The Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce is streaming live coverage of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) annual conference back to its headquarters in Binley.

Chamber members are being invited to join business leaders at the event which will begin with an opening address from BCC director general David Frost at 12.30pm.

MPs Peter Mandelson and Ken Clarke are next on the bill and will attempt to answer the question of who businesses should vote for in the forthcoming general election.

Lord Adonis, the secretary of state for transport; Ian Livingston, the chief executive of the BT Group; and Lord Sugar are also speaking during the afternoon.

On top of that, there are a range of other speakers including representatives from UKTI and the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee.

Alan Durham, director of policy at the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, said: "It is an impressive array of speakers and it should be a very interesting afternoon.

"Places are at a premium for the conference down in London so this is an excellent way for businesses in this region to get the chance to hear from major personalities in industry and politics.

"This is a crucial time in both the world of business and politics when you consider an election is just around the corner and we are in the midst of a fragile recovery after the longest recession on record.

"So I am sure this event will be of real interest to local business."

He added: "We are currently formulating plans for speakers and topics for our own Coventry and Warwickshire annual conference in June and we will be announcing more details very soon.

"The emphasis of that event will be quite different because it will be post-election and rather than discussing what might happen depending who wins, we will be able to look with more certainty at the remainder of the year.

"The election is going to be a key factor in how the recovery pans out in the second half of the year and that is why we are keen to make sure business voices are heard through the Chamber."

Chamber members wishing to attend the Chamber to watch all or part of the national conference streaming on Thursday, March 18 from 12.30pm until 5.30pm should contact Graham Aylott on 024 7665 4116 or at grahama@cw-chamber.co.uk