Association of British Chambers of Commerce x British Chambers of Commerce National Chamber of Trade

Association of British Chambers of Commerce x British Chambers of Commerce National Chamber of Trade

The Association was founded in 1860 as the Association of Chambers of Commerce of the United Kingdom and its name was changed to the Association of British Chambers of Commerce in 1919. The Association is now known as the British Chambers of Commerce. Early chambers of commerce had been established in Jersey, Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, Glasgow , Edinburgh and Belfast amongst others but there was no concerted attempt to work together until the presidents of the Yorkshire Chambers met at the Social Science Congress in Bradford in 1859 and decided they needed their own national forum. The Association had London offices in Queen Anne's Gate, City of Westminster (to be close to the Houses of Parliament) and at Cannon Street and Queen Street in the City of London.

The Association was concerned in the 19th century with a wide variety of subjects including bankruptcy and partnership law, patents and trade marks, copyright, reform of copyright law, shipping and railways and foreign tariffs. By 1900 the Association comprised 90 chambers and included more than 50 Members of Parliament among its honorary members. Much of its success in this period stemmed from its ability to influence Parliament. One cause for which it lobbied for over a century was adoption of the metric system. After the Second World War it argued for UK membership of a European trading area. In the postwar period the Association argued against the Labour Government's increased involvement with the economy and industry. The increasing interest of the state in industrial affairs led the Association to seek to influence Ministers directly and to liaise with government departments to amend proposed legislation, rather than by lobbying MPs.