East Midlands responds to the Chancellor's plans
On the day of the Chancellor's big cash squeeze, Nottingham's ambitions to extend its tram network have just squeezed in. Plans for two new tram lines have survived the cuts.
George Osborne told MPs that big transport projects given the green light from the last government won't be scrapped. That's caused relief and delight among Labour leaders in Nottingham.
"This go-ahead means the extended tram network can now play its key part in shaping the future prosperity of this city," says Councillor Jon Collins, the city council leader.
"The city will be even more attractive to employers as a place to locate, bringing jobs and creating more wealth," he added.
Other significant transport projects have been saved. Improvements to the Derbyshire stretch of the M1 motorway between junctions 28 and 31 are unaffected. Rail improvements too on the Midland Main Line near Nottingham are also still on track.
But political and business leaders in the East Midlands will be disappointed that the dual-ling of the main A 453 link road between the M1 - near East Midlands Airport - and Nottingham appears to have been shelved. The project looks set to return to the drawing board... again.
For public sector unions in the East Midlands, there's alarm at the impact of the Chancellor's announcement on employment. One business survey has estimated that 58,000 private and public sector jobs in the region will be lost. Leicester City Council is already warning that it may have to axe up to 1,000 jobs.
"These job losses will have a devastating impact on the East Midlands," said union official Ravi Subramanian of UNISON.
"We believe that up to 19,000 council jobs alone will disappear. This announcement by George Osborne offers nothing that will help grow the region out of recession," he added.
But Pauline Latham, the Conservative MP for Mid Derbyshire, says the Coalition had little option.
"We've got to give the private sector to chance to grow again and create the jobs of the future. That would never happen if future generations were saddled with huge interest payments on our national debt," she told me.
One of the biggest impacts will be on those who rely on benefits. Take for example, Bruce Bateson. He and his wife make ends meet through his wife's incapacity benefit and his carer's allowance.
They also rely on free food parcels .The Carpenters Arms in Loughborough gives out eighty food parcels to poorer families twice a week. Many of them are afraid of how the cuts will affect them.
"I'm really worried about how we'll survive. It feels as though people like us will be targeted by these proposals when we're not to blame for the recession," he says.
The Chancellor has given us some headlines, the whole picture and its impact for the East Midlands may take a few weeks yet before it's all clear.
Hello. My name is John Hess. I'm the BBC's Political Editor for the East Midlands and this blog will offer my musings on the political scene from Westminster to closer to home. 
