Meet the candidate: David Ellesmere

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. David Ellesmere is standing for Labour in the Gipping 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 David told us.

Tell us a bit about yourself — who are you, what's your connection to your ward/division, and why do you want to become a councillor?

I've lived in Ipswich and worked locally as a software developer since the early 1990s.

I have represented Gipping on Ipswich Borough Council for 30 years and was leader of the council between 2011 and 2023. I have delivered leaflets to and knocked on every door in ward many times over those years.

I'm proud of the work the Borough is doing in Gipping: building new council houses, new play areas in Gippeswyk and Chantry parks, upgrading Hawthorn Drive shops, supporting community groups.

However, it is a constant source of frustration that many of the problems residents contact me about – potholes, parking restrictions, school placements – are the responsibility of Suffolk County Council and what appear to be simple issues seem to take an age to resolve.

I'd like to give my constituents a "one-stop shop" for dealing with both councils. If I'm elected, I already have a to do list of issues that I've been waiting for the current county councillors to address!

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

Two issues residents raise with me most are the state of our roads and the need for a Northern Bypass for Ipswich.

Chantry, with its ageing concrete roads, is particularly badly affected by potholes. I'm not convinced Ipswich receives a fair share of pothole funding, and if elected I would argue for an allocation system that reflects how roads are actually used, including the impact of heavy traffic and high‑frequency bus routes such as the number 13.

We also need to look closely at how road maintenance contracts operate. Too often potholes are patched only for the repair to fail within months, or a single hole is fixed while adjacent ones are left. The issue is not just how much money is available, but how effectively Suffolk County Council is spending it.

Everyone in Ipswich knows when the Orwell Bridge is shut because the town grinds to a halt. A northern bypass is the only realistic way to remove this single point of failure, yet the County Council has failed in its role as strategic transport authority by taking the project forward or bidding for government funding. We need to elect councillors from Ipswich to push this forward.

Safety is another major concern of residents. The Clear, Hold, Build programme in the London Road area is showing encouraging results. I want to see this expanded, with Suffolk County Council playing a far more active and enthusiastic role than it currently does.

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?

I'm a big supporter of Local Government Reorganisation. The current two-tier system of councils has been in place for 50 years and still hardly anyone understands who does what. Having one council will be much easier to understand.

It will also end the frustration residents feel when passed backwards and forwards between the Borough and the County with each saying the other is responsible. From now on the buck will stop at the unitary council.

By joining up separate services – for example housing and social care – we should be able to provide not only better services but often cheaper ones as well.

Although the end result will be worth it, there is a huge amount of work required to bring the new councils about. It is important that we keep a focus on why we are doing this: to make things better for our residents.

That's why it is important that we have councillors firmly rooted in and knowledgeable about their communities so they can keep their residents' perspective at the forefront of decisions.

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?

Restarting the building of new council houses for the first time in a generation when I was leader of the council.

I firmly believe that council housing plays a vital role in creating fair and stable communities, providing a fundamental human need of shelter that is affordable and secure. It also provides wider benefits such as reducing homelessness and helping to keep down rents in the private sector.

Unfortunately, under the Right To Buy scheme introduced in the 1980s, thousands of council houses in Ipswich were sold off and, crucially, the council was not allowed to replace them.

When we made decision to start building again there wasn't a single person left at the council with any experience of house building. We had to start from scratch.

By keeping a clear strategic focus on what we wanted to achieve – high quality, affordable homes for Ipswich residents – we were able to start small and eventually grow to be able to deliver much larger schemes.

We've now built over 550 new council houses, including 156 in Gipping on Coltsfoot Road and Bibb Way.

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 am regularly out and about in the ward and am frequently stopped by people with an issue, or just for a chat.

My full contact details are published on the Ipswich Borough Council website and will be repeated on the County Council website if I am elected. I will deliver a leaflet with my contact details on to every house in the ward.

I will respond to every email, letter or phone call I receive.

Want to hear from the other candidates standing in Gipping — 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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