There’s nothing like a councillor in trouble to jump on a bandwagon.

The Smock on Maidenhall Road, right in the heart of the Maidenhall Estate and next to Stoke High School, has an entirely inappropriate licencing application that will make this pub in the middle of the estate into a night club.  Phil Smart is opposing this, which is quite nice of him as it will not affect him in the slightest as he lives as far outside the ward as he has for all the two and a half decades that he has been the absentee councillor for Bridge.

But there’s something strange here. 

Who completely overhauled the licencing laws at the behest of the alcohol lobby?  Phil Smart’s Labour Party.

Who sent a text message to younger voters in the 2001 election saying “couldn’t give a ‘four x’ for last orders? Vote Labour on Thursday for extra time“.  Phil Smart’s Labour Party.

Who imposed the utterly non-sensical smoking ban that made the community pub unsustainable, putting all night drinking as the only way for many pubs to avoid closing?  Phil Smart’s Labour Party.

Now it is certainly the case that all political parties make mistakes.  The Tories have made more than their share of mistakes from the Maastricht treaty to the threatened closure of the Stoke Park library.  The difference between a decent representative and a party hack is not whether you mean well, but whether you put your constituents before your party.  I live in Bridge, it’s easy for me to make the choice.  But what about the present Labour councillors?

I feel strongly about it because I live in Belstead Avenue, literally up the road from the Smock.  I remember from when I was living in Rectory Road the Friday and Saturday nights (and early mornings) in summer that we had to endure, and I don’t want them repeated here with an all night drinking den down the street.

Phil Smart is not a bad man.  He may be socially awkward and find it hard to accept constituents’ opinions that differ from his own but he means well.  He is not weirdly and coldly ambitious unlike another Bridge Ward councillor (although let’s be fair she could represent anywhere, if it already had a large Labour majority).  He looks vaguely human and you imagine that he would not sell his mother to get up another political rung, unlike his group leader.  And he doesn’t get drunk and blurt out absurd death threats as yet another Labour councillor does.  By the admittedly low standards of the Ipswich Labour party he’s just about OK.

However the question is when it comes to the crunch will he stand by his party or his, admittedly distant, constituents?  So here’s a test by which he can redeem himself:

Will he admit that his party made a complete hash of licencing reform at the behest of the alcohol lobby?

Will he praise Ben Gummer for voting for a partial relaxation of the smoking ban in pubs and condemn Chris Mole for his wholehearted support of the destruction of community pubs?

Will he condemn the 2001 Labour campaign, of which he was a key part in Ipswich, for so enthusiastically calling for all night drinking?

I would love to be wrong on this, but I don’t think he will.

Of course she doesn’t use it so you can understand why it’s not on her radar (although it is on the Labour leaflet’s radar, oddly) but as our County Councillor you would expect her to make a stink about Stoke Library being at risk of closure.

But according to Ipswich Spy it really wasn’t an issue to her, and she made no effort to try to keep it open.  Obviously winning the Ipswich Labour nomination is more important to her.

I have no doubt that the Labour councillors mean well, but the reason why they are so ineffective in representing us is because they have their eye on different issues.  As a ward we’re necesarry for their career, but we’re hardly sufficient.

That’s why, regardless of party this ward needs a local person who is going to take pride in upsetting the applecart rather than simply talking about north Ipswich bus routes or Evening Star columns.

Now I know that our absentee Labour Councillors are decent, well meaning types, but the thing that gets me up in the morning is their patronising attitude that they know best and we, mere residents, know least.  And that we should be grateful for their concern.

The Labour Party conference showed another example of this paternalistic attitude.  Bryony Rudkin attacked the Suffolk County Council divestment plans.  There’s a lot of questions to ask about this, and there is a job of opposition that needs to be done to keep a place healthy.

But what really stuck in my craw, and those who know me can imagine the violent revulsion that I had to this, was this little point:

At the council meeting last Thursday, one Conservative said his village had come together to build a new doctor’s surgery.

“That might be fine in the nice comfortable villages but who’s going to come together to build the doctor’s surgery in my area of Ipswich where there are some quite serious deprivation issues?”

Now, please tell me that was a clap line for a Neanderthal audience smarting from defeat, and that she didn’t think that it was a serious point.  There may be a more complete speech, which I will be glad to publish.

