Generally, in meeting with government and the opposition, you realise that the 2010 general election will be very different. There has not been one in the last decade in which the economy has been so much to the fore – and of course, linked to that, taxation.

Anyone who has an interest at all should already be doing their own thinking about how to influence political channels locally and nationally. The issues at stake are too important not to engage and include sacred cows that will need to be debated – from the presumption that 50% of school intake should go to university to the nuclear element in Trident.

Following the launch of our EU manifesto ahead of the European parliamentary elections, we are gearing up for the party conference season in September/October where we hope to influence thinking during that critical period when manifestos are being pulled together.

The policy recommendations in our UK manifesto, on issues such as skills, enterprise, sustainability and financial services regulation, will form part of the discussions at events lined up with the main parties as well as leading think tanks.

While parliamentarians are obviously recognising tax as a headline issue, the changes announced so far in the Budget will not, I believe, be enough on their own to deal with the impact of the national debt. The tax spending side also needs to be looked at very hard. Financial institutions will not be paying anything like the same amounts on profits as they have in the last decade – how will the UK close the gap?

It’s always dangerous to make assumptions in politics: we should not, for instance, simply assume the Tories are going to romp into government. Assuming the City’s continued importance as a major financial centre, however, is important to economic confidence, recovery and growth.

Disproportionate policy or regulatory responses will exacerbate problems – and sweep up sound businesses which played no part in the overstretching and excessive risk taking of recent times. I am encouraged by members’ support of our political engagement: it enables us to remain an institution able to encourage government to take the proportionate road.