:39:51. > :39:58.the race to run our county councils? And the UK economy is on the move
:39:58. > :40:04.but what is happening here? We would like to think we are on the way to
:40:04. > :40:09.recovery but we are not there yet. My guest today at the Conservative
:40:10. > :40:15.MP Stephen Orrell and Labour's Jon Ashworth. We have a break from
:40:15. > :40:22.Parliament but when you are back, it is the Queen 's speech so what are
:40:22. > :40:28.you hoping you will get out of that? For the East Midlands and the whole
:40:28. > :40:33.country the most important bill in that programme is better working
:40:33. > :40:38.between social services, county councils social services and the
:40:38. > :40:44.health service and a reform of the structure of the way social services
:40:44. > :40:54.are delivered. It has been discussed, and the government are
:40:54. > :40:57.committed to bringing that forward. Why would it be important? There is
:40:57. > :41:03.too much evidence of the relationship between social
:41:03. > :41:07.services, primary care, the various bits of the health service
:41:07. > :41:15.delivering care to the elderly, that breaks down and we need to ensure
:41:15. > :41:20.closer working. I agree social services is important but I would
:41:20. > :41:26.like the Prime Minister used it as an opportunity for fundamental
:41:26. > :41:30.change on the economy, proper bills to get jobs. The unemployment rate
:41:30. > :41:37.still keeps going up so something to get jobs and something for families
:41:37. > :41:41.who are seeing the cost of living going up. By the time the MPs are
:41:41. > :41:47.all back, we will know who will be running our county councils. Let's
:41:47. > :41:53.take a look at a party with growing ambitions to make their mark here.
:41:53. > :42:00.UKIP are fielding more candidates than ever. Tim Parker reports.
:42:00. > :42:05.UK was set up as a movement to remove the UK from Europe in 1993.
:42:05. > :42:07.While their greatest success has been in Europe itself, they are
:42:07. > :42:17.canvassing across the East Midlands ahead of this week's county council
:42:17. > :42:20.elections. Many commentators suggest that UKIP's support will come from
:42:20. > :42:27.disgruntled Tories so why is Roger Helmer campaigning here in
:42:27. > :42:35.Coalville? It is all part of their attempt to reach a wider electorate.
:42:35. > :42:39.Coalville is a former mining town. We are certainly going to win seats
:42:39. > :42:45.in Leicestershire across the East Midlands, across the country because
:42:45. > :42:53.we are standing in three quarters of the seats. For us that is a first.
:42:53. > :43:00.That is the theory but how is that going down with new voters? A lot of
:43:01. > :43:09.what UKIP say is good but they are not strong enough. I have never
:43:09. > :43:15.heard of them. But some experts say UKIP could have a big impact.
:43:15. > :43:21.they will have their influence is in seats where the Conservatives have a
:43:21. > :43:27.majority of eight. If they split the conservative vote, they will lose
:43:27. > :43:33.seats so we could see Leicestershire go from being come to be
:43:33. > :43:38.Conservative controlled to becoming a hung council. And that gives UKIP
:43:38. > :43:41.campaigners competence. The visit to Coalville was not without its
:43:41. > :43:50.hitches but they are hoping for a warmer reception at the polls on
:43:50. > :43:56.Thursday. UKIP at a real threat to your party.
:43:56. > :43:59.They certainly express some public concerns about matters of this
:43:59. > :44:04.country's relationship with Europe but what is unclear is what they
:44:04. > :44:09.think it will do to contribute to that argument by getting involved in
:44:09. > :44:15.the Leicestershire county council. I do not know what their cue is on the
:44:15. > :44:19.future rate of council tax, about the relationship between social
:44:19. > :44:27.services and the health service and I suspect that UKIP does not know
:44:27. > :44:32.its view on those issues either. Lord Ashcroft's showed 9% support
:44:32. > :44:39.for UKIP and 44% said they had voted Tory in the last election so they
:44:39. > :44:48.are moving to UKIP. There is also a lot of evidence that they take votes
:44:48. > :44:53.from people who were not going to vote anyway. These are local
:44:53. > :44:58.elections. The question in dispute on next Thursday will be who
:44:58. > :45:08.determines who says the council tax, who determines the delivery of local
:45:08. > :45:08.
