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The local elections were clearly disappointing with five losses in Ipswich. I congratulate all of the candidates,
both successful and unsuccessful on their campaigns and the efforts of everyone who worked for Labour in the run-up to the elections. It was a shame to lose good councillor
colleagues. I spent part of election evening at Anglia TV and was surprised that the first three results that came to me were Labour gains in
Great Yarmouth. This indeed was the pattern with better results in some locations over others. This was also the picture in Ipswich where
holding St John’s was an excellent result. The victory in Westgate may prove to be very significant and our hard work there must
continue. Over the country as a whole the picture was actually similar to the 2004 election results. Turnout was clearly down in Labour
strongholds and on a low turnout there were better opportunities for local factors to come into play. The Tories clearly gained seats and councils, but their share of the vote showed no great
dominance and our vote did not collapse in the way theirs did in the 90s. The Liberal Democrats made no significant advance in share of the popular vote and in fact were third overall – not second
as was inaccurately reported by the BBC. In fact the share of the vote that Labour lost went to the “others” a combination of green, BNP and independent candidates.
The Prime Minister spoke to the PLP on the Monday after the local elections and made his case for unity in the face of a clear opposition and media campaign to set
a timetable for his departure. Colleagues agreed that the significant indication of the evening was Tony Blair telling us that he thought it appropriate to give his successor time to "bed in"
before the next election. The PM justified his prior commitment to not seek re-election and rejected calls for him to set a date for his departure, saying this would
"paralyse the working of government" - but promised a "stable transition". The vast majority of colleagues called on the PM and others to work together to ensure that
transition took place in the interest of the party and the country.
In Westminster
Following the reshuffle, I appear still to be Parliamentary Private Secretary to Phil Woolas the Local Government Minister. Our department is now known as the Department of
Communities and Local Government. I was involved in more meetings to consult backbenchers on the forthcoming Local Government White
Paper, although with David Miliband moving to Environment we will see whether Ruth Kelly takes a different approach to this. I went to a House of Commons seminar on Government Resource Accounting and a PLP brief with the Health Minister Rosie Winterton MP on the
implementation of the new dental contract. I brought a delegation of Labour councillors who are board members of
Regional Development Agencies to meet the minister responsible (Alun Michael) three days before he lost his job. I have since followed-up the issues raised with the new
minister! I also met with the developer of the Snoasis project, received a lobby from student nurse members of the
RCN and hosted a dinner for BT in the East of England. Much of parliamentary time has been allocated to
considering the budget and related bills. Other bills have covered Police and Justice, The Housing Corporation, Northern Ireland (Miscellaneous) and
Animal Welfare.
In Ipswich
 I was pleased to
launch the first 85% biofuel pump at Morissons in Ipswich which is a renewable fuel alternative to fossil fuels that may also be important to our region’s agricultural
industry. I was also happy to visit the Crown Prosecution Service and see how Labour’s policies on Witness Support, Statutory
Charging and recovering the proceeds of crime were making a real difference. I met with Ipswich representatives of the National Federation of Sub Postmasters to discuss their concerns about the ending of the Post Office Card Account (POCA) in 2010 and heard from the
local NFU  about continuing problems with the Single Farm Payment system.I was very pleased to contribute my experience of Business Improvement
Districts (BIDs) in the USA with the Select Committee in the last parliament to supporting the case for a BID for Ipswich town centre. For more information see www.voteipswich.com I discussed with Ian Hartley of East Suffolk MIND the
role of the voluntary sector in the health and social care of those with mental health problems locally and I met with the local office of CAFCASS the Children and Family Court
Advisory and Support Service.
Chris Mole MP
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May 2006
