03/02/2014 Look East - East

confiscated and destroyed, well, that must be galling.

Good evening. I'm Susie Fowler`Watt. East Anglia's longest serving MP Tim

Yeo has been de`selected by local party members in South Suffolk.

Nearly 500 local Conservatives took part in the vote. He was first

elected in 1983 and has held the seat at six general elections. But

many people believe he spent too much time away from South Suffolk,

dealing with other interests. Some say he'd become 'virtually

invisible'. This is not how Mr Yeo, or even many of his detractors,

wanted to see his career end. After 30 years as an MP, after winning the

same seat on seven occasions, he's had to spend the evening putting a

brave face on his defeat. It was a knife edge result. I respect the

outcome. I'll give my full support to my successor, whoever he or she

is. But after 30 years as an MP, it shouldn't end this way? Well, if you

take part in democracies... Elections... Sometimes you win,

sometimes you lose. At lunch today, he snuck into the back of

Conservative HQ, avoiding the waiting media. On the third floor,

he watched as the 500 votes were verified and counted.

Three`and`a`half hours later, the news was delivered by e`mail. South

Suffolk had dropped their MP. Mr Yeo has spent the last month campaigning

hard. He set up this website. Dozens of MPs and friends pledged their

support. He said he was proud of his record. There's evidence of the

effective role I played in parliament and Suffolk. He says

he'll continue to work hard as an MP until the next election. His local

party is beginning the task of finding a new candidate. Joining me

now from Tim Yeo's constituency is Simon Barrett, the deputy chairman

of the local party. How do you feel tonight, now the matter is resolved

once and for all? Very pleased we are finished the process. We can

select a new candidate. How difficult has it been? Nobody wants

to go through this process. Friends and colleagues go against each

other. We just want to get the message out. What was the main

problem as far as you were concerned? The lack of visibility.

He's been absent, especially at local fundraising. He served the

constituency for 30 years ` brought a lot of experience to the role ` do

you feel sympathy for him? Absolutely. I was on the original

selection panel in 1982. He has done a lot of good work. But everybody

comes to an end. It's time to move on. What kind of candidate will you

be looking for now? Someone who has their roots in South Suffolk. Maybe

someone with business experience. We need infrastructure, and to get

things moving. Thank you. Many areas around the River Chelmer

in Essex are still under flood water tonight. Parts of the county have

been deluged in recent weeks. The head of the Environment Agency said

today it can't afford to defend every area which is prone to

flooding. When a site like this, or this, prompts a sigh, you know it's

an issue not going away soon. In Essex, some drivers braved the

floodwaters. More than half a dozen had to be rescued. Motorists... If

you stop and think 'can I get through', the fact you've stopped

probably means you can't. The weather has been exceptional. Three

times the average rainfall. The Environment Agency has been showing

off defence schemes. Today, the Agency's chairman said there is no

bottomless purse. We're mindful of the benefits that these schemes can

bring. We want to protect properties and jobs. The politicians decide

where the money goes. Government engineers acknowledge some places

may have to be sacrificed so others can be saved.

A wealthy businessman from Norfolk is being touted tonight as the next

chairman of the education watchdog Ofsted after the current chairman

Sally Morgan was removed from the job. Theodore Agnew is the sponsor

of a chain of new academy schools in Norfolk and a Tory supporter but

some teaching unions don't like the idea. The appointment raises serious

concerns about how independent Ofsted will continue to be. There

are already concerns. To put somebody in so close to government

raises questions about whether he can operate effectively in an

independent manner. A secondary school in Norwich says

five teachers could be facing the sack in order to save money. The

Hewett School in Norwich has run up debts of ?600,000 over the last nine

years. It blames a big fall in pupil numbers ` they've more than halved

during that time. Time now for the weather. A band of

rain moving towards us. Most of it light and patchy. Drier skies

following. Temperatures close to freezing. Perhaps some frost.

Tomorrow, a largely fine and dry day. Perhaps sunshine at times.

Highs of eight Celsius. Winds picking up. Here's the outlook.

Good evening. As you have just heard on your local forecast there is more

wind and rain to come. The story is dominated by two potent areas of low

pressure. There are parts of the world that need the rain at the

moment, let