Judy Terry is a marketing professional and a former local councillor in Suffolk.
As local elections and a General Election loom in the coming months, what voters want is the truth: about the economy, services, the environment and our local, national and international security. Unfortunately, politicians fail to understand that, without the truth, trust in our leaders – and potential leaders – evaporates.
We are bludgeoned with ‘facts’ on a daily basis, supported by erroneous, undeliverable, short-term populist promises resulting in embarrassing U-turns, leaving politicians scrambling for excuses about ‘misunderstandings’.
Reversing Labour’s commitment to spending £28 billion on green energy to make the UK electricity supply ‘emissions-free’ by 2030, instead of the government’s revised 2035 deadline, is just one example of the unachievable. A PR exercise designed to appeal to vociferous green campaigners, who fail to understand the damage to agricultural land and the environment in areas like Suffolk dealing with applications for vast solar farms, miles of pylons and underground connections to windfarms!
Yet, the UK is responsible for just one per cent of carbon emissions and earlier this year the Chairman of Siemens Energy, which is this country’s biggest manufacturer of windfarms, reportedly commented that ‘if you want cheap energy, you need gas-fired’ at a meeting at Davos. Let common sense prevail, so we should welcome the government’s decision to support new gas-fired power stations to avoid blackouts.
With wars in Ukraine and Gaza, protecting the environment is not as straightforward as some people suggest. So I have some sympathy for Labour’s Ipswich parliamentary candidate who, just before his party’s U-turn, delivered a glossy four-page leaflet promising ‘to seize the opportunities of renewable and clean energy, tackle climate change… to become a clean energy superpower.. with Ipswich the beating heart of our country’s net zero future’.
Having worked in the renewable and clean energy industry for over a decade, he has invaluable experience and is undoubtedly passionate, but one has to question his party’s promises to ‘take up to £1,400 off annual household bills and £53 billion off energy bills for businesses by 2030 by delivering a cheaper, zero-carbon electricity system’ within that timeframe.
He admits it’s time to start talking Ipswich up, show ambition and vision, but Labour have been in charge of the town for over a decade, devoid of either ambition or vision according to a comprehensive Town Centre survey conducted by Conservative MP, Tom Hunt.
“Ipswich Borough Council lacks imagination,” he explains. “We need a much more energetic approach to breathing new life into the town.”
He is also critical of the Council’s poor performance on delivering/implementing a major regeneration strategy for the £25 million Town Deal.
Empty offices and redundant buildings have contributed to the town’s decline, despite its strong historical connections, accessibility, and potential. The council’s own head office is half-empty, as more staff work from home, prompting a debate about relocating to the town centre, and potentially converting the existing building to flats – which inevitably means extra costs for local taxpayers.
Hunt’s survey highlighted the council’s excessive parking charges which actively discourage people from visiting, as well as the lack of quality shops, with too many empty units, and litter issues. Following the death of a teenager in a knife attack in the town centre during the afternoon a year ago, there are also increased concerns about safety, ‘the Police and Borough Council need to implement their promise for zero-tolerance approach to crime and anti-social behaviour, including actively dispersing large groups of men who are clearly up to no good and are making thousands of Ipswich residents feel uncomfortable and unsafe.’
Another concern is that, despite its own housing issues, the council continues to allow a number of other local authorities to export their homelessness problems to Ipswich instead of taking responsibility themselves. This is unfair and needs to be addressed urgently to protect the vulnerable.
Attracting fresh investment is crucial to growing the local economy and the new owners of Ipswich Town Football Club (ITFC) have proved their commitment, bringing considerable benefits, with a new hotel alongside the football ground, and further development planned. The town is packed with local and visiting fans for home games, helping to restore the hospitality industry’s finances after a difficult few years.
There are also rumours that a leading sports brand is in negotiations to acquire a major town centre retail unit, vacant for eight years, whilst plans are in hand to convert part of a shopping centre into flats and residential studios.
Meanwhile, the University of Suffolk, based on Ipswich Waterfront, has developed an apprenticeship scheme with ITFC, and is starting dentistry courses which will enable 18,000 new patient appointments a year.
Following recommendations from the town’s Policy Development Panel, Suffolk County Council (SCC) have committed £2 million to an Ipswich Investment Fund, to boost employment opportunities for young people, working with partners to improve neighbourhoods. One of the agreed priorities is to create better lit areas, starting with £129,000 for upgraded LED lighting on the Waterfront to maximise energy savings.
Further improvements to the popular Waterfront are planned by Associated British Ports.
Promises must be financially viable; borrowing ever more simply adds to debt, costing taxpayers billions of pounds a year.