Waveney Valley (UK Parliament Constituency)
Waveney Valley is a constituency of the House of Commons in the UK Parliament, created following the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies. 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.
Boundaries
The 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.
It covers the following areas:
- Areas to the north of the river, including Diss and Harleston, transferred from South Norfolk
- Bungay, transferred from Waveney (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 (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% | |
The notional 2019 result as predicted by British academics Rallings and Thrasher for the revised constituency was calculated to be a Conservative victory.
Constituency profile
Electoral Calculus characterises the proposed seat as "Strong Right", with right-wing economic and social views, high home ownership levels and strong support for Brexit.
The seat was a target seat, in the 2024 general election, for the Green Party who won half of the council wards in the seat in the 2023 local elections.
Members of Parliament
| Election | Member | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Adrian Ramsay | Green | |
Elections
Elections in the 2020s
| 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 | |||
| Turnout | 49,043 | 68.5 | |||
| Green win (new seat) | |||||
Notional 2019 result
| Constituency | Region | Country | Change | Party | Majority | Turnout | Votes | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Con | Lab | LD | Grn | Other | Total | |||||||
| Waveney Valley | EE | England | 115.1 | Con | 22,364 | 72.7 | 31,898 | 9,534 | 4,696 | 4,775 | 377 | 51,280 |
Constituency level polling
| Dates conducted |
Pollster | Client | Sample size |
Con. | Lab. | Lib. Dems | Green | Ref. | Others | Lead |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 Jul 2024 | 2024 general election | – | 30.3% | 9.4% | 2.5% | 41.7% | 15.8% | 0.2% | 11.4 | |
| 6–14 Jun 2024 | We Think | The Green Party | 500 | 24% | 17% | 7% | 37% | 16% | – | 13
|
See also
- List of parliamentary constituencies in Norfolk
- List of parliamentary constituencies in Suffolk
- List of parliamentary constituencies in the East of England (region)
References
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Waveney Valley - General election results 2024". BBC News. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
- ^ "Notional election for the constituency of Waveney Valley on 12 December 2019". UK Parliament election results. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
- ^ "New Seat Details - Waveney Valley". www.electoralcalculus.co.uk. Retrieved 2024-02-06.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Walker, Peter (21 June 2024). "Polling for Greens suggests party could take two rural seats from Tories". The Guardian.
External links
- Waveney Valley UK Parliament constituency (boundaries from June 2024) at MapIt UK