Tom Hunt (politician)

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.[10]

Hunt was selected to be the Conservative parliamentary candidate for the town by the Ipswich Conservative Association in September 2018.[11]

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.[12] 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.[9]

Hunt's call for investment in public services also focused on infrastructure upgrades. He has expressed his support for an Ipswich northern bypass,[13] a solution to closures of Orwell Bridge due to high winds,[14] in addition to better and more reliable rail services.[15]

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.[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 is a member of the European Research Group.[18]

Hunt was criticised in January 2020 when he stated in an article for the local East Anglian Daily Times newspaper that "a disproportionate number of crimes are committed by individuals from a certain community" and referred to "bad behaviour which may be rife in other countries but is not traditional in ours."[19] The Ipswich and Suffolk Council for Racial Equality called his comments "at best disappointing and at worst an ill-judged piece of dogwhistling."[20] Tory Police and Crime Commissioner, Tim Passmore, referred to them as "very unhelpful". [21]