Waveney (UK Parliament constituency)

Waveney
County constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Waveney in Suffolk.
Location of Suffolk within England.
County	Suffolk
Electorate	79,132 (December 2010)^[1]
Major settlements	Lowestoft
Current constituency
Created	1983
Member of parliament	Peter Aldous (Conservative)
Number of members	One
Created from	Lowestoft
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency	East of England

Waveney is a constituency^{[n 1]} represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Peter Aldous, a Conservative.^{[n 2]}

Boundaries

The seat is based on the coastal town of Lowestoft, which today is generally Labour-voting, because of its recent history as a declining seaside resort, fishing and industrial town. However, the constituency also takes in the small towns of Beccles, Bungay and Halesworth. These along with the smaller inland rural villages are considerably more supportive of Conservatives.

History of boundaries

Parliament accepted the Boundary Commission's Fifth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies which slightly altered this constituency for the 2010 general election since which it has electoral wards:

Beccles North, Beccles South, Bungay, Pakefield, Carlton, Carlton Colville, Gunton and Corton, Harbour, Kessingland, Kirkley, Lothingland, Normanston, Oulton, Oulton Broad, St Margaret's, The Saints, Wainford, Whitton, and Worlingham^[2]

Before 2010 the seat also had a minor part of Wrentham and not all of The Saints - these changes affected Suffolk Coastal.

History

The seat was created in 1983 under the Act implementing the third periodic review of Westminster constituencies, broadly replacing Lowestoft, which the first victor of the new seat had served since 1959.

Political history

Waveney has been a bellwether since its creation, swinging heavily in line with the mood of the nation. Labour's big majority in 1997 reflected the large overall majority in the Commons, and by the 2010 election it had become touted by one published analysis as the seat that the Conservatives needed to win to secure an overall majority. Fittingly, 2010 saw a marginal majority and the national result was a hung parliament with the Conservative Party the largest party. 2010 here was the Labour Party's second highest share of the vote in the narrow, traditional grouping of East Anglia (Suffolk, Norfolk and Essex). A recent Ashcroft poll has suggested that it is a winnable seat for Nigel Farage's Party UKIP.

Prominent frontbenchers

Waveney had been held for many years by James Prior Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1970-1972), Leader of the House of Commons^{[n 3]} (1972-1974), Secretary of State for Employment (1979-1981) then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland during the Heath ministry then the Thatcher ministry with an economic politics considered more centre-ground, then known as forming the wets' ideology.

Bob Blizzard served as a senior Government Whip from 2008 until 2010 when he lost at the election that May.

Constituency profile

The seat is based around the town of Lowestoft, and includes several smaller market towns and seaside resorts in north-east Suffolk. This corner of Suffolk arguably has stronger connections with Norfolk - Norwich is an easier centre to reach than Ipswich - and there have been unsuccessful proposals to alter the county boundary to reflect this.

Workless claimants who were registered jobseekers were in November 2012 higher than the national average of 3.8%, at 4.9% of the population based on a statistical compilation by The Guardian. This compares more unfavourably to the regional average of 3.2%.^[3]

Members of Parliament

	Member^[4]	Party
1983	James Prior	Conservative
1987	David Porter	Conservative
1997	Bob Blizzard	Labour
2010	Peter Aldous	Conservative

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General Election 2015: Waveney^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Peter Aldous
	Labour	Bob Blizzard
	Green	Graham Elliott
	Liberal Democrat	Stephen Gordon
	UKIP	Simon Tobin

General Election 2010: Waveney
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Peter Aldous	20,571	40.2	+6.9
	Labour	Bob Blizzard	19,802	38.7	-6.6
	Liberal Democrat	Alan Dean	6,811	13.3	-1.8
	UKIP	Jack Tyler	2,684	5.2	+1.5
	Green	Graham Elliott	1,167	2.3	-0.1
style="background-color: black width 5px;" \|	NOTA	Louis Barfe^{[n 4]}	106	0.2	+0.2
Majority			769	1.5
Turnout			51,141	65.1	+1.5
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	+6.8

Elections in the 2000s

General Election 2005: Waveney
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Bob Blizzard	22,505	45.3	-5.4
	Conservative	Peter Aldous	16,590	33.4	+0.8
	Liberal Democrat	Nick Bromley	7,497	15.1	+3.7
	UKIP	Brian Aylett	1,861	3.7	+1.4
	Green	Graham Elliott	1,200	2.4	+0.3
Majority			5,915	11.9	-6.2
Turnout			49,653	64.4	+3.6
	Labour hold		Swing	-3.1

