Ben’s Record as Conservative Parliamentary Candidate

Ben has been the Conservative candidate for Ipswich since August 2007 and already he has made his presence felt.

From winning a reprieve for Fore Street Post Office to fighting against cuts to Ipswich Hospital, Ben has shown what he could achieve as the Town’s MP.

 

Ipswich Hospital

Ben Gummer is well known around Ipswich for his fight to save services at Ipswich Hospital.

So far, Ben has:

• Fought for emergency heart services at Ipswich Hospital, securing through his campaign a new heart unit at Heath Road.
• Battled against the closure of cancer services at Ipswich Hospital.
• Attacked the shambles of out of hours GP care.
• Exposed the terrible waste of money and resources by NHS bureaucrats which could be better spent on the healthcare of Ipswich people.

Ben says: “Ipswich Hospital is very important to me: I have been treated there, as have members of my family and many of my friends. It used to be the largest district general hospital in Europe, offering treatment respected around the country. But recently it has been downgraded by the government, which has tried to move specialist services out of the county to Norwich, Cambridge and south Essex. I don’t think that’s fair – especially on the most vulnerable: the elderly and those on low incomes.

That is why I have made it my priority to fight for the hospital – and why I am so proud of the results achieved so far. We have gained a new heart unit and the government has been forced to stop the secret strip-out of services. But there is still much more to do. The hospital needs to achieve true independence, so it can answer to the community, not to ministers. And we need to start building up areas of expertise again, so that Ipswich people can have the first-class healthcare we deserve.”

 

Post Offices

When the government revealed that it wanted to close four post offices in Ipswich, Ben fought back. He went to Downing Street with a thousand signatures on his petition, and continued the high-level lobbying of Royal Mail. He explained to managers that the closure of Fore Street was the worst decision of all, because there would soon be thousands of students at the new university without a post office.

Ben’s arguments won through – so although the government continued with the closure programme, Royal Mail gave Fore Street a reprieve.

 

Government Waste

Ben believes that government should spend money carefully. That’s why he asked Suffolk Primary Care Trust – the government body that runs healthcare in Ipswich – how much it was spending on management consultants. Although the Trust tried hard not to reveal what they had spent, Ben dragged the figures out of them. The results were shocking: nearly a million pounds in less than a year, and the costs still rising. Ben’s tenacity forced the Trust directors onto the radio to explain their actions – and promise that they will keep spending down.

 

Speeding Traffic

At the end of 2008 Ben spent a morning talking to the residents of Maryon Road in Gainsborough, knocking on doors and discussing concerns. Almost everyone he met said they were fed up with cars using the road as a rat-run, speeding up and down with no regard to local people. Road noise had increased, it was sometimes difficult and dangerous for people to get out of their drives, and many felt pedestrians were put at risk.

So, Ben immediately lobbied the Borough Council, putting forward the residents’ concerns. Not long after the Borough responded, bringing forward a traffic calming scheme to help restore some peace to Maryon Road.

 

Flooding

Ipswich is extremely vulnerable to flooding, so the flood defences need to me maintained. If these are broken, a storm surge would take out the Town's electricity and sewerage systems, and bring water half way up Princes Street. So the Environment Agency’s plans to spend £50 million repairing the Town’s flood defences are vital to the growth of Ipswich and further development of the Waterfront.

When the government said that it would not pledge the funding, Ben invited the Shadow Environment Minister to Ipswich to apply political pressure. At the same time, he lobbied the Environment Agency to push the scheme up its 'to-do' list. The government has since seen sense and the first phase of the flooding scheme has been given the funding it requires; Ben will continue to push for the rest of the money to come, so all of Ipswich can be protected.

 

Garden Grabbing

The government has demanded that Ipswich builds more than 15,000 new homes in the Town - equivalent to adding a town the size of Bury St Edmunds. But Ipswich has very tight boundaries, laid out in the nineteenth century, with few open spaces available for development. As the government threatened the Town with a cut in its grant unless it found development space, Borough planners were forced to identify people's gardens for development. Worried residents came to Ben, asking for help - as the local MP supported the government’s garden-grab.

Ben visited residents and took with him the Shadow Housing Minister, Grant Shapps. He promised residents that a Conservative government would immediately stop imposing central housing targets on councils, and their gardens would be safe from development.

 

Helping with Individual Concerns

Whether it’s been battling on behalf of council tenants, negotiating with power companies for an Ipswich resident, or helping deal with litter on a railway embankment, Ben has worked hard to address individual worries and concerns. “I believe that an MP should be available to help all the people of the town. It’s what I’m here to do.”

 

Tackling Anti-Social Behaviour

Shop owners and customers were getting fed up with a small crowd of kids causing trouble in Ellenbrook Road, the council installed a temporary camera. When it was due to move, Ben – with local councillor Bob Hall – ensured that it stayed put, so that local residents could be left in peace.

 

Dealing with Port Noise

Residents in Stoke and Maidenhall were regularly disturbed by the cement ship in the port. The company did not seem to listen, so Ben went to the top, delivering a personal letter to the HQ in Madrid. New silencers have been fitted and – it is hoped – the problem is solved.

 

An Art Gallery for Ipswich

Ipswich has a great artistic heritage but there is not space to show all that the town has to offer – both to residents and to a growing number of visitors, who bring money into the town. Ben’s been instrumental in making the new gallery project happen, which will be opened soon at no cost to the council tax payer. A great new facility for Ipswich; a great deal for Ipswich residents!