:00:17. > :00:24.Hello. Hello. Today the experts confirmed what most of us already
:00:24. > :00:29.knew, the UK economy is in the doldrums. We are very lucky that we
:00:29. > :00:34.have a skilled labour force. A grim day on the jobs front as hundreds
:00:34. > :00:40.more disappear. Prices are up at the pumps. Drivers are assured
:00:40. > :00:50.there is plenty for everyone. Be truthful, when was the last time
:00:50. > :00:56.
:00:56. > :01:01.you were dishonest? Today the experts confirmed what most of us
:01:01. > :01:03.knew already, the UK economy is in the doldrums. But here in the East
:01:03. > :01:07.it is a brighter story. Yes, officially the economy shrank
:01:07. > :01:10.in the last three months of 2011. It's a small figure, just 0.2 per
:01:10. > :01:14.cent, but, nevertheless, it's not good news. Closer to home, it's
:01:14. > :01:16.likely that the regional economy did a bit better than this. We have
:01:16. > :01:21.lower unemployment and we boast some of the growth industries such
:01:21. > :01:24.as renewables and energybio science. So, let's start in Milton Keynes
:01:24. > :01:34.named this week on a list of key places in the UK expected to
:01:34. > :01:35.
:01:35. > :01:42.deliver economic growth: At 45 p sell stock any city is still the
:01:42. > :01:46.new kid on the block. But the plan is to get better. This was near the
:01:46. > :01:52.Dons football ground, the chairman has become the poster boy for their
:01:52. > :01:58.ambitions. We wanted to grow our own business from a standing start.
:01:58. > :02:04.We now have over 500 people employed. From a business plan,
:02:04. > :02:09.still some way to go. In a couple of years we could hit �24 million
:02:09. > :02:17.per year. Last week, Thomas was given the go-ahead for a major
:02:17. > :02:21.expansion. -- John Lewis. The we are seeing the unemployment rate
:02:21. > :02:31.dropping, that is before Network Rail opens the doors and stars
:02:31. > :02:36.working here. At the other end of the scale, worldwide logistics, a
:02:36. > :02:42.company start from scratch less than two years ago. They think 2012
:02:42. > :02:48.will deliver for them to. workforce will go over about 400 in
:02:48. > :02:55.the next 12 months. Including drivers as well. Office staff will
:02:55. > :03:02.go up to about 40-60. Turnover should be 4 million for this year.
:03:03. > :03:08.Big-time. There was no fear here, a meeting for the key movers and
:03:08. > :03:12.shakers in the town, a where they are bucking the trend. Why what
:03:12. > :03:15.applies to football also applies to cities. A team from the public and
:03:15. > :03:19.private sector which wants to keep the energy levels high and
:03:19. > :03:24.residents want to keep it high. I think that will make us more
:03:24. > :03:30.resilient in these austere times. They have stopped -- swapped
:03:30. > :03:33.concrete cows for the Red Bull racing team. One of the biggest
:03:33. > :03:36.construction projects in the region is at Southend Airport. In just a
:03:36. > :03:39.few weeks it will become fully operational. The hope is it will
:03:39. > :03:49.become a major driver of business activity in the region. Today, we
:03:49. > :03:50.
:03:50. > :03:55.were given an exclusive look inside the new terminal: An empty terminal,
:03:55. > :04:00.but not a sign of recession. A sign of hope. Soon this terminal could
:04:00. > :04:05.handle up to a million passengers per year. On the runway, London
:04:05. > :04:13.Southend boss showed how spending �100 million can transform an
:04:13. > :04:18.airport. The this is recession busting stuff, isn't it? We are
:04:18. > :04:22.hoping we will see more than 500 more people working in 20th
:04:22. > :04:27.December 12 then we had in 20th December 11. As part of the
:04:27. > :04:31.regeneration of the south of Essex. This is a new stretch of runway
:04:31. > :04:36.which will open in the next couple of months. All around the airport
:04:36. > :04:40.you can see construction work going on. Just yards from where a new
:04:40. > :04:44.car-park is being built is a new railway station. Just a stone's
:04:44. > :04:49.throw from there is a new Holiday Inn hotel. Due to open in the
:04:49. > :04:54.summer. Passengers could open -- to use the new terminal as early as
:04:54. > :04:59.next month. Easy to see why this is one of the biggest privately funded
:04:59. > :05:05.projects in the east. The town needed, a recent survey found seven
:05:05. > :05:09.people are chasing every job here. The service organisations will
:05:09. > :05:13.support the airport, all of those will be looking at additional jobs.