:45:08. > :45:13.services and you cannot say they are anti-Europe. We saw them campaigning
:45:13. > :45:18.in Coalville. We do not have elections in Leicester City. When
:45:18. > :45:22.they were against me in our by-election they were hammered. When
:45:22. > :45:29.I have been listening to people in Loughborough, places that put their
:45:29. > :45:33.trust in David Cameron, voted in Conservative MPs for the first time
:45:33. > :45:43.is in ten years. I am picking up a lot of disappointment in the
:45:43. > :45:48.Conservatives. You say this will play out on local issues but Gordon
:45:48. > :45:58.Brown called that woman a picket and when he did that, voters started to
:45:58. > :45:58.
:45:58. > :46:03.not trust your party -- bigot. are talking about if we were in
:46:03. > :46:08.power changing some of the rules on the immigration system, particularly
:46:08. > :46:12.around pay, the abuse of agency workers which I know a lot of voters
:46:12. > :46:17.are concerned about but these elections are about the Conservative
:46:17. > :46:24.party and the Labour Party. The mistakes that gave it Cameron has
:46:24. > :46:29.made and what the Labour Party would offer as an alternative. We have
:46:29. > :46:38.been hearing from the leaders of the three main parties and this week it
:46:38. > :46:43.is Leicestershire. Nick Rushton is a conservative and
:46:43. > :46:47.leader of Leicestershire county council. He is a fan of inclusive
:46:47. > :46:53.politics. He wants to protect services for the young and old and
:46:54. > :46:59.aims to provide the best services at the lowest cost. Helping people get
:46:59. > :47:04.into houses and jobs and get the economy moving - we have to make
:47:04. > :47:09.savings going forward. I am going to work with other councils to make
:47:09. > :47:19.savings and with the National Health Service to make services and I need
:47:19. > :47:20.
:47:20. > :47:25.to protect key frontline services for the elderly and services.
:47:25. > :47:30.Colton is leader of the Lib Dems on the council. He wants to concentrate
:47:30. > :47:35.on jobs and growth, protecting services and using some of the
:47:35. > :47:39.council's cash reserves. We want to focus on growth in the economy and
:47:39. > :47:44.helping businesses and young people into employment. The second thing
:47:44. > :47:48.will be around concentrating on the basic frontline services like
:47:48. > :47:53.repairing roads properly, school transport. Basic things like
:47:53. > :47:57.drainage and the services that people really do depend on. The
:47:57. > :48:01.third area is looking at this issue of reserves again and looking at
:48:01. > :48:08.where the county council can usefully spend some of that to help
:48:08. > :48:13.the economy and the people of Leicestershire. Max Hunt is leader
:48:13. > :48:19.of the Labour group. He promises 1000 new apprenticeships, better
:48:19. > :48:26.coordination of elderly and social care and wants to save the museum.
:48:26. > :48:31.We are putting in 1000 new apprenticeships. Want to get our
:48:31. > :48:37.county social services working closely with the NHS giving elderly
:48:38. > :48:44.and disabled people a better life at home. We support the money being put
:48:44. > :48:48.into extra road maintenance. discuss what will happen in
:48:48. > :48:56.Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire, I joined by John
:48:56. > :49:02.Hess. What are your predictions? not misting make but I think I can
:49:02. > :49:07.predict the Tories have the jitters about the elections. You will
:49:07. > :49:13.remember that the Conservatives were in third place, it was UKIP that
:49:13. > :49:17.came second with 28% of the popular vote. Stephen has referred to the
:49:17. > :49:21.challenge that UKIP pose for both the Conservatives and the other
:49:21. > :49:26.parties. You look around the East Midlands and UKIP are fielding more
:49:26. > :49:30.candidates than ever before. In Nottinghamshire the Queens are only
:49:30. > :49:34.putting up a third of their candidates in those seats so you
:49:34. > :49:40.look around and think where is that protest vote going to go and I
:49:40. > :49:43.suspect a lot of it will go to UKIP. The thing to remember in the East
:49:43. > :49:53.Midlands is both Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire are run by the
:49:53. > :50:01.Conservatives. Very narrow majorities and rethink -- saw Ed
:50:01. > :50:08.Miliband in West Bridgford. Growing confidence for the Labour Party.
:50:08. > :50:17.described UKIP as a protest vote. The real decision is whether people
:50:17. > :50:22.support Tory candidates or whether they opt for Labour candidates and
:50:22. > :50:31.we saw in the lifetime of the last Labour government the failure to
:50:31. > :50:41.control expenditure that was the leg of the -- legacy they bequeathed.
:50:41. > :50:42.
