Manchester, United Kingdom – Cayman Islands Represented at The Conservative Party Conference.

Following participation on a panel discussion at the Labour Party conference, the Cayman Islands participated in the Conservative Party Conference, as part of the government’s ongoing commitment to engagement across the political spectrum in the UK. The Cayman presence included a stand in the exhibition hall, participation in a panel discussion about Global Britain with the Ministry’s Chief Officer Eric Bush and UK Secretary of State for International Trade, as well as a partnership event with The Spectator Magazine. 

Mr Bush led a team including members from the Government Office in London (CIGO-UK) to the annual conference to promote and educate Ministers, MPs and the general public about the Cayman Islands. 

The Cayman stand, with promotional materials and information from the Department of Tourism and Cayman Finance, was situated in the main exhibition hall of the conference centre. Visitors to the stand were given information and advice about the Cayman Islands, including history, culture and tourism, with a focus on The Cayman Islands’ close ties to Britain.

“This is a fantastic opportunity to remind the governing party and the membership of the Conservative Party that the Cayman Islands is proud to be a British Overseas Territory, which is particularly important in this, the year of the 60^th Anniversary of the Constitution. We are sending a strong message to the British public and the UK Government that we are British and that we stand firmly behind our financial services sector. This is an opportunity to share our history and culture, as well as information about Cayman’s financial services offerings, to inform the public about the tax neutral status of the jurisdiction, while dispelling some of the myths surrounding our financial services industry” Mr Bush commented.  

Visitors to the stand included the Chairman of the Party, the Rt Hon James Cleverly MP, Minister of State for the Home Office, the Rt Hon Brandon Lewis MP, Minister of State for the Department of Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), the Rt Hon Kwasi Kwarteng MP and the Minister responsible for Overseas Territories engagement in the Department for Exiting the European Union, and former Minister for the British Overseas Territories, Mr James Duddridge MP, among others. 

Members of the Cayman Islands All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG), including Chairman Sir Graham Brady MP, Martin Vickers MP and British Overseas Territories APPG Chairman Andrew Rosindell MP also visited the stand to show their support. 

Mr Bush also had discussions with The Rt Hon Ben Wallace MP, Secretary of State for Defence, and Lord Ashcroft KCMG PC, former Deputy Chair of the Party. 

While Cayman has had representation at party conferences each year, including a stand last year, this is the first time Cayman has partnered with the well-respected magazine ‘The Spectator’ to host a panel discussion about Global Britain post Brexit. 

Eric Bush went on to say “Having a stand at the conference gives us a greater presence and offers us a space to meet with Ministers and MPs who are important for Cayman. Our presence at the conference was a great success this year, especially with the addition of a very well attended fringe event with the Rt Hon Liz Truss MP, Secretary for State for International Trade, at which we were able to share our Cayman message clearly at a high level and to a very engaged UK audience.” Mr Bush concluded “this was an opportunity to remind people that while Brexit doesn’t have any known direct effects on the Cayman Islands, indirectly there are opportunities that we need to better exploit in the context of Global Britain and international trade.”