Dr Tim Bunch (President, Manchester Actuarial Society): Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to Manchester Town Hall for this special meeting of the Manchester Actuarial Society, which is being held to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the actuarial profession in the UK.

I should like to welcome particularly various guests. There are guests invited by the Manchester Actuarial Society, and also guests of actuarial firms in the north of England. I would particularly like to welcome Paul Thornton, the current President of the Institute.

Our speaker today is Professor Patrick Minford, who is Professor of Economics at Cardiff Business School, which is at the University of Wales. He has been in that position since October 1997. Prior to that, he was Professor of Economics at Liverpool University, and he maintains his contacts with the University of Liverpool through being Director of the Liverpool research group in macro-economics. He has held economic positions in a number of places, including HM Treasury, at Manchester University and at the National Institute for Economic and Social Research.