:50:42. > :50:47.Can Labour deliver? We can. The elections, people use it to send a
:50:47. > :50:55.message to David Cameron to say they are not happy with the scale of his
:50:55. > :51:00.cuts, not happy about him giving a tax cut to the wealthy - that is
:51:00. > :51:04.what the election is about. If UKIP to win seats, asked politicians have
:51:04. > :51:13.to respect that and we have to engage with those people who voted
:51:13. > :51:17.UKIP. The Prime Minister has said these elections are about local
:51:17. > :51:22.issues but you take this leaflet the Conservatives have been
:51:22. > :51:30.distributing, on the back of the union flag and we promised a
:51:30. > :51:38.referendum on the EU. It is not a local issue but in that there is set
:51:38. > :51:48.out a local programme in Nottinghamshire. The Leicestershire
:51:48. > :51:52.
:51:52. > :51:58.Conservatives are promising a real-time freeze in the council tax.
:51:58. > :52:02.Everyone wants to know is here, partly because of Baroness
:52:02. > :52:06.Thatcher's funeral so the campaigning has been delayed but on
:52:06. > :52:11.Friday the eyes of the country will look at the result in Derbyshire and
:52:11. > :52:16.Nottinghamshire because if it is a referendum on the coalition and
:52:16. > :52:22.David Cameron 's premiership, it will have a huge effect in the last
:52:22. > :52:29.two years, leading up to the next election. We are working hard in
:52:29. > :52:34.Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire. Last time it was a very disappointing set
:52:34. > :52:38.of results for us but we are taking nothing for granted. We are also
:52:38. > :52:46.working hard in Leicestershire and I hope we can make some progress
:52:46. > :52:49.there. Are you braced for losing Conservative councils? I never
:52:49. > :52:55.anticipate losing Conservative seats. It is clearly tougher when
:52:55. > :53:01.you are the government of the country, so yes it is tougher but
:53:01. > :53:05.when I was out last weekend, my constituents say, the reception I
:53:05. > :53:11.was getting was receptive to the argument that we had a legacy that
:53:11. > :53:16.had to be dealt with and it is being dealt with in a way that lays
:53:16. > :53:23.foundations for the future. Labour wedded to a council tax
:53:23. > :53:29.freeze? Every local council will have to grapple with these huge
:53:29. > :53:36.spending cuts imposed on them by the government. Each local council will
:53:36. > :53:42.have to make a decision about how they manage their budgets. Will it
:53:42. > :53:52.be possible to maintain the level of spending that it was in 22 and? --
:53:52. > :53:53.
:53:53. > :54:03.2010? Some of these cars are really hitting the front line. He used the
:54:03. > :54:03.
:54:03. > :54:09.phrase fiscal consolidation by which you mean cuts. These elections will
:54:09. > :54:15.probably be decided on national factors even though these are local
:54:15. > :54:20.elections but these councils and important. Whatever the results
:54:20. > :54:24.are, I think David Cameron will want to create that clear blue water
:54:24. > :54:28.between the Tories and the coalition. We have already seen a
:54:28. > :54:34.hint that the Prime Minister is wanting to beef up the Downing
:54:34. > :54:41.Street policy unit, and indication we are clearing the decks for the
:54:41. > :54:44.general election campaign. My blog has a profile of what has been
:54:44. > :54:51.happening in Nottinghamshire and why Nottinghamshire is the target local
:54:51. > :54:56.authority to watch on Friday. economy managed to avoid a triple
:54:56. > :55:01.dip recession but things may not be rosy here. Latest figures show
:55:01. > :55:09.growth fell back here in the first three months of the year so how does
:55:09. > :55:14.it feel for people on the front line and looking for work?
:55:14. > :55:23.The economy is growing, George Osborne is optimistic, let's see
:55:23. > :55:30.what the rise in GDP means to job here. What do you think of the news
:55:30. > :55:35.from George Osborne? He is not living in the real world, there are
:55:35. > :55:42.not that many jobs round here. Nearly everything has closed down.
:55:43. > :55:48.When the mines were open, there was no unemployment. We would like to
:55:48. > :55:53.think we are on the way to recovery but we are not really there yet. We
:55:53. > :55:59.could really do with some big employee is coming along and setting
:55:59. > :56:08.up their businesses in this town. have noticed a rise in the number of
:56:08. > :56:15.older people coming to us, they are close to retirement, they cannot
:56:15. > :56:21.apply for jobs because they do not have the experience with computers.