:05:13. > :05:20.You then have filled him with that the apprenticeships that we will be
:05:20. > :05:24.working for. We will also have the engineering side. EasyJet start
:05:24. > :05:29.flying from Southend in April. Eventually, the airport could have
:05:29. > :05:39.2 million passengers per year. Far fewer than Stansted or Luton, but
:05:39. > :05:40.
:05:40. > :05:43.the jobs created he could be presage. -- presage -- precious. So
:05:43. > :05:53.let's talk to businessman Pete Winkleman in Milton Keynes and Dave
:05:53. > :05:54.
:05:54. > :05:58.Powell from the GMB union in Essex. We why his Southend doing worse?
:05:58. > :06:03.The austerity savings are losing lots of jobs. Many more in Southend
:06:03. > :06:06.before the end of this financial year. Unfortunately we have lost a
:06:06. > :06:11.lot of traditional industries that we had. They used to be a big
:06:11. > :06:16.banking sector for the credit cards. All of those jobs have gone.
:06:16. > :06:20.Southend is a commuter area, jobs outside of Southend, people would
:06:20. > :06:24.in Southend lose work as well. We are not seeing replacement jobs as
:06:24. > :06:29.promised by the government coming from the private sector. Presumably
:06:29. > :06:34.jobs will come with the airport? welcome the airport expansion and I
:06:34. > :06:40.hope those jobs will go to local people. It is a good expansion and
:06:40. > :06:43.we welcome it. Let us speak to the poster boy of Milton Keynes
:06:43. > :06:50.ambition, why do you think Milton Keynes is doing better than
:06:50. > :06:54.anywhere else? We are not immune from recession, it hurts everyone
:06:54. > :06:59.around the country, but in Milton Keynes we have a positive attitude
:06:59. > :07:02.about what we can do about it. As a result of the stakeholder
:07:03. > :07:08.partnership working, we have got some developments of the ground
:07:08. > :07:13.including a very important one for me, at the stadium site.
:07:13. > :07:18.sometimes we talk up the down side more than we should, do you think?
:07:18. > :07:22.There is always a danger of that. People are sensitive to what will
:07:22. > :07:26.be happening and so much uncertainty in the economic world.
:07:26. > :07:30.If we put our best foot forward and try to find the positives we can
:07:30. > :07:35.pull ourselves out. Our region will be very important for the whole
:07:35. > :07:42.country. Because you are situated in the centre of the county, you
:07:42. > :07:46.have a much better opportunity. think there are lots of
:07:46. > :07:51.opportunities for everyone. Talking about the airport. That will be
:07:51. > :07:56.really important and Southend. Industries are changing. We have an
:07:56. > :08:05.economy bother we can benefit from. It is about finding unique things
:08:05. > :08:09.and try to get those messages across. Dave Powell, is there are
:08:09. > :08:16.lots of seasonal work in Southend? Perhaps figures work in different
:08:16. > :08:20.ways? There will have been seasonal work up till Christmas. There is
:08:20. > :08:26.seasonal work during the summer season because Southend is a
:08:26. > :08:30.tourist spot for day trippers. What we really need is the industry to
:08:30. > :08:35.replace the jobs being lost and the public sector. That is a must and
:08:35. > :08:39.we welcome the airport. It would be interesting to see if the airport
:08:39. > :08:42.and the Thames estuary was ever built and the effect it would have
:08:42. > :08:47.on that expansion. I don't think the Thames estuary airport should
:08:47. > :08:54.be built and we should explore airport staff -- such as Southend.
