction of the M6 to the north, and Hanchurch to the south..  The constituency is home to more than 90,000 residents

Our meeting was kindly hosted by Keele University and in the space of an hour, we covered plenty of ground.   We opened with a round table discussion on business confidence.  The Autumn 2024 Budget came with announcements to increase employer National Insurance Contributions and Minimum Living Wage, both of which came into force last month.   Our Quarterly Economic Survey (QES) responses during 2024 and into 2025, picked up a noticeable drop in business confidence and this was flagged during our meeting, with businesses grappling with higher costs and facing the dilemma of whether or not to pass these on in the form of higher prices.

Mr Jogee assured us that the government is keen to develop the right conditions to encourage thriving businesses and acknowledged that low business confidence can be detected by customers. 

We heard from a food importer who has faced a real headache when the system which enforces checks was disrupted, causing spiralling costs and food which has perished due to delays.  There was a call for a food strategy to support our nation’s food security and Mr Jogee agreed to connect our member with a senior government minister, to allow concerns to be escalated.

GB Energy has recently announced plans to support Community Energy, with a particular interest in the Midlands and we asked Mr Jogee about helping to bring this to fruition in Newcastle-under-Lyme, a constituency with high levels of fuel poverty.  Mr Jogee said he had spoken with the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and emphasised the need to support the local population and to champion local and national initiatives to support sustainability aspirations. 

We heard about the uncertainty faced by universities in a struggling sector.  Representatives from Keele University pointed out that economic growth can be delivered through a thriving university sector which produces a pipeline of talented graduates, ready for employment in the local economy.

In other discussions, we looked at the issue of energy prices for business and conversations around what can be done to boost engagement between business and education in the areas of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) subjects, particularly at schools in deprived parts of our region.

Mr Jogee listened carefully to the diverse mix of discussion and agreed to take feedback to government colleagues.  We will be meeting with Mr Jogee again, before the end of the year.  Check out the Events page on our website, for further details:

Any business can book a 1:1 meeting with a Member of Parliament but a round table discussion brings so much more by way of synergy and discussion of cross cutting themes.  We’re meeting with other local Members of Parliament in the coming weeks and you’re invited to join us:

Date	MP name	Constituency
Friday 6th June	Leigh Ingham	Stafford
Friday 20th June	Allison Gardner	Stoke-on-Trent South
Friday 4th July	David Williams	Stoke-on-Trent North
Thursday 17th July	Gareth Snell	Stoke-on-Trent Central

Check out the events page of our website to book your place, which is open to Chamber members only.  Advanced booking is essential.  Hope to see you there!