THE Prime Minister today set out on his whistle stop regional tour to see for himself the impact of the recession on the provinces, but he is staying well clear of the East of England.

Graham Dines

THE Prime Minister today set out on his whistle stop regional tour to see for himself the impact of the recession on the provinces, but he is staying well clear of the East of England.

Although his train journey from London to Derby passed through the west of the region - Bedford and Luton - he is staying well clear of the public and business people in the East.

“I'm talking to businesses, I'm talking to families, I'm talking to people who are worried about their mortgages, I'm talking to a range of community organisations in the places I'm visiting,” said.Gordon Brown. “I want to hear what people have to say, to explain what we are doing and to explain what we are going to do next.”

But not in the East of England.

Mr Brown was joined by schools secretary Ed Balls and skills secretary John Denham for a visit to Rolls-Royce in Derby. Tomorrow his tour takes him to Liverpool for a meeting of his full cabinet and he will also be visiting the West Midlands, the South West and Wales.

Yesterday, members of David Cameron's shadow cabinet went out to the regions to hold meetings with business leaders. Shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley was in Ipswich to hear for himself what is happening to the local economy.