:08:54. > :09:00.Where we could expand others. say we must attract business, is it
:09:00. > :09:04.a council job, what is it? We all have a job to play. The
:09:04. > :09:08.infrastructure, the road now work around Southend is improving. That
:09:08. > :09:13.might put many off for relocating. Hopefully the airport expansion
:09:13. > :09:18.will help businesses move, that is what we want. We need a debate
:09:18. > :09:24.about what is happening in Southend. There is obviously a huge problem.
:09:24. > :09:28.Being positive was Pete winkle month's thing, our people positive?
:09:28. > :09:32.I am not very positive about the figures today. Something needs to
:09:32. > :09:36.be done. I think the government needs to change course. We cannot
:09:36. > :09:42.keep losing the jobs if the private sector are not going to pick up the
:09:43. > :09:46.slack. Southend is in turmoil and we need to do something quickly.
:09:46. > :09:49.Thank you both for being with us. At Westminster today, some of the
:09:49. > :09:52.region's MPs and business leaders lobbied for improvements to a
:09:52. > :09:55.railway bottle neck. They argued that the ten million pounds that it
:09:55. > :10:03.would cost to carry out the work at Ely would be repaid by the economic
:10:03. > :10:12.benefits. Our political correspondent Andrew Sinclair has
:10:12. > :10:15.the details. A there is a great belief amongst MPs that if you
:10:15. > :10:18.improve communications you will drive business growth. That is why
:10:18. > :10:23.better railways are such a big issue nowadays. The stretch we are
:10:23. > :10:28.talking about tonight is at the North Junction in Cambridgeshire. A
:10:28. > :10:34.number of lines converge here from Norwich, King's Lynn, Ipswich and
:10:34. > :10:39.Cambridge. With only two lines it gets very congested. The argument
:10:39. > :10:44.goes that the �10 million you could use you could improve the junction
:10:44. > :10:48.and power services from King's Lynn, Ipswich and Norwich. If you get
:10:48. > :10:52.more people travelling by train that would drive business. That was
:10:52. > :10:57.the argument being made at Westminster today. A huge step
:10:57. > :11:00.change when you go from an hourly service to a half hour service.
:11:00. > :11:05.People can turn up at the station and no a train is coming along
:11:05. > :11:10.sooner or later. It changes the perception about how far business
:11:10. > :11:15.is a way. This is an ideal time as for Norfolk, Suffolk and
:11:15. > :11:20.Cambridgeshire MPs tick go for this. They are looking for economic
:11:20. > :11:24.growth, and we want East Anglia to be at the forefront of their minds.
:11:24. > :11:29.No at work Rail is drawing up a new list of spending priorities. I'm
:11:29. > :11:33.told the discussions today were very productive. MPs feel our
:11:33. > :11:39.region has a lot to offer. Many small businesses which can grow
:11:39. > :11:41.fast, but they need better communications. Later in Look East
:11:41. > :11:44.more comment on the economic squeeze including news that Chinese
:11:44. > :11:48.investors have taken over an important centre in Suffolk. Also
:11:48. > :11:53.tonight, the new survey that claims we are not as honest as we used to
:11:53. > :11:57.be. And I'll try to tell the truth on tonight's weather forecast...
:11:57. > :12:05.And in my honest opinion it's going to rain later tonight. The full
:12:05. > :12:09.forecast coming up after more news There is evidence tonight that
:12:09. > :12:12.drivers are ignoring the appeal not to panic buy petrol and diesel. The
:12:12. > :12:22.government says supplies are not affected after an oil refinery in
:12:22. > :12:27.
:12:27. > :12:32.Essex went bust but that hasn't It getting longer. This was the
:12:32. > :12:39.scene in Southend,. A similar picture in and around Ipswich.
:12:39. > :12:43.Philip Dingle, he sees refurbishment of his station. If he
:12:43. > :12:48.maintains that panic-buying is a necessary and is based on
:12:48. > :12:52.perception and not on fact. His it is a very short-term situation
:12:52. > :12:57.which will be dealt with in the next few days, definitely.
