The Honour Of My Life
It has been the honour of my life to have been the Member of Parliament for Ipswich over the past four and a half years.
We’ve been through a lot. Who would have thought that only a few months after my election we would be plunged into a global pandemic. We’ve also seen the biggest war in mainland Europe since the second world war break in in Ukraine. And of course we also saw the passing of Her Late Majesty the Queen.
Over the course of the last Parliament me and my excellent team have done our best to support the tens of thousands of Ipswich residents who have contacted us asking for support on a range of issues. All in all we’ve sent over 32,737 emails and 5,175 letters to individual Ipswich residents. In Parliament I’ve made over 250 spoken interventions and have tabled 273 written questions.
I’m pleased with some of the wins I’ve achieved. We secured £25 million from the Government for a 10 different projects across the Town. Though progress on these projects has been slower than I would have liked we have seen and continue to see delivery on the ground. From the Health and Social Care Academy at the University, the conversion of the Old Post Office Building to the Botanist and investment in our shopping parades.
We’ve education we’ve seen two new special schools. Ipswich being part of the Education Improvement Programme that brought in extra investment. A new Sustainable Construction centre and Tech Centre at Suffolk New College and changes at a national level to ensure that all newly qualified teachers have a greater understanding of all types of learning disability.
On health in only a few months time we will see the opening of a new A and E Department at Ipswich Hospital and brand new unique NHS Dental Centre on the Ipswich Waterfront that will carry out up to 18,000 hours a year of NHS Dental appointments.
On transport I led the moves for a variable speed limit to be introduced on the Orwell Bridge. This has significantly cut the number of times the bridge closes. We’ve also ensured that funding is re directed from HS2 to fund Haughley junction and Ely North rail projects.
On Policing we’ve seen over 200 extra Police officers across Suffolk and a boost to police presence in the Town via the Shared Prosperity Fund and the Safer Streets Fund.
Locally I’m pleased with some of the wins we’ve secured in supporting key local organisations and sports clubs. I was involved in helping secure funding boosts to Ipswich Wanderers Football Club, Ipswich BMX Club and the Murrayside Community Centre.
However there is so much more to do and that is why I’m asking for your vote at the forthcoming General Election. Sadly there’re significant issues with the Town centre and it’s wrong that so many Ipswich residents are shunning their own Town centre and don’t feel safe and comfortable when visiting. We need a zero tolerance approach to tackling this.
On immigration I’ve been one of the most vocal MPs in Parliament. I published a 10 point plan calling for major reductions to legal migration. The Prime Minister has adopted many of my proposals. I ensured the Novotel was one of the first hotels in the country to be returned to its regular use having been used as an asylum hotel. I’m very clear that we need to leave the European Court of Human Rights to help us deal robustly with illegal migration and also commit to a cap to keep control of legal migration.
I was very honoured to be appointed the Chair of the SEND Group in Parliament a few months ago and work on Special Educational Needs is very close to my heart and something I’d like to continue.
I hope to see you out and about across Town over the next month and I will be sending you many emails to update you with what I’ve been up to.
Protecting Britain – Increase in Defence Spending
IPSWICH WANDERERS PRESS RELEASE
Public Meeting at the Rivers Estate
Good public meeting last night with residents from the Rivers estate and surrounding roads. A range of issues raised. Some local. Such as some of the parking issues. However tended to be more national. Concerns about immigration raised the most frequently. Hardly surprising.
Ipswich Indian community visit to Parliament
I was very pleased that a large number of constituents from the local British Indian community in Ipswich have been able to visit Parliament this week. They bring so much to the Town.
Visit to Karibu African Support Group
I met with the Karibu African Support Group at Burlington Church Hall. It is the first time I’ve met with them since a very lively and well attended Platinum Jubilee party they held in summer 2022.
I was very pleased to hear they’ve just secured a £127,509 donation from the National Lottery Community Fund. This will enable them to increase the support they offer to a number of vulnerable people throughout the community.
They’re very committed to promoting integration and empowering women.
THE MILL RAISED IN PRIME MINISTERS QUESTIONS
I was pleased to be able to raise the plight of my constituents at the Mill directly with the Prime Minister today.
The behaviour of NAMA has been shocking and deeply immoral. A huge sum of money was provided for the purpose of tackling many of the remediation issues at the Mill and they have simply run off with it. It may be legal but it is shockingly immoral and the PM should raise with the Irish Taoiseach.
My question to the PM followed the session on the select committee where I got to grill the Fire Safety Minister on other elements of the situation at the Mill, St Francis Tower and Cardinal Lofts.
I hope the Fire Safety Minister will be making another visit soon to Ipswich to meet directly with residents at the Mill and outline a way forward.
PMQs are a great way of really shining a spotlight on injustices and I was pleased that today I had that opportunity.
Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme
The year I spent as part of the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme was extremely worthwhile. It gave me a fascinating insight into the lives led by our brave armed forces personnel and the challenges they face.
The scheme took me to north Norway with th Marines artic training, to the Russian border in Estonia, to Cyprus and to Gibralter! I actually met a fair few Ipswich residents along the way who are serving our country overseas.
This is an incredibly good scheme which is incredibly helpful for MPs such as myself who don’t come from a military background. Certainly when we have Defence Questions and Statements I will far more able to make contributions now and next week I will be launching a new Parliamentary Group to help more neurodiverse people to enter the armed forces.
I was pleased to be able to attend a “graduation dinner” a few weeks ago to commemorate my completion of the scheme.
The Mill column
The building safety crisis is clearly a national one. However, I think it’s legitimate to ask why Ipswich has been so badly affected. Hard to think of a place in the country with such a high concentration of buildings that have been impacted.
Certainly seems to be a number of buildings were approved by Ipswich Borough Council that should never have been approved. Buildings that fell short of the building safety regulations at the time.
The situation at The Mill is complex and I will continue to take steps to try and help the over 200 people who have been stuck in a cruel limbo for far too long.
Will continue to meet weekly until all issues resolved. So many answers still to secure.