Meet the candidate: Adam Rae

On Thursday, 7 May, Ipswich residents will head to the polls for two local elections on the same day — one for Ipswich Borough Council, the other for Suffolk County Council. Adam Rae is standing for Labour in the St Margaret's division, contesting one of 12 county council seats up for election across Ipswich.

As an apolitical publication, we sent every candidate standing in the town the same five questions, and we're publishing every response in full, without editing, so that residents can hear directly from the people asking for their vote. No candidate receives more or less prominence than any other. This is what Adam told us.

Tell us a bit about yourself

I am proud to have represented Alexandra Ward as a Labour Councillor at Ipswich Borough Council for the past six years. I have lived in Alexandra Ward for more than 30 years and my three children all went to local schools.

During my time as a councillor I have been privileged to help and support many local residents. I have also taken an active role in the Council, helping to deal with planning applications and licensing issues.

I think our administrations biggest achievement in Ipswich for the past 15 years is our record of building large numbers of high quality homes for local families – something I do not believe would have happened if anyone other than Labour was running Ipswich.

What are the three biggest issues facing your ward/division right now, and what would you do about them if elected?

The biggest issue raised on the doorstep is the state of the local roads. This is a frustrating issue because roads are the responsibility of Suffolk County and yet IBC continually gets blamed for something outside of its control. One of the main reasons I am standing in the St Margarets county division is so that I can better hold to account Suffolk County for the poor state of our roads and to find out what has happened to the significant payment they were given by the current government to address this issue.

Staying on the topic of transport it is very clear that almost everyone I talk to wants Ipswich to have a Northern Bypass so that the town is not brought to a standstill when there are issues on the Orwell Bridge. As a borough councillor I have helped to campaign for this by supporting and helping with a campaign to get a Northern Bypass run by our local MP Jack Abbott. If elected as a county councillor I would press Suffolk on their dismal record of failing to supporting and trying to avoid the issue of a bypass

I have dealt with one or two cases as a borough council relating to SEND provision for local children. This is a responsibility of Suffolk County and it is yet another area where they have badly failed the people of Ipswich and Suffolk as a whole. Suffolk has one of the worst ratings in the country for SEND. If elected as a county councillor I would be able to better press Suffolk to do much better for our children.

Suffolk is in the middle of significant change — from the local government reorganisation creating new unitary authorities to ongoing pressures on housing, transport and public services. What's your view on how these changes should be handled, and what role do you see a local councillor playing?

This reorganisation has been needed for a long time and it's great that our Labour government has finally sorted it out.

It is clear that Suffolk County council has repeatedly failed Ipswich during the 50 years it has been in place – look at the state of our roads which are in dreadful condition and our pavements which are covered in weeds. The sooner that there is a new single authority in place to deal with these issues the better.

What do you consider your most significant personal, professional or community achievement — and what does it tell voters about how you'd approach the role?

I am proud that I have been able to help many local residents with important issues. In some cases this help has made a real difference to people's lives.

I am keen supporter of Ipswich and its proud history and am involved with several local heritage organisations – all with the aim of celebrating Ipswich and making people proud of it. There are too many local people who are continually talking Ipswich down and I want to change that. Recently I have been involved in a large project run by Ipswich Maritime Trust which has used a lottery grant to educate and inspire thousands of local children about the rich maritime history of our town.

If elected, how will you make yourself accessible to residents in your ward/division? How can people contact you now, and how do you plan to keep in touch if you win?

I have always been happy for my contact details and email address/ phone number to be published on the council website so that any resident can easily get in touch with me and this will continue. In case anyone wants to contact me after reading this article, here are the details:

• Email: Adam.rae@councillors.ipswich.gov.uk
• Mobile: 07780 990089

Want to hear from the other candidates standing in St Margaret's — and across the rest of Ipswich? We're publishing every response we receive in full.

Polling stations open at 07:00 and close at 22:00 on Thursday, 7 May, with results expected on Friday, 8 May. To vote in person you will need a valid form of photo ID — if you don't have one, you can apply for a free Voter Authority Certificate at gov.uk before 17:00 on Tuesday, 28 April. The last day to register to vote is Monday, 20 April. For a full breakdown of every candidate standing across Ipswich and all the key deadlines, read our complete guide to the May elections.

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