:12:57. > :13:01.there a temptation among some retailers to up the penny -- price
:13:01. > :13:06.by a penny or two? The very unlikely, far too competitive a
:13:06. > :13:09.market to do anything like that these days. When one of the
:13:09. > :13:13.country's biggest all refineries goes into administration it makes
:13:13. > :13:18.people nervous. The plant in Essex applies up to a fit of the fuel
:13:18. > :13:22.used in the region. The problems here were triggered by the
:13:22. > :13:28.bankruptcy of the Swiss owners. Some retailers have put prices up
:13:28. > :13:32.overnight, in Tesco's case by a penny a litre. They say it is due
:13:32. > :13:39.to market conditions. They say if people do not panic by then
:13:39. > :13:44.suppliers will not run out. The if people panic buy it will add to the
:13:44. > :13:49.problem. I would wait until things calm down. And a lists predict
:13:49. > :13:57.prices will rise as we import more fuel, -- analysts. That will not
:13:57. > :14:00.come as any surprise to those In the last half an hour, police
:14:00. > :14:03.say they have charged a man with the murder of a jeweller in Suffolk.
:14:03. > :14:06.66-year old Peter Avis was found stabbed to death at his shop in
:14:06. > :14:10.Bury St Edmunds two weeks ago. 22- year-old homeless man Kamil Kita
:14:10. > :14:19.will appear in court in the morning charged with his murder. Two other
:14:19. > :14:23.men have already been charged with conspiracy to burgle. It looks as
:14:23. > :14:33.if the BBC regional stations will be shared some of the cuts which
:14:33. > :14:35.
:14:35. > :14:39.had been forecast. The presenter on BBC Radio Suffolk. It is here in
:14:39. > :14:43.local radio that audiences would have seen the greatest changes.
:14:43. > :14:48.Under the proposals, programmes would have been shared with
:14:48. > :14:58.neighbouring stations, such as Radio Norfolk. But now they will
:14:58. > :15:02.rethink the plan. I a very pleased. We have also had great support from
:15:02. > :15:07.people for local radio. If we ever needed a demonstration of how
:15:07. > :15:15.valuable local radio is, this is that. Members of Parliament and
:15:15. > :15:21.Church leaders joined in criticising the proposed cuts.
:15:21. > :15:25.Spending on Inside Out it could also be affected, but today the
:15:25. > :15:29.chairman of the BBC trust said regional and local programmes
:15:29. > :15:39.covered subjects often declared date neglected by the mainstream
:15:39. > :15:43.
:15:43. > :15:50.We want to see a plan that will preserve the regional integrity and
:15:50. > :16:00.quality of the programme, which no other broadcaster provides. The be
:16:00. > :16:09.
:16:09. > :16:12.BC is now looking at other ways of making the savings. Department of
:16:12. > :16:16.Education has approved plans for a free school at Brandon in Suffolk.
:16:16. > :16:18.It will be on the site of the Middle School, which is about to
:16:18. > :16:21.close. There had been a campaign to save
:16:21. > :16:24.it. The new school will be run by a private company from Sweden. It
:16:24. > :16:27.will be the third free school in this part of the region. Free
:16:27. > :16:30.schools are funded by the government, but are outside the
:16:30. > :16:33.control of local councils. The new school will have 100 places in each
:16:33. > :16:36.year group. It is now accepting admissions for children currently
:16:36. > :16:39.in Years Six, Seven and Eight. There has been a warning today that
:16:39. > :16:42.the English Setter is in danger of dying out as a breed. Numbers have
:16:42. > :16:45.fallen to an all-time low, partly influenced by the fashion for
:16:45. > :16:53.smaller lap dogs. A breeder from Norfolk says the dogs are among the
:16:53. > :17:01.oldest and most traditional of English breeds. The English Setter
:17:01. > :17:11.is believed to be one of English oldest breeds. Fran has bred them
:17:11. > :17:13.
