Ipswich general election candidates on helping town centre

With the constant news of shops shutting down in Ipswich town centre, it is no surprise that when Northgate High School students got the chance to grill Ipswich's candidates they chose to talk about what could be done for the town centre. 

Read more: Northgate pupils quiz Ipswich General Election candidates

Northgate High School students asked Ipswich candidates how they think the town centre can be helped. (Image: Shikhar Talwar)

Tom Hunt, who stands as the Conservative candidate for this election after having won the seat in 2019, was unable to make it to the hustings at the school. 

But the Conservative candidate has told this newspaper many people have approached him with fears of crime and anti-social behaviour.

Tom Hunt said many people have approached him with concerns about the town centre. (Image: House of Commons)

He said: "From my experience, if you raise these concerns you can expect to be attacked and castigated by the local Labour Party for 'talking down the town'.

"I have long called for a zero-tolerance approach to crime and anti-social behaviour in the town centre."

He added that both the police and the Ipswich Borough Council should use their powers to clamp down on anti-social behaviour in town. 

"I have long called for the council to cut car parking charges," he added. 

Reform UK's Tony Gloud also said more safety measures should be made. (Image: Shikhar Talwar)

This was a point agreed to by Tony Gloud of Reform UK, who also called for the borough council to do more in terms of safety in the town centre. 

However, he pointed out the reason stores have closed down is due to a change in shopping culture. 

He said: "This is also a change or an evolution in the way we do our shopping. I am sure most of you [addressing attendees at the hustings] have bought something online. 

"So we are effectively killing our shops."

Meanwhile, Labour's Jack Abbott emphasised that there are multiple policies he and his party would like to enact to help the town centre. 

Jack Abbott from Labour said that they would enact several policies to help the town centre. (Image: Shikhar Talwar)

The first is replacing business rates to ensure that e-commerce markets pay as much tax as firms in the high street do. 

For the second point, he said: "We need to make it much easier for the councils to bring empty shop buildings back into public use."

He gave The Botanist in the former Post Office as an example of what the borough council could do.

And finally, he added that late payments and anti-social behaviour should be cracked down upon, through the use of both the council and police. 

Terence Charles of the Heritage Party also talked about cracking down on late payments. (Image: Shikhar Talwar)

Terence Charles of the Heritage Party agreed with Mr Abbott's statements. 

He said: "What's happening is if a shopkeeper got massive overheads, they will pass those overheads onto you." 

Mr Charles said that this practice would need to be curbed. 

The Communist Party's Freddie Sofar said the root cause of security should be looked at more. (Image: Shikhar Talwar)

The Communist Party's Freddie Sofar disagreed with a suggestion of bringing in more police. 

He said: "The issue around crime is not about increasing policing and throwing people in jail. It's about looking at the root cause of these problems."

To him, the focus should be more on wealth deprivation and the cost-of-living crisis.

James Sandbach of the Lib Dems said that community events can bring life back into the town. (Image: Shikhar Talwar)

James Sandbach, who is standing for the Liberal Democrats, said the town should make use of its heritage, arts and sports. 

He gave Brighten the Corners Festival as a great example of what he means. 

"What Ipswich needs is many more events like that that are community festivals and working with local businesses to bring the town alive," Mr Sandbach added. 

Green candidate Adria Pittock focused on accessibility to the town centre. (Image: Shikhar Talwar)

Finally, Green candidate Adria Pittock said the transport and accessibility should be improved, and that more should be done to connect the town. 

She said: "We have got some fantastic features in the town that are being blighted at [...] so we need to really be taking an innovative solution to it."

However, she added that something should be done to ensure vacant shops exchange hands and that greater investment is made to keep the shops going.