Joanna Spicer MBE DL - Blackbourn

I have been the Suffolk County Councillor for the Blackbourn Division for almost 30 years. I have worked in the public sector in Suffolk since 1972 and live in Pakenham with my husband Christopher. We have two grown-up daughters and several grandchildren.

I have held various leading roles in Suffolk, including as Chairman of the following: Suffolk Family Health Services Authority, Suffolk Health Authority, Suffolk West Primary Care Trust, Suffolk Fire and Rescue Authority, and Suffolk Police Authority. As a former Cabinet Member for Public Protection, I was responsible for community safety, social inclusion, diversity, trading standards and emergency planning.

At the County Council today, I am chairman of the Audit Committee and I chair the West Suffolk Community Safety Partnership.

I keep in touch with my electorate of just over 8,000 voters by attending Parish Council meetings in the 17 villages I represent. I also get involved from time to time in campaigns to protect local services. Several of the villages I represent are facing the possibility of large housing developments. I believe it is best to engage at an early stage with developers to seek appropriate support for road safety improvements, school places and enhanced rights of way.

I have supported different mental health charities, including Rethink where I have a national role. I was also Chairman of Suffolk St John Ambulance until 2017.

I can be contacted at Joanna.Spicer@suffolk.gov.uk

Russ Rainger - Aldeburgh and Leiston

I moved to Suffolk in 2007, when Denise and I made Snape our home. I retired from a 30-year career in the nuclear power industry in 2014. My interest in local issues has been fuelled by my involvement with the Parish Council and, in 2017, I stood for a County Council position.

Mark Bee - Beccles

I was born and raised in Beccles, where I attended local schools. I was a student at Westminster College, Oxford, where I gained a degree in Theology and was elected President of the Student Union. It was from this that my interest in politics was established.

Christopher Hudson - Belstead Brook

It has been a great honour to serve and represent the people of Suffolk as a County Councillor since 2012. I also served as a District Councillor from 2011-2019.

Paul West - Bixley

I am married to Katherine and have two stepchildren. Ipswich has always been our home and we run our small businesses here too. It is a great place to live as we are just an hour from London and have a vibrant waterfront area. I was elected at the County Councillor for the Bixley Division in a by-election in May 2016.

Richard Smith MVO - Blything

I have been a County Councillor since 2010 and represent the Blything Division, which consists of the town of Saxmundham (where I live) and twelve villages to the north – Blythburgh, Bramfield, Darsham, Dunwich, Kelsale-cum-Carlton, Middleton, Theberton, Thorington, Walberswick, Wenhaston, Westleton and Yoxford.

Kay Oakes - Bosmere

I have lived in Needham Market since 1997. I was a Needham Market Town Councillor for fifteen years and I have served as Mayor of Needham Market and Chairman of the Town Council three times.

David Ritchie - Bungay

My wife and I live in St James South Elmham, one of the 25 rural parishes in the Bungay electoral Division. We keep a few sheep and some chickens and are doing our best to restore and improve a timber-frame Suffolk long house. Rachel is the Church Warden and we both help with village events.

Mary Evans - Clare

I come from a farming family and grew up in Suffolk. I trained as a reporter on the East Anglian Daily Times, where I met my husband. Our careers took us to Westminster where I worked as a political correspondent.

Rachel Hood - Exning and Newmarket

I am a Cambridge University educated Barrister, a qualified Californian/USA Federal Court Attorney, and a married mother of four. My husband and I run a business in Newmarket, where I am a Town Councillor and the current Mayor, having been Mayor previously in 2014-15 and 2018-19.

Graham Newman - Felixstowe Coastal

I first started working in Felixstowe – for BT in Anzani House - in 1984, and eventually moved to the town in 1992. I was elected to the County Council for Felixstowe Coastal Division in 2005, and successfully re-elected in 2009, 2013 and 2017.