:17:13. > :17:19.for decades. They have got a fantastic nature. They're very
:17:19. > :17:28.approachable and brilliant with children. I just think there are
:17:28. > :17:33.fantastic breed. In the whole of last year, there were just 234 of
:17:33. > :17:38.these registered across the United Kingdom. That is down one third on
:17:38. > :17:44.2010 and the question is, why are breeds which where popular in the
:17:44. > :17:49.past in such decline? One theory is that celebrities are driving a
:17:49. > :17:56.growing fashion for small dog breeds. It is called the Paris
:17:56. > :18:05.Hilton effect. It explains why there are maybe 25 times more young
:18:05. > :18:09.chihuahuas than English setters. There are at more than 20 other
:18:09. > :18:19.breeds which are now endangered. They are in danger of disappearing
:18:19. > :18:25.
:18:25. > :18:28.Back now to our top story, the contraction in the UK economy.
:18:28. > :18:31.If you have just come in, the disappointing news is that the
:18:31. > :18:34.economy shrank at the end of last year, but we appear to be doing
:18:34. > :18:37.better here in the East. We have seen what is happening in
:18:37. > :18:40.Milton Keynes and Essex. Our chief reporter Kim Riley has spent the
:18:40. > :18:50.day in Suffolk, speaking to people who run small and medium-sized
:18:50. > :18:52.
:18:52. > :18:58.businesses, about their prospects for the year ahead. This industrial
:18:58. > :19:03.site on the outside of Ipswich is home to many small companies. This
:19:03. > :19:13.company sells to pubs and restaurants and sells more than 200
:19:13. > :19:14.
:19:14. > :19:18.whiskies. Lately, trade has been tough. It was one of the worst
:19:18. > :19:25.January's we have had, but things are gradually improving, with the
:19:25. > :19:34.Diamond Jubilee and the Olympics coming up. With the turnover if the
:19:34. > :19:41.�18 million, this company imports furniture from Sweden and timber.
:19:41. > :19:50.They have just taken on a new timber trader. What Sri get this
:19:50. > :19:55.sorted out, the business will come back. People want to move. They
:19:55. > :20:03.want to go on the average of every four years, so once we're out of
:20:03. > :20:11.this, I think things will pick up. As managing director of this
:20:11. > :20:18.warehouse, she employs 100 people and oversees the operation of 40
:20:18. > :20:23.trucks. We're saying that we are having to cut backing get rid of
:20:23. > :20:27.all aspects of one necessary administration. I think we're very
:20:27. > :20:33.lucky here in this part of the country that we have made good
:20:33. > :20:42.labour force that we can call upon. There may be a reduction in the
:20:42. > :20:47.jobs short-term, but I think that will change. A in general, business
:20:47. > :20:50.is vital to believe the worst has been and gone.
:20:50. > :20:53.Let us stay in Suffolk, because today one of our most successful
:20:53. > :20:57.technology centres was taken over by a company based in China. It is
:20:57. > :21:07.a research lab in Ipswich and it has been sold for �7 million. Our
:21:07. > :21:07.
:21:07. > :21:13.business correspondent Richard Bond is there now. Welcome to the Centre
:21:13. > :21:17.for Integrated for tonics. The goal research into the transmission of
:21:18. > :21:23.data over fibre optic cables. The chief executive joins me now. You
:21:23. > :21:31.have been taken over by a Chinese company. Is that good news or bad
:21:31. > :21:40.news? It's as good use. For a come there like hours, we have to be
:21:40. > :21:45.part of the global network. We need to do that to survive and thrive
:21:45. > :21:55.and take on the scale of research we do any future. In terms of the
:21:55. > :22:02.
:22:02. > :22:06.security of the company and the jobs, this will be protected.
