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Deborah McGurran, Political editor, East of England

Deborah McGurran Political editor, East of England

This is where you can come for my take on politics with an eastern twist - from Lowestoft to Luton

MP's clean-up campaign

Today's fascinating, if rather shocking, fact is that £1bn of public money is spent every year cleaning up litter in England.

The figure has been worked out by Andrew Selous, the MP for South West Bedfordshire, who used an adjournment debate to call for "more rigorous and robust action from the government, police and local authorities as well as a massive increase in personal responsibility" to tackle the problem.

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Tankers to refuel off Suffolk

An area of the North Sea near Southwold in Suffolk is to be the only place in Britain where ships can transfer oil at sea, it has been decreed in Parliament.

Campaigners say it will put the entire coastline at risk but ministers say it will benefit the local economy.

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Regional rail summit

Plans for a "regional manifesto", which lists the priorities for improving rail services in East Anglia, are beginning to take shape.

At the second regional rail summit at Westminster, MPs, councillors, business leaders and industry representatives moved closer to drawing up a wish list of projects which will need to be funded over the next 20 years.

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Lowestoft station upgrade calls

The town of Lowestoft has a lot going for it: its beaches have just received blue flag awards, a new enterprise zone is attracting investment and there are plans to redevelop part of the town centre.

So far, so good but according to its MP Peter Aldous, there is "a blot on the landscape" - the town's station.

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PM backs baby bonding charity

Parenting has come to prominence this week with the announcement that the Prime Minister, no less, is to back a baby bonding scheme promoted by a Northamptonshire MP.

Andrea Leadsom has supported a charity helping parents and their babies long before she became Conservative MP for South Northamptonshire. Since she won her seat she has established a parent-infant partnership (PIP) in her constituency.

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Norman Lamb to cut red tape

It's rather ironic that the MP for North Norfolk is now a Business Minister and will be responsible for bringing in legislation making it harder for employees to take their employers to employment tribunals.

Before he became an MP, Norman Lamb was a rather successful employment lawyer.

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All parties seek to woo Essex

What do the party leaders do when politics has reached a watershed moment?

They go to Essex.

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Labour pushes forward in the east

Labour took back significant councils it hadn't controlled for more than a decade on election night 2012.

Conservative voters stayed at home or registered protest votes, and the Lib Dems took another pounding that could do them long lasting damage in the region.

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Margaret Moran unfit to face trial

When the expenses scandal broke Margaret Moran was one of the first MPs to be caught up in it. Now she has become the last.

Although the case has been adjourned until November, when a jury will determine whether she committed the acts alleged by the prosecution, the former MP for Luton South has been found unfit to stand.

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Warm reception for Greening

The Transport Secretary Justine Greening was told in no uncertain terms that delays at immigration were getting worse and upsetting passengers at an easyJet reception at Westminster this week.

She was also lobbied over the issue of Air Passenger Duty, which the industry would like to see scrapped.

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Norfolk MP fights for Lotus

Richard Bacon is fighting to keep the manufacture of sport and racing cars in the county and the MP for South Norfolk has raised the future of the Lotus factory in the House of Commons.

The Conservative MP outlined how important the factory in Hethel is for Norfolk, and he wants a guarantee that manufacturing and jobs will stay in the county.

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'Two arrogant boys' says Dorries

What does the future hold for Nadine Dorries after she launched a scathing attack on both the prime minister and the chancellor?

The MP for Mid Bedfordshire described David Cameron and George Osborne as "arrogant" and "out of touch".

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Clacton MP draws PM's fire

At the end of the first Prime Minister's questions of the new term, the big talking point was not the ongoing row over the Budget or the fall in unemployment.

It was the very public slapping down given to the MP for Clacton, Douglas Carswell.

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Plea to upgrade rail stations

London commuters, including many of the region's MPs, have been united in their praise of the refurbishment of King's Cross station.

But MPs were told this week that improving smaller rail stations is much more of a hit and miss affair.

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Universities minister in tax row

The Universities Minister, David Willetts, came to open Anglia Ruskin's new University College in Harlow and walked straight into the charity tax row.

Mr Willetts was informed that Anglia Ruskin had received around £9 million from private benefactors.

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John Major's tribute to old friend

Former Prime Minister, John Major has paid tribute to Lord Newton of Braintree while attending his funeral at Coggeshall in Essex.

"I don't think there is anywhere else I would have liked to be today, nor many other people I saw in church. Tony was a very special person," he told us.

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Green economy a must says Lucas

Green Party leader Caroline Lucas says the government has misread the public mood by trying to sideline green issues.

Ms Lucas, MP for Brighton Pavilion, says the decision to allow more building in the countryside and Chancellor George Osborne's claim that it is not important to meet carbon reduction targets are "tragic" and a "travesty of truth".

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Cash for maths plea

Elizabeth Truss, as we have reported before, is passionate about maths and now we know why.

She has two 'A' levels in the subject, an A grade in Ordinary Maths and a C grade in Advanced Maths.

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Tributes for Essex peer

Politicians across the political divide have been paying tribute to Lord Newton of Braintree, the former Cabinet minister and Essex MP, who has died after a short illness.

For 23 years he represented Braintree for the Conservatives and after losing his seat played a key role as a member of the House of Lords.

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Budget winners and losers

It's not just Ben Gummer who has managed to gain the ear of the government - Matthew Hancock's plans to bring betting onshore also made it into the Budget.

The Conservative MP for West Suffolk, whose constituency includes Newmarket - the home of horse racing - has long campaigned for a change to close the gambling tax loophole.

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About Deborah

Deborah McGurran is BBC East's political editor, based in Norwich.

She has worked in regional TV since 1990 when she began as a regional journalist for North West Tonight.

She has been editor for a decade and was nominated for an RTS for the expenses scandal story on Margaret Moran.

She moved to Essex with her family and started working in the east 15 years ago.

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