It was an honour to lay a wreath at the Ipswich War Memorial and Cenotaph in the beautiful Christchurch Park.

It was incredibly moving to see so many people pay tribute to those who served and made the ultimate sacrifice for our country.

Lest we forget.
ipswichstar.co.uk/news/26709295.…

We must keep campaigning to save community staff nurses from Reform's cuts.

Despite claiming to have 'saved' the nursing service, the Reform-led Suffolk County Council are refusing to come clean about their plans to cut nursing numbers and other vital family services.

I stand shoulder to shoulder with the nurses, health visitors and families who are fighting to save jobs and protect the services they so desperately rely on.

I thank all those who are doing the same.

Reform will make their decision on Tuesday 10th November, just a few short days away. They still have time to do the right thing and ditch their planned cuts once and for all.

Please help us keep up the pressure by emailing your local County Councillor: save-suffolk-services.netlify.app

It was an honour to place a cross in the @UKParliament Garden of Remembrance in memory of all those from Ipswich who served and made the ultimate sacrifice for our country.

We will remember them.

Great to meet Lionesses legend Millie Bright and the Football Foundation to discuss the opportunities around grassroots sport.

In particular, we explored the potential of delivering more 3G pitches in Ipswich, to make sure we have the necessary facilities so everyone can play.

Despite claiming to have 'saved' community staff nursing from their proposed cuts, Reform at Suffolk County Council won't confirm if they'll:

1. cut nurse roles
2. cut other family services

They have been asked repeatedly but they refuse to answer.

ipswich.co.uk/staff-nurses-d…

This is a victory for the many campaigners who fought to save Community Staff Nurses and I pay particular tribute to the families, nurses and health visitors who had to fight so had to save this vital service.

bbc.co.uk/news/articles/…

While the service as a principle might have been saved, the Reform administration at Suffolk County Council still won't confirm if they will cut the number of nurses, and they remain committed to making other brutal cuts to essential family services.

So while Reform's u-turn represents a major win for families and nurses, I remain incredibly concerned about their remaining cuts and the impact they will have on children and families in Ipswich and Suffolk.

The campaign for a new maternity unit at Ipswich Hospital continues.

Following my question in Parliament, I met with the Health Minister, @karinsmyth, to talk about the plans in more detail, and why we need Government support to make a new maternity unit a reality.

For too long, up to 120,000 disabled people have been unable to access money that is legally theirs.

Today, @LucyRigby and I can announce changes to the Child Trust Fund regime which will correct this injustice, making these funds accessible for parents and guardians of those that lack capacity.

It has been a tortuous process for the campaigners, who have fought hard (met 15 different justice ministers over 6 years!!) and were often met with a wall of 'computer says no'.

Through the hard work of Lucy, @sarahsackman and many others, we have been able to overcome this inertia, and make real progress to offer that bit of help to thousands of families.

But this was a team, and cross-party, effort. Big credit must go to @sarahsmithlab @EdwardJDavey @JohnMilneLD, Baroness Levitt and Baroness Kramer, and many, many others for pursuing this cause for so long.

And, of course, Lord David Blunkett who emailed me about this cause on the first day I received the brief back in the summer, with characteristic determination.

There is more work to do to ensure everyone gets what they deserve, but very pleased to have been part of this important step.

inews.co.uk/inews-lifestyl…

The last @UKLabour government introduced Child Trust Funds - a financial asset for every child in this country, accessible from age 18.

Nearly 3 million young people have already accessed their Funds, currently worth an average of £2,600 each.

For young people lacking the ge their money though, families have been required to go via the Court of Protection, in a process which many - including @sarahsmithlab - have rightly said is too complex, long & difficult to navigate.

Today, @JakeBenRichards & I are announcing that we’re changing that.

I will introduce a power into the Financial Services Bill that means the rules governing access to Child Trust Funds can be amended.

The result will be a fairer system for young people & their families, & more people being put in touch with a financial asset at an important point in their lives.

A big thank you to everyone that has campaigned to bring about this change & worked with us.

Reform's proposal to axe community staff nursing was published in July and they're now pretending they saved it...from themselves.

No apology for the anguish caused to nurses and families, whose campaigning saved the service, and no honesty about the other cuts on the way.

Our @IpswichLabour team out speaking with local residents in south-east Ipswich.

A range of topics came up in conversation, from speeding and tree cutting, to climate change and the future of the old Debenhams building.

Thank you to everyone who took the time to speak to us.

BSC Multicultural Services' Sports Day was so much fun, with cricket, football, basketball and more on offer, and free for families (and MPs) to enjoy!

Sport England also announced a further £1m investment in Ipswich to increase physical activity and tackle health inequalities.

Good to meet with Tony and the team at Emmaus-Suffolk to hear about their work in supporting people in Ipswich who are at risk of homelessness and isolation.

The Royal Oak is home to a range of community sessions. Find out more about their work here: emmaus.org.uk/suffolk/our-hu…

Great explainer of our Government's Pride in Place programme and what it means for Ipswich👇

The £1.5 million Impact Fund is funding upgrades for 25 organisations across Ipswich.

Chantry and Stoke Park, and Whitehouse, will receive £20 million each too. ipswichstar.co.uk/news/26678744.…

SIR PATRICK STEWART (1940-2026)

Before everything else, Patrick was defined by being born and bred in Yorkshire, the proud county in the north of England which he loved to the end. You could hear it in his accented voice and in the stern honesty with which he told you what he hiremen have no truck with half-truths or avoidance of big issues. He wore his heart on his sleeve, which made him a man to rely on, to admire and in my case, love.

We first met as ambitious young actors with the Royal Shakespeare Company half a century ago but we weren’t in the same productions. My first strong memory was a few years later, meeting him in the street in central London when he told me about an offer to take over a leading part in 'Star Trek'. “But Patrick think of your stage career in the UK. Do you really want to risk—getting lost in Hollywood for years and years?”. Well, he took the risk and thank goodness for us all that he did for not just his devoted Trekkies but film and theatre audiences, who marvelled at his using international celebrity to star in a string of cinema successes ('X-Men' of course) and in great classical plays by Shakespeare, Ibsen, Arthur Miller, Peter Shaffer, Pinter and Beckett at Stratford-upon-Avon, in London’s West End and on Broadway.

America was his adopted home, where he met his adored Sunny who has cared for him through sickness and health, through thick and thin. But he never forsook his origins: and the proudest achievement of the most respected and beloved actor of his generation on either side of the Atlantic, was his appointment as Chancellor of Huddersfield University in Yorkshire.

His farewell performance in 'Avengers: Doomsday' is yet to be seen.

Ian McKellen 29 October 2026

Photo: University of Huddersfield