It’s his biggest speech yet – but will anyone be around to hear it?

Mar 12 2008 by Bill Gleeson, Liverpool Daily Post

SYMPATHY may not run easily towards No 11 Downing Street this week. Delivering a maiden Budget Speech in the bear pit that is the House of Commons is a tall order.

When you take to your feet against a backdrop of turmoil in world markets and with the “r word” being muttered long and loud on Wall Street, it's an even taller order.

And when you add the fact that your boss, the Prime Minister sitting feet away, is a man who carved his reputation on the despatch box you will be standing at, it adds up to an even taller order.

Quite what Mr Darling has to impart we will know in just a few hours.

If the briefings his spin doctors have been holding are accurate, it sounds like a pretty formidable set of Budget proposals will emerge from his red box.

We'll soon know.

The speed with which his intentions are relayed to the world gets swifter every year. That's why it's no longer necessary to switch on the television to glean instant news from the House of Commons backed up by instant analysis.

Most of this city's corporate professionals and property people are with the rest of their colleagues from those sectors at the huge MIPIM event, in France this week. No doubt the Chancellor's speech will be picked up over the chinking of glasses and the munching of canapés in Cannes.

And another sizeable chunk of the Chancellor's audience will be away from their offices and desks enjoying the delights of the Cheltenham Festival. Budget newsflashes are unlikely to spoil the celebrations in the winner's enclosure there.

As well as being an important sporting fixture, Cheltenham also marks an important milestone in the increasingly crowded corporate events diary. With our own Aintree spectacular a little over three weeks away, the corporate season is well under way.

Corporate hospitality has grown to be a massive and lucrative business, against the odds some may think.

True, it remains a pretty volatile market place.

Tough trading times reflected in challenging balance sheets may mean corporate entertain- ment takes an early strike.

But with increasing numbers of world-class businesses associating themselves and their brands with sporting events, it remains a growing market.

Champions League football is another good example. When Liverpool have played at home in this competition, the city's hotels are full of guests and their foyers are often full of displays from some of the biggest brands associated with the competition.

For them, the marketing starts the minute their guests arrive, and goes into overdrive when they reach the stadium.

For the Chancellor, marketing today's Budget started on the day he took over from Gordon Brown.

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MATT JOHNSON is chairman of Mando Group.