:56:21. > :56:26.What is out there for the older generation? Why do people my age
:56:26. > :56:36.find it hard to find work? I have worked all my life. Now I am
:56:36. > :56:37.
:56:37. > :56:46.unemployed. My question is why isn't all the investment going to all the
:56:46. > :56:53.big cities and none to places like here. What do you say to them?
:56:53. > :56:59.absolutely agree that times are tough and you introduced this
:56:59. > :57:08.passage by saying we have avoided a triple dip recession and
:57:08. > :57:18.statistically that is true. The truth is the economy is bumping
:57:18. > :57:18.
:57:18. > :57:22.along the bottom. Flatlining. What we need to do is create
:57:22. > :57:29.circumstances for growth and that means ensuring the government's
:57:29. > :57:36.spending is kept under control and we have flexible economy is so
:57:36. > :57:40.businesses can respond to their customers both here and abroad.
:57:40. > :57:47.seems to be working in America because they have some growth. Why
:57:47. > :57:52.can we not make it work here? relationship with Europe and the
:57:52. > :57:56.fact that geography puts us very close to one of the most depressed
:57:56. > :58:01.big economies in the world, the Continental European economy and we
:58:01. > :58:07.have an interest in ensuring that economy sought its affairs out
:58:08. > :58:14.because until we do we will remain close to a depressed area. There are
:58:14. > :58:21.some small signs that the economy is growing. Is the strategy of the
:58:21. > :58:28.Chancellor starting to work? I do not think it is. Others have been
:58:28. > :58:34.hailing this growth figure. My word, isn't the bar set low. We are
:58:34. > :58:43.bumping along, flatlining. We have to have some big measures to boost
:58:43. > :58:48.growth. There is no demand in the economy. Tell us about
:58:48. > :58:51.Leicestershire. In Leicestershire we have a degree of resilience in the
:58:51. > :58:57.manufacturing base but we have companies there that want to export
:58:57. > :59:03.and we need to give them more support. The government have said
:59:03. > :59:09.there will be a new scheme, the money has not quite been flowing
:59:09. > :59:19.through so we need to be supporting business. What about people out of
:59:19. > :59:22.
:59:22. > :59:31.work? All politicians will agree that the economy needs to rebalance.
:59:31. > :59:35.The problem is the unemployment rate in Charnwood is relatively OK
:59:35. > :59:43.compared to other places but unemployment is still high. If you
:59:43. > :59:49.look at what is happening... John says what we need is lots of
:59:49. > :59:55.measures to create growth. I am not against in principle is looking for
:59:55. > :59:58.opportunities to do that but how do you create growth in economy? It is
:59:58. > :00:02.by businesses finding customers for goods and services both here and
:00:02. > :00:09.abroad and what the government needs to do is put emphasis on ensuring
:00:09. > :00:13.that businesses are able to create jobs and expand. We asked the
:00:13. > :00:23.chamber of commerce about this and they say figures of growth fell here
:00:23. > :00:23.
:00:23. > :00:31.while increasing for the rest of the country. The truth is right across
:00:31. > :00:37.the country the economy is flatlining. To be fair the chamber
:00:37. > :00:45.of comments said there were small signs of recovery but it is a bumpy
:00:45. > :00:51.year ahead. We have this thing called the regional growth fund, the
:00:51. > :00:56.East Midlands has had minuscule amounts of money. Given me have such
:00:56. > :01:05.a proud tradition of manufacturing in this region, we should be doing
:01:05. > :01:10.better. Ministers say the quality quality of our bids is not better.
:01:10. > :01:16.Time for our round-up of some of the other political stories in the East
:01:16. > :01:21.Midlands this week. Town halls across the East Midlands
:01:21. > :01:31.are clocking up arrears in unpaid council tax. Nottingham City Council
:01:31. > :01:35.is owed �14.5 million. In Leicester it is �10 million.
:01:35. > :01:40.Some schools in Derby want more funding for an unexpected rise in
:01:40. > :01:45.pupil numbers. It is needed to cope with an influx of children
:01:45. > :01:49.particularly from Eastern Europe. The city council says extra funding
:01:49. > :01:52.is available. And I sue bree has admitted she
:01:52. > :02:01.worries her officials because she does not stick to her prepared
:02:01. > :02:08.speech. I am not very good at following the script. It causes them
:02:08. > :02:11.concern I go off script. But on message she said the correlation had
:02:11. > :02:19.already made more progress on reducing health inequalities than
:02:19. > :02:25.the previous Labour government. Sticking firmly to the script, that