Nara Annual Conference - 20th May 2025 - Back to the Future !

The former MP and cabinet minister Michael Portillo is now firmly established as a popular broadcaster and political commentator. Alongside television series on Spain, rail travel around Britain and Europe, and the natural world, he shares the sofa for a sardonic look at politics on This Week and weighs up ethical dilemmas on Radio 4’s The Moral Maze.
Michael began his career in the Conservative Party research department, developing policies for reducing the role of the state. He then became an advisor to the Secretary of State for Energy, working on privatisation schemes in oil, gas, electricity and coal.

Winning a parliamentary seat in the 1984 General Election, Michael was soon appointed a Government Whip and then Under-Secretary at the Department of Health & Social Security. In turn he was promoted to Minister of State for Transport then Local Government, where he oversaw the abolition of the poll tax. He entered Cabinet as Chief Secretary to the Treasury, controlling public spending and managing departmental allocations. He became Employment Secretary two years later, and finally took over at Defence. In total he served for thirty years in national politics with over a decade as a minister in the Thatcher and Major governments.

After leaving Westminster, Michael reinvented himself as a broadcaster and is a regular on TV and radio. He is perhaps best known for his five series of Great British Railway Journeys and two series of Great Continental Railway Journeys on BBC 2, exploring social and industrial history as he travels.
Often considered the greatest leader the Conservative Party never had, Michael talks about the problem with politicians and the humbling effect of his famed rejection by the voters of Enfield and Southgate.

Simon Rubinsohn - Chief Economist RICS
Simon is the Chief Economist for the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and is very familiar with the work of the fixed charge receiver.
The RICS Economics team provides market leading analysis enabling a forward-looking insight into developments in the property sector.
Simon will give his views on the UK economy generally and then present an outlook for UK property in the current economic and political climate.

Scott Marshall - Roma FInance
Scott, founder and MD Roma Finance, specialising in bridging and commercial development finance, will offer an insight into what it takes to make the decision to appoint, what drives the IP or LPA choice, what makes a great LPA and - most importantly - will give a rare insight into how a lender's business works when distress arrives and the impact that has.

Edmund Chan - Hill Dickinson 
Edmund Chan, Head of Legal Tech & Innovation at international law firm Hill Dickinson LLP, will consider the moral, ethical and operational risks facing professional services as we increasingly interact with AI, as well as the opportunities it affords to the truly tech savvy business.