Waveney Valley is a constituency of the House of Commons in the UK Parliament, created following the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies.[2] Since its first election in 2024, it has been represented by Adrian Ramsay of the Green Party and is the first Green seat in the East of England.
| Waveney Valley | |
|---|---|
| County constituency for the House of Commons | |
 Boundaries since 2024 | |
 Boundary of Waveney Valley in the East of England | |
| County | Norfolk and Suffolk |
| Electorate | 70,540 (2023)[1] |
| Major settlements | Bungay, Diss, Eye, Halesworth, Harleston |
| Current constituency | |
| Created | 2024 |
| Member of Parliament | Adrian Ramsay (Green) |
| Seats | One |
| Created from | Waveney; Central Suffolk and North Ipswich; Bury St. Edmunds; Suffolk Coastal & South Norfolk |
Boundaries
editThe constituency straddles the River Waveney between Norfolk and Suffolk and is composed of the following (as they existed on 1 December 2020):
- The District of East Suffolk wards of: Bungay & Wainford; Halesworth & Blything.
- The District of Mid Suffolk wards of: Bacton; Eye; Fressingfield; Gislingham; Haughley, Stowupland & Wetherden; Hoxne & Worlingworth; Mendlesham; Palgrave; Rickinghall; Stradbroke & Laxfield; Walsham-le-Willows.
- The District of South Norfolk wards of: Beck Vale, Dickleburgh & Scole; Bressingham & Burston; Bunwell; Diss & Roydon; Ditchingham & Earsham; Harleston.[3]
It covers the following areas:
- Areas to the north of the river, including Diss and Harleston, transferred from South Norfolk
- Bungay, transferred from Waveney (to be renamed Lowestoft)
- Halesworth, transferred from Suffolk Coastal
- Rural areas of north Suffolk, including Eye, transferred from Central Suffolk and North Ipswich, and Bury St Edmunds (to be renamed Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket)
The seat was created from parts of five pre-2024 constituencies:
| Pre-2024 constituency | Pre-2024 party | %age area of new constituency | %age population of new constituency | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Norfolk | Conservative | 30.9% | 41.1% | |
| Central Suffolk and North Ipswich | Conservative | 30.8% | 20.5% | |
| Bury St Edmunds | Conservative | 18.6% | 19.6% | |
| Waveney | Conservative | 14.0% | 9.9% | |
| Suffolk Coastal | Conservative | 5.7% | 9.8% | |
Constituency profile
editElectoral Calculus characterises the proposed seat as "Strong Right", with right-wing economic and social views, high home ownership levels and strong support for Brexit.[5] The notional 2019 result was Conservative.[6]
The seat was a target seat, in the 2024 general election, for the Green Party[7] who won half of the council wards in the seat in the 2023 local elections.
Members of Parliament
editEast Suffolk, Central Suffolk & North Ipswich and Bury St. Edmunds prior to 2024
| Election | Member | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Adrian Ramsay | Green | |
Elections
editElections in the 2020s
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Green | Adrian Ramsay | 20,467 | 41.7 | +32.4 | |
| Conservative | Richard Rout | 14,874 | 30.3 | −31.9 | |
| Reform UK | Scott Huggins | 7,749 | 15.8 | N/A | |
| Labour | Gurpreet Padda | 4,621 | 9.4 | −9.2 | |
| Liberal Democrats | John Shreeve | 1,214 | 2.5 | −6.7 | |
| SDP | Maya Severyn | 118 | 0.2 | N/A | |
| Majority | 5,593 | 11.4 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 49,043 | 68.5 | –4.2 | ||
| Registered electors | 71,629 | ||||
| Green gain from Conservative | Swing |  32.2
|
|||
Elections in the 2010s
edit| 2019 notional result[9] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Vote | % | |
| Conservative | 31,898 | 62.2 | |
| Labour | 9,534 | 18.6 | |
| Green | 4,775 | 9.3 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 4,696 | 9.2 | |
| Others | 377 | 0.7 | |
| Turnout | 51,280 | 72.7 | |
| Electorate | 70,540 | ||
Constituency level polling
edit| Dates
conducted |
Pollster | Client | Area | Sample
size |
Con | Lab | Lib Dems | Green | Reform | Would not vote | Don't know | Lead |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17th Jun | We Think[10] | Green Party | Consituency | 500 | 15% | 11% | 4% | 23% | 10% | 2% | 34% | 8 |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume two: Constituency names, designations and composition – Eastern". Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
- ^ "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume one: Report – Eastern | Boundary Commission for England". boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
- ^ "The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023". Schedule I Part 2 Eastern region.
- ^ "Waveney Valley (31 May 2024 - ) - overlaps". UK Parliament election results. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
- ^ "New Seat Details - Waveney Valley". www.electoralcalculus.co.uk. Retrieved 2024-02-06.
- ^ "Notional election for the constituency of Waveney Valley on 12 December 2019". UK Parliament election results. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
- ^ Walker, Peter (2023-10-06). "Green party says it plans to focus its effort on four seats at general election". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-02-06.
- ^ "Statement of Persons Nominated, Notice of Poll & Situation of Polling Stations - Election of Member of Parliament to serve Waveney Valley constituency". Mid Suffolk District Councils. 2024-06-07.
- ^ "Notional results for a UK general election on 12 December 2019". Rallings & Thrasher, Professor David Denver (Scotland), Nicholas Whyte (NI) for Sky News, PA, BBC News and ITV News. UK Parliament. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
- ^ https://www.theguardian.com/politics/article/2024/jun/21/polling-for-greens-suggests-party-could-take-two-rural-seats-from-tories
External links
edit- Waveney Valley UK Parliament constituency (boundaries from June 2024) at MapIt UK