Tom Hunt (politician)

Thomas Patrick Hunt[1] (born 31 August 1988)[2] is a British Conservative politician and the serving Member of Parliament for Ipswich.[3] He was elected in 2019 general election with a majority of 5,479, winning 50.3% of the vote.[4]

Tom Hunt

MP
Hunt in 2019
Member of Parliament
for Ipswich
Assumed office
12 December 2019
Preceded bySandy Martin
Majority5,479 (12.0%)
Personal details
Born
Thomas Patrick Hunt

(1988-08-31) 31 August 1988
Ely, Cambridgeshire, England
NationalityBritish
Political partyConservative
OccupationPolitician
WebsiteOfficial website

Earlier in his career, Hunt was also involved in East Anglian politics: between 2011 and 2017, he was a councillor on East Cambridgeshire District Council.[5][6][7] Following the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough devolution deal, Hunt also worked as the Chief of Staff to the elected Mayor of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority.

Early life

Hunt was born and raised in Ely, Cambridgeshire. His father is a long-serving councillor on Cambridgeshire County Council and East Cambridgeshire District Council. Hunt attended school at King's Ely and Hills Road Sixth Form College in Cambridge. He went on to study at the University of Manchester and Oxford University.[8]

Political career

Local and regional government

In 2011, Hunt was elected as a district councillor for Ely South in East Cambridgeshire. He served on East Cambridgeshire District Council until 2017.

Following a spells working for Oliver Dowden MP and the Countryside Alliance, Hunt worked as the Chief of Staff to the elected Mayor of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority. During this time, some of the Combined Authority's stated priorities included the construction of a metro system for Cambridge, upgrading the A47 in Cambridgeshire to dual carriageway, delivering Peterborough's first university with degree-awarding powers and building more affordable homes.[9]

2019 general election

Hunt was selected to be the Conservative parliamentary candidate for the town by the Ipswich Conservative Association in September 2018.[10]

During the run up to the 2019 general election, Hunt said he would prioritise more investment in public services in Suffolk. This included more funding for Suffolk Constabulary to tackle county lines gangs and knife crime.[11] He stated that Ipswich had not had a fair deal regarding police funding, and also called for tougher sentencing for those found guilty of serious crime.[8]

Hunt's call for investment in public services also focused on infrastructure upgrades. He has expressed his support for an Ipswich northern bypass,[12] a solution to closures of Orwell Bridge due to high winds,[13] in addition to better and more reliable rail services.[14]

Hunt was elected as the Member of Parliament for Ipswich on 12 December 2019, defeating the incumbent Labour MP Sandy Martin. He received 24,952 votes, representing a 50.3% vote share in the constituency.[4]

Immediately following his election, Hunt identified Brexit and the unpopularity of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn as key issues behind the Conservatives' victory in Ipswich. He called being elected to Ipswich the greatest honour of his life.[15]

Member of Parliament for Ipswich

After his election to Parliament in 2019, Hunt set out his key priorities for Ipswich, including tackling anti-social behaviour, ensuring good hospital and GP services in the constituency, and seeking greater investment in the roads and rail network.[16]

In his maiden speech, Hunt stated that he had been diagnosed with both dyslexia and dyspraxia during his schooling. Regarding children with special educational needs, he said that as a Member of Parliament he would dedicate himself "to helping these children to ensure that they have every opportunity to achieve their full potential and that that their talents are not lost to society".[17]

Hunt has since become a Member of the Education Committee[18] where he has frequently raised the need for support for children with SEND, particularly in light of the challenges they face during the Covid-19 outbreak.[19][20]

In January 2020 Hunt stated in an article for the local East Anglian Daily Times newspaper on crime and anti-social behaviour in Ipswich that "It is impossible to start thinking about remedies to these issues without also being ready to confront the possibility that a disproportionate number of crimes are committed by individuals from certain communities. This is something we should be open and honest about. Brushing it under the carpet will not get us closer to solving the issue."[21]

Hunt received largely positive messages from Ipswich residents in response to his article and his stand against political correctness ,[22] although he was criticised in certain quarters. The Ipswich and Suffolk Council for Racial Equality called his comments "at best disappointing and at worst an ill-judged piece of dogwhistling."[23] Suffolk Police and Crime Commissioner, Tim Passmore, referred to them as "very unhelpful". [24]

Personal life

Hunt has lived in Ipswich since 2018.[15] He is a Newcastle United fan, but he has expressed his affinity for Ipswich Town, where he attends matches.[17] Whilst in office Hunt has been a supporter of the work of Age UK including getting sponsored to shave his head in May 2020 to raise £2330. Hunt is dyspraxic and dyslexic.[25]

gollark: It, er, works fine, I just checked.
gollark: I checked, installing now from my package manager which linux has and windows does not...
gollark: What's an elinks?
gollark: Well, he is dead. You can't make people undead by redefining "dead" in weasely ways.
gollark: HTTP is kind of inefficient though honestly. I mean, look at all that inefficient textual content.

References
  1. "Members Sworn". Hansard.parliament.uk. 18 December 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  2. Hunt, Tom. "Meet Tom".
  3. "Tom Hunt MP". UK Parliament.
  4. "Election 2019". BBC News.
  5. "Local Election Results 2011 East Cambridgeshire". Local Elections Archive.
  6. "District Council Election Results - 7th May 2015". East Cambridgeshire District Council.
  7. "Ely South Ward - 7th September 2017". East Cambridgeshire District Council.
  8. Jolley, B (13 December 2019). "Ely-born Tom Hunt - until now Mayor James Palmer's chief of staff - is the new Conservative MP for Ipswich". Ely Standard.
  9. "Combined Authority reveals plan for the year ahead". Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority. 31 January 2019.
  10. Geater, P (30 September 2018). "Who'd be a parliamentary candidate? Ipswich Tory Tom Hunt faces a long wait until election". Ipswich Star.
  11. Hunt, T (13 July 2019). "My Discussion with Boris". YouTube.
  12. Papworth, A (12 August 2019). "Would-be Ipswich MP brands northern bypass opponents 'NIMBYs'". Ipswich Star.
  13. Noble, J (5 December 2019). "Could major review of Ipswich transport solve town's traffic problems?". East Anglian Daily Times.
  14. Geater, P (1 April 2019). "Rail Minister Andrew Jones visits Ipswich to promise improvements in the future". East Anglian Daily Times.
  15. Geater, P (13 December 2019). "Conservatives take Ipswich from Labour in 2019 General Election". Ipswich Star.
  16. Geater, P (13 December 2019). "Tom Hunt's first interview as new Ipswich MP". Ipswich Star.
  17. Hunt, Tom (14 January 2020). "Education and Local Government". Hansard.
  18. "Education Committee".
  19. "Education Committee Oral evidence: The impact of Covid-19 on education and children's services, HC 254".
  20. "Education Committee Oral evidence: The impact of Covid-19 on education and children's services, HC 254".
  21. Hunt, Tom (10 January 2020). "It's time to rid Ipswich streets of crime". East Anglian Daily Times.
  22. "My latest piece for the Ipswich Star".
  23. Howlett, Adam (11 January 2020). "Racial equality group criticises Ipswich MP". East Anglian Daily Times.
  24. Geater, Paul (14 January 2020). "Ipswich MP Tom Hunt comes under fire". Ipswich Star.
  25. Papworth, Andrew (10 February 2020). "'I'm very dyspraxic': Ipswich MP Tom Hunt reveals battle with learning difficulties". Ipswich Star. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Sandy Martin		 Member of Parliament for Ipswich
2019–present		 Incumbent
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