Bridge has the Wherstead Road Residents Association, still going strong after forty years and the longest continuously functioning residents’ association in Ipswich.  It has the Maidenhall Residents Association that keeps a presence and a community together.  The port noise was stopped largely by a concerted action from residents across Bridge and Stoke Park, spontaneously organising.  There is the Stoke Green Baptist church and Saint Mary Stoke which have great outreach services to people more deprived than you would find on Corder Road, which if we are going to get picky about this is closer to the area which Dame Bryony represents.  And this is not to mention such groups from allotment holders, social clubs, Pentecostal churches and Neighbourhood watch groups that do a great deal of good in Bridge.

These groups are ignored by that sort of dismissal.  Now building a doctor’s surgery may be a stretch but just because we do not have the most expensive houses in Ipswich does not mean that we are incapable of organising ourselves.  We need help, not direction.

If you want to insult us go and do it to our faces and in your leaflets, not to a hall of useless, overpaid, overpromoted and spendthrift public sector middle managers up in Manchester who got us in this mess in the first place.

It’s today. Stoke High School. Starts at 11. Goes on to 4.

Just as a reminder, the Fun Day is at Stoke High School. It starts at 11 AM, and goes on to about 4 PM.

It should be great fun. Be there.

This should be a good day. It’s at the Halifax Bowls Pavillion and there will be a climbing wall and a children’s fancy dress parade. The mayor will be opening it around 11 AM and the fun goes on until 4pm.

The Maidenhall Residents Association are arranging a trip to Great Yarmouth on Saturday 14th August, which is £6.50 for members and £8.50 for non members.

The email is maidenhallres@tiscali.co.uk or they can be found in the shop 21 Maidenhall Green, Ipswich, IP2 8PJ. The office on Maidenhall Green is open most week days from noon to 2pm. You can also call them on 683 534.

Ben Gummer was asked to write a letter to the Maidenhall residents, to appear in the Maidenhall Residents’ Association newsletter. Here it is:

Dear Maidenhall Resident,

I am really pleased to be able to write in this, the first edition of your newsletter since my election on 6th May. I want to say from the outset that I am here for everyone in Ipswich, no matter how they voted. So please, do not hesitate to get in touch with me if there is any issue that concerns you – whether it is a personal problem or something to do with the government. I shall soon have an office set up in Ipswich and will let you know the details when it is open but until then please continue to contact me using my email address (ben@bengummer.com), by ‘phone (0845 634 9197) or by post (House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA).

I am determined to help you and local activists deal with some pressing problems in the Maidenhall Estate and across Bridge Ward. The first is anti-social behaviour. I know that many people have been troubled by this in the area. I know people see that this is not something we can simply solve with more and more police powers: we need to attacked the root of the problem, which is family breakdown, our failed prisons system and a general lack of respect. This is not something any government can solve quickly or on its own. So you will see in the next few years measures to support families, to help restore discipline to our schools, and to give the police the powers they need without the paperwork that holds them back. But we must also work hard as a community together to do something about anti-social behaviour. So please let me and the MRA know of any problems that you have encountered and the ideas you have for improving the situation.

I know that many people have been disturbed by noise from the port, which can be very annoying. Before my election I lobbied the port companies to deal with the problem and some silencing work has since been done. But from recent reports I have received from local activist James Spencer it is clear that all is not completely solved. The key here is to ensure that the Borough Council knows whenever you are disturbed or irritated by noise, as then they are in a stronger position to do something about it. If you are troubled by noise from the port (or anywhere else for that matter) please contact the Council’s Environmental Protection Hotline on 01473 433 110. In the meantime, I shall be talking to company representatives from the port shortly to see what else can be done and will report back to you on progress.

For some years there has been a problem with speeding traffic on the corner of Maidenhall Approach by the Green. I am aware of this and the issue has already been taken up with the Borough. I shall pursue the issue next time I meet with traffic officials: there is a long list of complaints from across the town but this is one of safety and so I shall stress that it is a priority.

Finally, I’d like to commend the Residents’ Association on the work it has done is running the shop on Maidenhall Green. I know that this is a lifeline to many people and I would like to take the opportunity to let everyone who helps keep this shop going that it is a service others elsewhere in Ipswich would love to see in their area. So I hope to encourage others to take up your idea!

I hope to see you a lot over the next few years – and please do remember to get in touch should you want me to help with anything.

Yours,

Ben

One of the groups in Bridge Ward that I’ve never covered, and it is remiss of me, is the Ipswich and Suffolk Credit Union, which is based in 63 Austin Street, and also has an information point in the Maidenhall Residents Association shop every Friday between 10 and 12 in the morning.

This group does a great amount of work helping people deal with the fluctuations with money without going to a doorstep lender. It operates throughout Suffolk, so it can be said that it is the largest financial institution with its headquarters in Bridge.

Just a note to say that the fun day will be on at 28th August. More details to follow.