The Mayor of Ipswich is Councillor Lynne Mortimer (2023 - 2024).

Cllr Mortimer was born in Ipswich and has lived and worked in the town all her life. She is currently a councillor for Gainsborough ward.

Lynne’s early years were spent on the Chantry estate where she attended Sprites School. The family moved to east Ipswich, where Lynne gained a sister and went to Britannia School, then Northgate High School. She took A levels at Civic College (now Suffolk College) and it was there she met her future husband, James Hayward, in a student drama production.

Since retiring from a career in journalism in 2019, Lynne has continued to write for Suffolk Magazine and to review television for BBC Radio Suffolk. She and retired Lawyer James have three grandsons, aged 10, 8 and 5.

Lynne and her husband have been very much involved in local amateur theatre groups since their first meeting on stage in 1973. Together, they have appeared in numerous plays and musicals with Gallery Players and have written and directed pantomimes over a span of four decades, including more than 25 years for the Gainsborough-based award-winning Landseer Players.

The Mayor says: “My themes for my year as Mayor are History and Heritage.

Countless people, events and institutions have contributed to heritage, leaving us a legacy to build on. Consequently, my chosen charities, Inspire Suffolk and Brave Futures, recognise the difficulties young people can face and are there to help and support them realise their futures. While looking to a kind, diverse, and rewarding future we cannot ignore the challenges that face our town and its people. Over this year of office, I am hoping to highlight the work of these charities, and, raise funds for them in order that they may sustain and expand their work.

Over a span of 40 years I have been privileged to meet many of the town’s mayors and never, in that time, imagined I would one day have the privilege of becoming one. Ipswich is my beloved home town, and I will not let it down.”