Statement from the Ipswich Conservative Group
Following an email sent by the Ipswich Conservative Group to senior officers at Ipswich Borough Council, we can confirm that the Council has now deleted posts from its official Facebook and Instagram accounts which shared political content from Labour MP Jack Abbott.
The posts clearly breached Section 2 of the Local Government Act 1986, which prohibits local authorities from publishing any material that appears to be designed to affect public support for a political party. Councils are publicly funded bodies and must remain politically neutral in all communications to protect public trust and ensure fairness to all residents.
In the political post shared by the Council, Mr Abbott referenced the new town centre portal and local regeneration projects, ironically walking past The Botanist, one of several developments supported through the Towns Fund, a multi-million-pound investment granted by the Conservative Government to improve Ipswich. Funds Ipswich Labour have sat on for years and deprived our town of much needed improvements. For the Labour-run Borough Council to enter into partisan debate using misleading political messaging on publicly funded platforms is a serious lapse in judgement and a dangerous precedent.
Cllr Ian Fisher, Leader of the Ipswich Conservative Group, said:
"This was a clear breach of the law and a total misuse of council resources. We are pleased the posts have now been removed following our intervention, but this should never have happened in the first place. The Council’s communication channels belong to the people of Ipswich, not to any political party."
Cllr Sam Murray, Deputy Leader of the Ipswich Conservative Group, added:
"It’s deeply concerning that a Labour MP’s political message was shared by a local authority. Councils must stay out of political campaigning altogether. We call on Ipswich Borough Council to apologise to taxpayers, review its internal communications policy, and provide assurances that safeguards will be put in place to prevent this ever happening again."
The Ipswich Conservative Group remains committed to holding the administration to account and ensuring that council communications reflect neutrality, transparency, and respect for the law.
