The Big Debate returns as a face-to-face event at The Halls, St Andrews Plain, giving you the opportunity to engage with Norfolk MPs and business leaders. The event brings together Norfolk MPs, and local business leaders to discuss and debate key issues affecting businesses in the region, this high-profile annual policy event is a key date in the commercial calendar for the start of 2022. The topics for 2022 will be:
- People, Skills, and Wellbeing
- Transport and Infrastructure
- Growth and Innovation
- Climate Change
We are very pleased to announce our Climate Change panellists are; Ellen Goodwin, Infrastructure Manager and Clean Growth lead at New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership, Paul McCarthy, General Manager at Chantry Place, Stuart Wright, Aviva and Clive Lewis, labour MP Ellen Goodwin, Infrastructure Manager and Clean Growth lead at New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership Ellen is responsible for leading the New Anglia LEP’s embedment of clean growth. She supports the newly appointed Clean Growth Taskforce focussed on leadership and collaboration, evidence and impact, decarbonising transport, transition business support and workforce for the future. She is also responsible for developing and implementing the LEP’s infrastructure strategies and plans, overseeing and supporting the work of the LEP’s Infrastructure Boards. Paul McCarthy, General Manager at Chantry Place. Leading the team at Chantry Place, East Anglia’s premier shopping centre and home to the very best of international, national and local brands from Apple to Zara. Also Chair of the Norwich BID, Chair of the Business Climate Leaders Group and Vice President of the Norfolk Chambers of Commerce. Stuart Wright Operations Net Zero Delivery Director at Aviva Stuart Wright started work as an Army officer in the Royal Engineers training first as a Military Engineer and then more formally as a Civil Engineer. A career change (after 20 years) took him briefly to PA Consulting and then to Aviva. Time at Aviva has been spent almost exclusively in the planning, design and operational delivery of shared services. Roles have included UK property director and Aviva Europe operational services director and more recently Group Property and Facilities Director, where he had a wide remit including all operational property acquisitions and disposals as well as running the worldwide real estate portfolio.Stuart has now been appointed to lead Aviva’s ambition to be carbon net zero across its operations and operations supply chain, including all markets, subsidiaries and joint ventures, by 2030, building on his strong track record of delivering carbon reduction projects. Stuart was Chair of the UK Living Wage Foundation Advisory Council from 2026 to 2021, a body that provides advice and guidance on the development of the Living Wage in the UK; he is now a Trustee of Citizens UK, the founder charity of the Living wage.Outside of work Stuart enjoys his family, gardening and his vintage tractor. Clive Lewis, Labour MP Norwich South Clive has lived and worked in Norwich since 2001, and has been MP for Norwich South since 2015. Clive has been Shadow Defence Secretary and a shadow business minister since 2015 . Most recently he was shadow minister for sustainable economics in the Labour Treasury Team. He is Married with a three year old daughter, and is one of the founders of the Global Alliance for a Green New Deal – a plan to address the climate and nature crises while making life better for us all, backed by over 300 lawmakers from 42 nations. Clive has lived a life outside of politics. He was a BBC TV News reporter for more than a decade. He served a tour of duty with the British Army in Afghanistan in 2009. Clive’s first full time job was in a food factory. He was the first in my family to get to University. Clive grew up on a council estate and was raised in a single parent family by his dad. At work, he stood up for his fellow employees by being a rep for my trade union.
