19/04/2017 Look East (West)

As the battle for ballots gets underway

we ask what the key issues will be for voters here.

The police and fire service looking to save cash and cut crime.

And a cloudier forecast for tomorrow.

With the General Election date now firmly set,

the region's businesses have been laying out their priorities

for whoever is elected to lead the next government.

comes two weeks before our local elections

and almost twelve months after the referendum decision

So what will be the main election issues be for voters here?

Kate Bradbrook has this reaction from

Making sheet metal, this Stevenage-based

for Airbus and while the space programme here continues to make

history, events at Westminster today are what businesses in our region

A general election on the 8th of June a certainty.

Now the whole country has to think who they want in power.

The economy could suffer because it is the unknown and people

don't want to spend money, they hold onto their funds.

30 miles up the A1 in Huntington, a shock for this engineering firm

making crash barriers and test dummies used in the car industry.

The question for them, how the election will affect Brexit.

This is going to be a golden opportunity for the government,

having thought and listened to business, to make

the right choice and make the right decision and,

yes, we are leaving but we are not abandoning Europe.

This afternoon, the Commons overwhelmingly backed Theresa May's

A lot of them like me voted for Brexit to leave the EU.

What we are saying in my party is that it is time to get

on with that process and give the Prime Minister a stronger hand.

With her slim majority she has a group of 30 Tory MPs who are very

firm on Brexit who are able to hold her over a barrel.

If she comes back with a majority over 100 plus, she will have

legions of lobby fodder to allow her to implement whatever

For Labour in our region other issues need to be addressed.

I want the kind of Brexit that is going to do deliver

But there are many other areas, welfare, the NHS,

All of these are areas where the Tories are failing

From Westminster to the Chatteris countryside.

This family have farmed across Fenland for generations.

They hope the election will bring stability whoever wins.

We need a level playing field with the rest of the world,

the rest of Europe, all our competitors.

We don't need a lot of intervention, just to get on with our job.

Meanwhile, in Wisbech, there are strong views

on what the government needs to tackle.

I think the election should really be a bit more about the lack

of funding in the NHS and the lack of funding of the community

I think the majority is going to be about Brexit.

And the economy, there's always going to be that, and the NHS.

I'd like to see more jobs and a better living wage.

Seven weeks to go and the clock is now ticking for all sides

Our Political Correspondent Andrew Sinclair

has been following today's events at Westminster

Officially, not until after the local elections but in reality, it's

already getting underway. Expect a range of big-name visits to our

region, particularly the key battle ground of Cambridge. Expect a raft

of government spending announcements over the next few weeks. Previously,

this has been at the centre of the election battle but this time it

appears to be in the Midlands so will be left out of it a little bit.

The Conservatives in their manifesto will have pledged to open up new

grammar schools and probably to increase science and research

funding. Labour are talking about fair taxation. Bobby some form of

increase for some people. A lot of people think this election is about

Brexit. For some it will be. Where the parties stand on other key

policies will matter a lot to the voters and that's why those

manifestos will be very important. A new approach to how our emergency

services work together From today,

Police officers will be based in community fire stations

in Bedford and Ampthill. The force says it will help

with closer working between And means officers can be based

within the community. Here at Bedford fire station,

you'd expect to find Ed, one of 75 firefighters based here,

but he'll be joined by Paul and seven other police officers

all part of a national drive We have much better and closer

relationship if we are co-located. As well as police, a voluntary

search and rescue group and a road victims' charity will be based here,

keeping costs down. We are already paying

for the fire station. Those organisations joining us

will pay for their part of it to offset our costs to make sure

we are not increasing costs. It is claimed there will be huge

benefits in reducing crime. One of the most important things

we have here is our crime prevention and reduction staff coming together

and we can look at some of the work we are doing and share that

with our colleagues. Here in Ampthill, there was a police

station but it closed two years ago. From today, two police officers

will be permanently based There will be no front desk

facilities for the public but it does mean that officers will no

longer face a 20-minute Alongside that, there are plans

for police to move into four more Next month sees the start

of a new chapter When they elect

their first ever mayor. The region has been

given extra powers under a new

?800 million pound devolution deal. will be transferred away

from Whitehall to the new mayor. There are seven candidates

and over the next few days they'll be telling us

why they should be elected. Tonight we hear from

the UKIP candidate who says he'll prioritise local

peopleFor local homes. Our political reporter

Mousumi Bakshi put Paul Bullen in

the mayoral hot-seat. I'm Paul Bullen, I'm running

for the UK Independence Party and if I'm elected as mayor,

I will bring direct democracy back What would be the one big new idea

that Paul Bullen would bring It's not a new idea but what I would

like to see is a unitary authority. I think that the local people should

have their say on what happens locally and I will very much be

open to talking to people. You're running to become mayor

of Cambridge, you are obviously Where is your favourite

place to go here? I think

my favourite place is St Ives. It's a very quaint market town,

it has a very picturesque river setting and it has everything

there that you could want. Can you tell us how much money has

been put aside for affordable Under the Devo deal the government

have guaranteed 170 Million, 70 million of which will be

going to the Cambridge city and the rest will be spent

by the mayor in the rest Because I'm a realist,

I'm honest, I will tell them I will not promise the people

of Cambridge anything What I do promise them is that

I will do the very best and if I make a promise I will keep

to the promise and I will deliver Tell us one thing that people

might not know about you. One thing that people

might not know about me. Probably where I come from,

which is Liverpool. What sets you apart

from all the other candidates? If I am elected as mayor,

I don't care what central government want me to do because what I will do

is what I think is best for the people of Cambridgeshire

and Peterborough and what the people of Cambridgeshire

and Peterborough want. Tomorrow night we're broadcasting

a special programme called A Mayor for Cambridgeshire

and Peterborough, BBC1 at 10.45. That's all from the late team

here's the weather with Alex. Under chilly skies,

some low temperatures already across the region and the risk

of a frost as temperatures drop close to freezing

but by the end of the night, more cloud coming in from the North,

that will mean those So, by the time we start tomorrow,

more like around six or 7 degrees. So, tomorrow's pressure pattern,

high pressure still holding on. This weather front coming down

from the North and that's going Actually, whether cloud

is at its thickest, it's possible that we could see some light

rain or drizzle. Despite that cloud cover, though,

temperatures still climbing into the teens and we could record

highs of perhaps 14-15 And, although there will be

some bits and pieces of light rain and drizzle,

it does look like there will be The National weather's coming up

but here's the Outlook. Brighter skies for Friday,

colder at the weekend. similar story across the UK. Thomas

matter has that story. Good evening, before we get to the

forecast, I want to show you a map which depicts how dry it has been

during the course of April. Brown is below average rainfall, blue is

above average. You can see how Brown the map is. Some areas in the south,

some counties have only seen a few percent so far in April. Not

necessarily a good thing at all. The rest of the week, not an awful