IPSWICH: Road and rail links serving Ipswich must be improved if Ipswich is to fulfil its potential, the town’s new MP told the House of Commons.

Making his maiden speech, Tory Ben Gummer said Ipswich and the rest of East Anglia needed greater investment in the transport infrastructure.

“Without them, the many opportunities that Ipswich has cannot be fully realised.”

He called on Chancellor George Osborne to crack down on government spending, so that cash would become available to spend on transport projects.

As is custom in a maiden speech, Mr Gummer paid tribute to his predecessor and sang the praises of his constituency.

He said Labour’s Chris Mole, whom he defeated in May’s General Election, had made many contributions to the people of the borough during his near nine years as its MP.

“He was a minister of the crown, he served on many Select Committees, and most importantly in my mind, he sponsored the Legal Deposit Libraries Act 2003, which enforced the digital deposit of records in the British Library, giving the nation an endowment of which he should be justly proud.”

Mr Gummer added: “I am proud of how, during the election campaign, we both led constructive and robust campaigns in which we discussed issues openly without ever digressing into unpleasantness.”

Mr Gummer, who spoke for nine minutes during a debate on the Finance Bill, said: “Ipswich has a significant and important spirit to succeed.

“It is a quiet, East Anglian spirit, but it is a spirit none the less – and it is one that I experienced during my campaign to save the local hospital, which I conducted throughout my candidature and which I hope is about to come to fruition.”

n. What issues do you think Ben Gummer should focus on? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN, or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk.