Suffolk Coastal (UK Parliament constituency)

Last updated

Suffolk Coastal
County constituency
for the House of Commons
Suffolk Coastal (UK Parliament constituency)
Boundaries since 2024
East of England - Suffolk Coastal constituency.svg
Boundary of Suffolk Coastal in the East of England
County Suffolk
Electorate 72,663 (2023) [1]
Major settlements Felixstowe, Woodbridge, Saxmundham, Southwold and Aldeburgh
Current constituency
Created 1983
Member of Parliament Jenny Riddell-Carpenter (Labour)
SeatsOne
Created from Sudbury & Woodbridge, and Eye [2]

Suffolk Coastal (sometimes known as Coastal Suffolk) is a parliamentary constituency in the county of Suffolk, England, [n 1] which has been represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Jenny Riddell-Carpenter, a Labour Party Member of Parliament (MP).

Contents

Constituency profile

The constituency is in the far East of England, and borders the North Sea. The main town is Felixstowe, which is a commercial port for imports and exports. The ONS considers Woodbridge to form part of the extended Ipswich Built-up Area. [3] The seat includes the seaside destinations of Aldeburgh and Southwold.

Workless claimants, registered jobseekers, were in November 2012 significantly lower than the national average of 3.8%, at 2.0% of the population based on a statistical compilation by The Guardian . [4]

History

This East Anglian constituency was created for the 1983 general election from eastern parts of the abolished county constituencies of Eye, and Sudbury and Woodbridge, including the towns of Felixstowe and Woodbridge. Its initial boundaries were coterminous with the recently created District of Suffolk Coastal.

The current constituency area includes three former borough constituencies which sent their own MPs to Parliament until abolished as 'rotten boroughs' by the Great Reform Act, 1832 – Aldeburgh, Dunwich and Orford.

The seat was held from its creation until the 2010 election by the Conservative John Gummer who had previously represented the former seat of Eye from 1979. He was the Secretary of State for the Environment for four years during the second Major ministry and before that was for four years the Minister of State for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. He stood down in 2010 and was elevated to the House of Lords as Lord Deben.

The MP between 2010 and 2024 was Conservative Thérèse Coffey, [5] who served in the Sunak ministry as the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. She also previously served as Secretary of State for Work and Pensions between 2019 and 2022, [6] [7] and as the Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Health and Social Care [8] during the short-lived Truss ministry from September to October 2022. [9]

However, the Conservatives would lose the seat in the 2024 general election, with Labour's Jenny Riddell-Carpenter being voted in as the MP, with a majority of just over 1,000. [10]

Boundaries and boundary changes

1983–1997

1997–2010

Westernmost areas included in the new constituency of Central Suffolk and North Ipswich. Extended northwards to include three wards from the District of Waveney, transferred from the constituency of Waveney.

Suffolk Coastal (UK Parliament constituency)
Map of boundaries 2010-2024

2010–2024

Marginal changes due to revision of local authority wards.

NB on 1 April 2019, the District of Suffolk Coastal was abolished and absorbed into the newly established District of East Suffolk. [14]

Current

Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, which came into effect for the 2024 general election, the composition of the constituency is as follows (as they existed on 1 December 2020):

Largely unchanged, except the inclusion of Halesworth in the newly created constituency of Waveney Valley.

Members of Parliament

Sudbury & Woodbridge and Eye prior to 1983

ElectionMember [16] Party
1983 John Gummer Conservative
2010 Thérèse Coffey Conservative
2024 Jenny Riddell-Carpenter Labour

Elections

Elections in the 2020s

General election 2024: Suffolk Coastal
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Jenny Riddell-Carpenter [17] 15,672 31.7 +10.3
Conservative Thérèse Coffey [18] 14,60229.5−26.9
Reform UK Matthew Jackson [19] 7,85015.9N/A
Liberal Democrats Julia Ewart [20] 6,94714.0−1.1
Green Julian Cusack [21] 4,3808.9+4.5
Majority1,0702.2N/A
Turnout 49,45166.4–5.7
Registered electors 74,522
Labour gain from Conservative Swing Increase2.svg18.7

Elections in the 2010s

2019 notional result [22]
PartyVote %
Conservative 29,55856.4
Labour 11,20321.4
Liberal Democrats 7,92115.1
Green 2,3084.4
Others1,3752.6
Turnout53,36572.1
Electorate72,663
General election 2019: Suffolk Coastal [23]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Thérèse Coffey 32,958 56.5 −1.6
Labour Cameron Matthews12,42521.3−9.2
Liberal Democrats Julia Ewart8,71915.0+8.0
Green Rachel Smith-Lyte2,7134.7+1.6
Independent Tony Love1,4932.6New
Majority20,53335.2+7.6
Turnout 58,30871.2−2.0
Conservative hold Swing +3.9

Tony Love was originally standing as the Brexit Party candidate for this constituency. [24]

General election 2017: Suffolk Coastal [25]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Thérèse Coffey 33,713 58.1 +6.2
Labour Cameron Matthews17,70130.5+12.5
Liberal Democrats James Sandbach4,0487.0−1.6
Green Eamonn O'Nolan1,8023.1−2.8
Independent Philip Young8101.4New
Majority16,01227.6−6.3
Turnout 58,07473.2+2.6
Conservative hold Swing -3.2
General election 2015: Suffolk Coastal [26] [27]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Thérèse Coffey 28,855 51.9 +5.5
Labour Russell Whiting10,01318.0+1.9
UKIP Daryll Pitcher8,65515.6+9.9
Liberal Democrats James Sandbach4,7778.6−21.2
Green Rachel Smith-Lyte3,2945.9+3.9
Majority18,84233.9+17.3
Turnout 55,59470.6−0.6
Conservative hold Swing +1.8
General election 2010: Suffolk Coastal [28]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Thérèse Coffey 25,475 46.4 +1.8
Liberal Democrats Daisy Cooper 16,34729.8+7.7
Labour Adam Leeder8,81216.1−10.1
UKIP Stephen Bush3,1565.7+1.9
Green Rachel Fulcher1,1032.0−1.3
Majority9,12816.6−1.8
Turnout 54,89371.2+3.9
Conservative hold Swing −2.9