General Election 2001: Waveney
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Bob Blizzard	23,914	50.7	−5.3
	Conservative	Lee Scott	15,361	32.6	−1.9
	Liberal Democrat	David Young	5,370	11.4	+2.4
	UKIP	Bryan Aylett	1,097	2.3	N/A
	Green	Graham Elliott	983	2.1	N/A
	Socialist Alliance	Rupert Mallin	442	0.9	N/A
Majority			8,553	18.1	−3.4
Turnout			47,167	60.8	−13.8
	Labour hold		Swing	−1.7

Elections in the 1990s

General Election 1997: Waveney
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Bob Blizzard	31,486	56.0	+17.6
	Conservative	David Porter	19,393	34.5	−13.7
	Liberal Democrat	Christopher Thomas	5,054	9.0	−4.0
	Independent	N Clark	318	0.6	+0.2
Majority			12,093	21.5	N/A
Turnout			56,251	74.7	−7.1
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+15.6

General Election 1992: Waveney^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Porter	33,174	48.2	−0.2
	Labour	E.C. Leverett	26,472	38.4	+8.4
	Liberal Democrat	AC Rogers	8,925	13.0	−8.6
	Natural Law	D Hook	302	0.4	+0.4
Majority			6,702	9.7	−8.6
Turnout			68,873	81.8	+3.4
	Conservative hold		Swing	−4.3

Elections in the 1980s

General Election 1987: Waveney
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Porter	31,067	48.4	-3.4
	Labour	Jack Alan Lark	19,284	30.0	+2.6
	Social Democratic	David Beavan	13,845	21.6	+0.7
Majority			11,783	18.4	−6.0
Turnout			81,889	78.4	+3.1
	Conservative hold		Swing	-3.0

General Election 1983: Waveney
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Jim Prior	30,371	51.8	N/A
	Labour	Jack Alan Lark	16,073	27.4	N/A
	Social Democratic	Gillian Mary Artis	12,234	20.9	N/A
Majority			14,298	24.4	N/A
Turnout			77,960	75.3	N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)

Notes

↑ A county constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
↑ As with all constituencies, the constituency elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years.
↑ and Lord President of the Council
↑ Shortly after the general election "None of the above" candidate Louis Barfe defected to the Green Party

References

↑ "Electorate Figures - Boundary Commission for England". 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
↑ 2010 post-revision map non-metropolitan areas and unitary authorities of England
↑ Unemployment claimants by constituency The Guardian
↑ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "W" (part 2)
↑ "UK Polling Report". ukpollingreport.co.uk.
↑ "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Retrieved 2010-12-06.

Waveney

Towns	Beccles Bungay Carlton Colville Halesworth Lowestoft Southwold

Civil parishes	All Saints and St Nicholas, South Elmham Barnby Barsham Benacre Blundeston Blyford Brampton with Stoven Corton Covehithe Ellough Flixton (Lothingland) Flixton (the Saints) Frostenden Gisleham Henstead with Hulver Street Holton Kessingland Lound Mettingham Mutford North Cove Oulton Redisham Reydon Ringsfield Rumburgh Rushmere Shadingfield Shipmeadow Somerleyton, Ashby and Herringfleet Sotherton Sotterley South Cove Spexhall St Andrew, Ilketshall St Cross, South Elmham St James, South Elmham St John, Ilketshall St Lawrence, Ilketshall St Margaret, Ilketshall St Margaret, South Elmham St Mary, South Elmham St Michael, South Elmham St Peter, South Elmham Uggeshall Wangford with Henham Westhall Weston Willingham St Mary Wissett Worlingham Wrentham

See also: Waveney (UK Parliament constituency) Waveney local elections

Constituencies in the East of England (58)

Conservative (51)	Basildon and Billericay Bedford Braintree Brentwood and Ongar Broadland Broxbourne Bury St Edmunds Castle Point Central Suffolk and North Ipswich Chelmsford Epping Forest Great Yarmouth Harlow Harwich and North Essex Hemel Hempstead Hertford and Stortford Hertsmere Hitchin and Harpenden Huntingdon Ipswich Maldon Mid Bedfordshire Mid Norfolk North East Bedfordshire North East Cambridgeshire North East Hertfordshire North West Cambridgeshire North West Norfolk Norwich North Peterborough Rayleigh and Wickford Rochford and Southend East Saffron Walden St Albans South Basildon and East Thurrock South Cambridgeshire South East Cambridgeshire Southend West South Norfolk South Suffolk South West Bedfordshire South West Hertfordshire South West Norfolk Stevenage Suffolk Coastal Thurrock Watford Waveney Welwyn Hatfield West Suffolk Witham

Liberal Democrats (4)	Cambridge Colchester North Norfolk Norwich South

Labour (2)	Luton North Luton South

UKIP (1)	Clacton

East of England European constituency: Conservative (3) Labour (1) UKIP (3)

Coordinates: 52°24′N 1°30′E / 52.4°N 1.5°E / 52.4; 1.5