:22:06. > :22:09.is places actually added to his workforce by 10 % in the past 10
:22:09. > :22:16.months. Richard, on the wider question of
:22:16. > :22:21.the economy, how hard is our region being hit? These are tough times,
:22:21. > :22:28.but we are doing better than average. Most other regions are
:22:28. > :22:31.having a rougher ride. We have heard about these jobs being cut in
:22:31. > :22:35.Northamptonshire, but we must remember we are one of the
:22:35. > :22:38.strongest regional economy is in the country. This is one of only
:22:38. > :22:44.three regions that the government makes a profit from every year.
:22:44. > :22:51.After all, that means the amount of tax we pay to the government is
:22:51. > :22:55.less than the money we get back to subsidise local services.
:22:55. > :22:58.Now, If you saw a �20 note on the pavement, what would you do? What
:22:58. > :23:02.if you accidentally scraped a parked car? Would you leave your
:23:02. > :23:06.phone number - or just drive away and hope that nobody saw you do it?
:23:06. > :23:08.The answer is that more of us think it is fair game to be a bit
:23:08. > :23:11.dishonest, certainly compared with ten years ago.
:23:11. > :23:21.The research was carried out at Essex University. We sent Mike
:23:21. > :23:33.
:23:33. > :23:39.The American singer Billy Joe well ask for some honesty, but if we are
:23:39. > :23:45.waiting for it, we could be waiting some time. The people are more
:23:45. > :23:55.tolerant about lying, about Alb adultery and driving over the speed
:23:55. > :23:55.
:23:55. > :24:04.limit. They are less tolerable about benefit cheats. The solicitor
:24:04. > :24:11.to the integrity test and did well, but is the legal world as honest as
:24:11. > :24:16.me would like to believe? People said that you have to be a very
:24:16. > :24:20.good liar to live well. I have seen people in court who are witnesses
:24:20. > :24:30.who are maybe not telling the truth and you tend to be able to tell
:24:30. > :24:31.
:24:31. > :24:38.them straight away. We just want the truth. There are sometimes
:24:38. > :24:48.where I have lied. For which you say if she said, do I look nice in
:24:48. > :24:49.
:24:49. > :24:54.this? All, I would most certainly say that she did! This priest is
:24:54. > :25:01.the Dean of the local Catholic cathedral and said the we're not
:25:01. > :25:07.only more dishonest, but also less it more roll. So many described the
:25:07. > :25:10.country has been in a moral freefall. I think that is a bit of
:25:10. > :25:20.an exaggeration, but we certainly do not have the same moral
:25:20. > :25:22.
:25:22. > :25:28.signposts that perhaps we and 50 years ago. Now, my BBC colleague
:25:28. > :25:38.did not actually drop this 10 pound note, but remember that the next
:25:38. > :25:40.
:25:41. > :25:50.thing happens, honesty is the best policy. That is a great song! Let
:25:51. > :25:51.
:25:51. > :25:55.Tomorrow, it will be cooler with some showers. This weather front
:25:55. > :26:05.coming in from the Atlantic will bring us some rain later this
:26:05. > :26:06.
:26:07. > :26:11.evening. Issues be mostly dry this evening, however, before that
:26:11. > :26:18.weather front comes in. In the early hours, that weather front
:26:18. > :26:25.will come in fully and most regions will be wet, although the extreme
:26:25. > :26:29.east may actually escape the rain. As the rain comes through, the wind
:26:29. > :26:33.will freshen. Tomorrow brings us some early rain, particularly for
:26:33. > :26:39.the East. That will clear swiftly and they should get some sunshine
:26:39. > :26:43.and showers behind it. The East will get most of the damn whether
:26:44. > :26:50.first thing, but as you can see, it moves through swiftly and the
:26:50. > :26:54.sunshine should come in in the late morning. Temperatures should get up
:26:54. > :26:59.to seven or eight degrees Celsius. One or two showers could develop in
:26:59. > :27:07.the afternoon and could be on the sharp side, with the bat of he all
:27:07. > :27:11.mix then. For the next few days, on Friday, it looks dry, with a few
:27:11. > :27:21.showers and the morning. Into the weekend, cooler conditions. There
:27:21. > :27:29.looks mostly dry, but rather cool. Overnight laws must line-up