2026 Local Elections in Ipswich
Welcome to Ipswich.co.uk's live coverage of the 2026 local elections. We shall be bringing you all the action live from the Town Hall in Ipswich. The page will automatically refresh when we update it.
News
A 37-year-old Ipswich man has been sentenced to more than three years in prison after sending sexual messages and an explicit image to a decoy social media account he believed belonged to a 14-year-old girl.
News
Suffolk Constabulary has issued a fresh closure notice to Magazin Bacau Romanian Supermarket on Ipswich's Buttermarket – just six weeks after magistrates refused to grant a full closure order against the same premises.
Features
As polling stations open across Ipswich and Suffolk, a detailed pre-election projection points to a dramatic political shift at Endeavour House — but the modellers behind the numbers are the first to flag the limits of what they can tell us.
News
Polling stations across Ipswich opened at 07:00 this morning as voters head to the ballot box to decide who will represent them on Suffolk County Council and Ipswich Borough Council, with results expected by Friday afternoon.
News
The University of Suffolk is installing a new illuminated sign on its Waterfront Building as part of a broader programme of campus improvements that also includes a new library, a student hub, and a pharmacy course launching in September.
News
The East of England Co-op has reported an underlying trading profit of £2m for the year ended 24 January 2026, marking its third consecutive year of profit growth and a £1m improvement on the previous year.
As polling stations open across Ipswich and Suffolk, a detailed pre-election projection points to a dramatic political shift at Endeavour House — but the modellers behind the numbers are the first to flag the limits of what they can tell us.
With polling day just two days away, voters in Ipswich face a choice between five parties offering sharply different visions for the town and county. Here is where each one stands on the issues likely to decide how Suffolk is run for the next two years.
As a torrent of personal attacks plays out beneath candidate interviews on social media, serving councillors warn that good people are walking away from public life — and that the town will pay the price.
The directors of Shrubland Hall, a large estate just outside Ipswich, say they have planned a 100,000-person religious gathering this July with careful attention to every local authority requirement. Every local authority we have spoken to tells Ipswich.co.uk a different story.
A road running through RAF Mildenhall has appeared on a list of European sites that Russia's defence ministry has described as potential military targets — just months after one of Ukraine's leading drone manufacturers opened a factory there. We examine what that means, and what it does not.
To the authorities, it is Maple Park — rebranded, renewed, and the focus of an ambitious policing programme. To the people who grew up here, it will always be Jubilee, and its story is far more complex than any rebrand can capture.
A new transport masterplan drawn up in partnership by Freeport East and Transport East has set out 14 priority investments for the region, with the A14 Orwell Crossing and Copdock Interchange among the schemes identified as critical to unlocking economic growth.
Candidates have now been confirmed for Ipswich's local elections on Thursday, 7 May — and with polling day less than four weeks away, here is everything you need to know before you cast your vote, including a full breakdown of the candidates.
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Paul Anderson is standing for Labour in Bixley ward at the Ipswich Borough Council elections on Thursday, 7 May. We sent every candidate the same five questions — here are Paul's answers, published in full and unedited.
A family's experience of saying goodbye to a loved one in a peaceful hospital garden has inspired a fundraising appeal to bring the same comfort to patients at Ipswich Hospital.
With polling day just two days away, voters in Ipswich face a choice between five parties offering sharply different visions for the town and county. Here is where each one stands on the issues likely to decide how Suffolk is run for the next two years.
Eighteen months ago, no one was listening. Today, Ipswich women with endometriosis have been to Parliament, they are educating employers and slowly changing the misunderstandings of endometriosis – and they are just getting started.
An exhibition exploring over a century of women's football in Suffolk is on display at Felixstowe Museum, celebrating the heritage of the women's game in the county.
Suffolk Wildlife Trust is launching the county's first-ever Festival of Nature, with events spanning music, literature, visual arts and history taking place across Suffolk from 20 September to 11 October.
Ocean Fish & Chips on Felixstowe Road has been put up for sale as a going concern, with the leasehold business listed at an asking price of £19,999.
Ipswich came to a standstill on Monday as supporters lined the streets to celebrate Ipswich Town's return to the Premier League, just two days after Kieran McKenna's side sealed automatic promotion with a 3-0 win over QPR.
A 3-0 home win over Queens Park Rangers sent Ipswich Town back to the Premier League on Saturday. Watching from the West Stand, columnist Barbara Norrey captures the blue smoke, the pitch invasion and the disbelief of the afternoon Town went up.
A 60-year-old registered sex offender from Ipswich has been jailed for two years after police uncovered thousands of messages relating to child sexual abuse and indecent images of children on his phone.
From today, renters in Ipswich gain protections that campaigners have fought for over a decade. Landlords say the changes leave them dangerously exposed. We help you make sense of it all.
A specialist school for children with special educational needs has applied for retrospective planning permission to continue operating from an industrial building in Nacton Road, where it has run since 2019.
A senior solicitor at one of the town's largest law firms has spoken out about the unsettling impact on clients when a local solicitor's firm closes, following the Solicitors Regulation Authority's intervention at Ross Coates Solicitors on Tuesday.
Kelvin Cracknell is standing for Labour & Co-operative in the Gainsborough Division at the Suffolk County Council elections on Thursday, 7 May. We sent every candidate the same five questions — here are Kelvin's answers, published in full and unedited.
Plans to transform the first floor of the former Grimwades building into an adult education centre have been unanimously approved by Ipswich councillors, paving the way for the hub to open this September.
The family of a 67-year-old man who died following a collision on the A14 at Nacton on Monday have thanked emergency services and members of the public who came to his aid at the scene.
Plans to replace an existing phone mast in Kiln Close with a 27-metre 5G structure have been turned down by Ipswich Borough Council's planning committee, following 55 objections from nearby residents.
A Colchester-based speciality coffee shop is set to open its first Suffolk outlet at 33 Westgate Street, taking over the Grade II Listed premises formerly occupied by fashion retailer Monsoon.
Last year, Em Nicholls had the chance to abseil down Ipswich Hospital alongside their dad. They turned it down. Months after Matt completed the challenge, he died suddenly — and now Em is preparing to step over the edge in his memory.
The Walk's popular Vintage & Retro Street Market is back this weekend, with stalls winding through the Buttermarket and into the Ancient House for the first time.
Eleven Ipswich-based businesses have been named finalists in the 2026 Suffolk & Cambridgeshire Muddy Stilettos Awards, with public voting now open until 13:00 on 26 May.
Mika Berculean is standing for Labour in Stoke Park at the Ipswich Borough Council elections, and for Labour in Belstead Hills at the Suffolk County Council elections, both on Thursday, 7 May. We sent every candidate the same five questions — here are Mika's answers, published in full and unedited.
Jamie Allenden is standing for the Green Party in Bridge Ward at the Ipswich Borough Council elections and Bridge Division at the Suffolk County Council elections on Thursday, 7 May. We sent every candidate the same five questions — here are Jamie's answers, published in full and unedited.
Elizabeth Hughes is standing for Labour and Co-operative in the Westbourne Division at the Suffolk County Council elections on Thursday, 7 May. We sent every candidate the same five questions — here are Elizabeth's answers, published in full and unedited.
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