Party chairman Richard Holden joined Ipswich Conservatives campaigning to re-elect Tom Hunt on Saturday afternoon.

He joined them after spending the morning campaigning in the Essex cities of Chelmsford and Colchester - two seats that have traditionally been good for Conservatives but are currently targeted by opposition parties.

Mr Hunt has stepped up campaigning over the last week after winding down his Westminster office following the end of the Parliament.

He said much of campaigning had been in parts of the town that had not been traditionally good for the Tories, but where the party's vote had increased recently.

Ipswich Star: Richard Holden and Tom Hunt campaigning in Ipswich.Richard Holden and Tom Hunt campaigning in Ipswich. (Image: Paul Geater)

But on Saturday Mr Holden visited more traditionally Tory territory, the St Margaret's ward that has recently become a Lib Dem stronghold in council elections.

He told the activists that there were "Grumpy Tories" but they were unconvinced by Sir Keir Starmer and it was their job to persuade them to turn out and vote Conservative.

He said: "People don't know what Sir Keir Starmer stands for. This week he has been pushed around by Angela Rayner over Diane Abbott. That's not what people want from their Prime Minister."

He accepted polls looked difficult for his party but took heart from the results of the local elections at the start of May.

He said: "We were 7% behind Labour once all the votes were counted. We can recover that - especially once people start comparing how Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer react in a crisis."

He rejected claims that the election campaign so far had been too focused on older voters with policies on pensions and the return of National Service being discussed.

He said: "We are looking to abolish National Insurance payments - that's a tax that is only paid by working-age employees. Pensioners don't pay that.

"But it is also important that we ensure that people don't have to pay tax on their basic state pension."

Mr Holden's visit came just days after Labour formally launched its campaign in Ipswich as its candidate Jack Abbott tries to overturn the 5,479 majority won by Mr Hunt in 2019.