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St Mary Le Tower partners with local agency for Ipswich Minster rebrand

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St Mary Le Tower church has appointed local creative agency Against Ordinary to develop its new branding as it prepares to become Ipswich Minster.

The big picture: The rebranding marks the next step in St Mary Le Tower's journey towards Ipswich Minster status, following its redesignation by the Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich in May.

Key details:

  • Against Ordinary will create a new logo and visual signage for the church

  • The agency was chosen after a competitive selection process

  • Work on the rebranding project will begin in August and September

  • Initial design concepts are expected to be shared in autumn

Why it matters: The rebranding effort aims to help the church better present itself to the Ipswich community as it takes on its new role as a minster.

Be Peters, Tom Mumford and Jordan Bambridge in front of a church
Be Peters (Creative Director at Against Ordinary), Tom Mumford (Vicar at St Mary Le Tower) and Jordan Bambridge (Strategic Director at Against Ordinary)Phillip KingPhillip King

What's a minster? The term "minster" is an honorific title given to particular churches in England. It comes from the Saxon word for "monasterium," which means community. Originally, ministers were communities of monks, but they could also be groups of priests or clergy living together devoted to Christian observance.

What they're saying:

Tom Mumford, Vicar at St Mary Le Tower: "I'm delighted that the church has this opportunity to work with Against Ordinary as we look towards a new way of presenting ourselves to the town we're here to serve."

Be Peters, Creative Director at Against Ordinary: "It's no small feat to rebrand a church, as you can imagine it's not something that comes up very often. But when we first heard about the project we instantly started to get excited about what we could do for the new Ipswich Minster."

Background: Against Ordinary is a relatively new agency founded in 2023 by Jordan Bambridge and Be Peters. It's based in Colchester, but founders Be and Jordan live in Ipswich.

The company has quickly gained recognition, recently being named a finalist for the Best New Agency 2024 award by the UK Agency Awards.

What's next: A ceremony to confirm St Mary Le Tower's new status as Ipswich Minster is planned for early 2025.

Attwells staff outside their Ipswich office

An award-winning local law firm

Rated as "Excellent" on Review Solicitors with an impressive 4.8/5 on Feefo.

Attwells staff outside their Ipswich office

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Farage more trusted than Starmer in East of England, latest poll finds

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Attwells Solicitors

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Reform UK leader Nigel Farage is more trusted to represent the UK internationally than PM Keir Starmer among East of England voters, new polling reveals.

Why it matters: The findings highlight a significant decline in trust for the main party leaders in the region less than a year after the general election.

The poll, conducted by communications agency PLMR and Electoral Calculus, shows Farage ranked highest among named leaders at 19% in the East of England, ahead of Sir Keir Starmer (13%), Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch (6%) and Liberal Democrat Leader Sir Ed Davey (5%).

Nigel Farage
Nigel FarageAlamy

The bigger picture: One in three voters (33%) in the region responded "none of the above" when asked which political figure they would trust most, suggesting a broader decline in overall trust in UK political leaders.

By the numbers: The same poll indicates Reform UK would become the largest party in the region if an election were held tomorrow:

  • Reform: 21 seats

  • Conservatives: 10 seats

  • Labour: 4 seats

  • Liberal Democrats: 2 seats

  • Greens: 1 seat

In contrast: Nationally, Farage and Starmer are tied at 16% among those who named a preference, highlighting a more polarised national picture, with the Reform UK leader building more trust with voters in the East of England specifically.

What they're saying: "This polling highlights a significant decline in trust for the two main party leaders among East of England voters when it comes to representing the UK on the international stage," said Tim Miller , Managing Director of PLMR Genesis , the East of England branch of PLMR.

Reform and Nigel Farage have seemingly been able to capitalise on this and it's now translating into voting intentions, with the Party set to overtake Labour and the Conservatives in the region with the largest number of seats – a seismic political shift.

Between the lines: The poll suggests Reform would make strong gains across the region, potentially taking seats from both major parties:

  • Suffolk: Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket from Labour

  • Essex: Braintree from the Conservatives and Thurrock from Labour

  • Cambridgeshire: North East from the Conservatives and North West from Labour

  • Norfolk: North West from the Conservatives and South West from Labour

Tim Miller on a backdrop of Ipswich from above and political party colour overlays
Tim Miller of PLMR GenesisOliver Rouane-WilliamsIpswich.co.uk

The national outlook: The survey of 5,180 adults showed Reform securing 25% of the vote share nationally, compared to 23% each for Labour and the Conservatives. This would translate to 227 seats for Reform, 180 for Labour and 130 for the Conservatives.

The bottom line: "If Labour wants to keep Reform at bay, hold onto the gains they made in the East of England and remain in government in four year's time, the Party needs to focus on getting their message across more clearly to voters and instil confidence in their domestic agenda," Miller concluded.

Attwells staff outside their Ipswich office

An award-winning local law firm

Rated as "Excellent" on Review Solicitors with an impressive 4.8/5 on Feefo.

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