IPSWICH: Today Prime Minister David Cameron is bringing his Cabinet to the town – and we are calling on them to use Ipswich as a beacon to help lead Britain out of economic disaster.

Almost all of Mr Cameron’s Cabinet are joining him on the train up from London to Suffolk’s county town today before fanning out to see projects across the region.

Justice secretary Ken Clarke is driving over to Ipswich from his Nottinghamshire home.

Evening Star editor Nigel Pickover will be ramming home the point that Ipswich is well-placed to show the way for the country to get back on its feet.

Mr Pickover said: “There are many challenges in this town, but with these challenges come some fantastic opportunities to create a stronger, better community.

“And this is the kind of challenge that communities across the country are facing. Ipswich could be a Beacon for Britain as it looks to rebuild the economy after the storms of the last few years.”

He will be meeting the prime minister to present him with today’s special eight-page supplement and this clarion call for the future.

Other ministers will be seeing how schools have been affected by changes to finance – particularly the axing of the Building Schools for the Future programme soon after the government took power last year.

They will be seeing how this part of the country plays a vital role in Britain’s trade with the rest of the world.

And they will be seeing how services to keep people safe and feeling secure are working in the Ipswich area – and what lessons this part of the country can teach the rest of Britain.

The visit has been planned and drawn up in consultation with Ipswich MP Ben Gummer who said the town had some valuable lessons to teach the Cabinet.

He said: “Most of the Cabinet have been to Ipswich before and know the town, but many of them have constituencies that are very different to this.

“It is not a rural place and it is not an inner-city area.

“It is an urban area at the heart of a rural county and as such it is very important that they get a feel for the issues.”

The Star has produced a supplement looking a the challenges and opportunities in Ipswich as the Cabinet arrives.

Mr Gummer said: “This is the kind of thing that the Cabinet want to know about an area – I really hope their visit to Ipswich leaves a big impression on them and that they will take away many lessons from this trip.”

n What would you like to tell Mr Cameron? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or e-mail evening starletters@eveningstar.co.uk