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: Suffolk Coastal [29]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative John Gummer 23,415 44.6 +1.3
Labour David Rowe13,73026.1−8.7
Liberal Democrats David Young11,63722.1+3.9
UKIP Richard Curtis2,0203.8+0.1
Green Paul Whitlow1,7553.3New
Majority9,68518.5+10.0
Turnout 52,55767.9+2.3
Conservative hold Swing +5.0
General election 2001: Suffolk Coastal [30]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative John Gummer 21,847 43.3 +4.7
Labour Nigel Gardner17,52134.8+2.0
Liberal Democrats Tony Schur9,19218.2−3.2
UKIP Michael Burn1,8473.7New
Majority4,3268.5+2.7
Turnout 50,40765.6−10.2
Conservative hold Swing +1.4

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: Suffolk Coastal [31]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative John Gummer 21,696 38.6 −15.0
Labour Mark Campbell18,44232.8+9.0
Liberal Democrats Alexandra Jones12,03621.4−2.4
Referendum Stephen Caulfield3,4166.1New
Green Anthony Slade5140.9−0.6
Natural Law Felicity Kaplan1520.3−0.1
Majority3,2545.8−24.0
Turnout 56,25675.8−5.8
Conservative hold Swing −12.0
General election 1992: Suffolk Coastal [32] [33]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative John Gummer 34,680 53.6 −2.1
Liberal Democrats Peter Monk15,39523.8−6.0
Labour Terence Hodgson13,50820.9+8.1
Green Anthony Slade9431.5−0.3
Natural Law Felicity Kaplan2320.4New
Majority19,28529.8+3.9
Turnout 64,75881.6+3.7
Conservative hold Swing +1.9

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1987: Suffolk Coastal [34]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative John Gummer 32,834 55.7 −2.5
SDP Joan Miller17,55429.8+0.7
Labour Susan Reeves7,53412.8+0.2
Green James Holloway1,0491.8New
Majority15,28025.9−3.2
Turnout 58,97177.9+2.9
Conservative hold Swing
General election 1983: Suffolk Coastal [35]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative John Gummer 31,240 58.2
SDP David Houseley15,61829.1
Labour Denis Ballantyne6,78012.6
Majority15,62229.1
Turnout 53,63875.0
Conservative win (new seat)

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ A county constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waveney (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1983-2024

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References

  1. ↑ "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.
  2. ↑ "'Suffolk Coastal', June 1983 up to May 1997". ElectionWeb Project. Cognitive Computing Limited. Archived from the original on 15 March 2016. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
  3. ↑ "Built-up areas". Open Geography portalx. Office of National Statistics. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
  4. ↑ Unemployment claimants by constituency The Guardian
  5. ↑ "Therese Coffey". United Kingdom Parliament. Retrieved 30 December 2012.
  6. ↑ Proctor, Kate; Mason, Rowena (12 February 2020). "Cabinet reshuffle: expected winners and losers in Johnson's new order". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  7. ↑ "Cabinet reshuffle: Who is in Boris Johnson's new cabinet?". BBC News. 14 February 2020. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  8. ↑ "Liz Truss: New prime minister installs allies in key cabinet roles". BBC News. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  9. ↑ "Liz Truss – live updates: Truss outlines three priorities as PM – as Raab and Shapps confirm departure". Sky News. Archived from the original on 6 September 2022. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
  10. ↑ Rozier, Darren; Burchell, Helen (5 July 2024). "Felixstowe residents react as Therese Coffey ousted by Labour". bbc.com. BBC News, Suffolk. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  11. ↑ "The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1983". www.legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
  12. ↑ "The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1995". www.legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
  13. ↑ "The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 2007". www.legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
  14. ↑ "The East Suffolk (Local Government Changes) Order 2018".
  15. ↑ "The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023". Schedule I Part 2 Eastern region.
  16. ↑ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "S" (part 6)
  17. ↑ https://twitter.com/EofELabour/status/1767606783512580289 . Retrieved 12 March 2023.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  18. ↑ Therese Coffey [@theresecoffey] (25 February 2023). "Thank you to the Selection Council of Suffolk Coastal Conservative Association for re-adopting me aa their candidate for the next General Election #VoteConservative" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  19. ↑ "Suffolk Coastal Constituency". Who can I vote for?. Retrieved 9 June 2024.
  20. ↑ "Julia Ewart announced as Lib Dem candidate for Suffolk Coastal". Suffolk News. 9 October 2023. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  21. ↑ "Julian Cusack will be Green challenger to Coffey in election". East Anglian Daily Times. 24 February 2023. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  22. ↑ "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.
  23. ↑ "Suffolk Coastal Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
  24. ↑ Geater, Paul (14 November 2019). "Who's standing in Suffolk in 2019 General Election? How you can take part". East Anglian Daily Times. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  25. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 May 2017. Retrieved 11 May 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  26. ↑ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  27. ↑ "2015 Election Results". BBC News. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  28. ↑ "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  29. ↑ "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  30. ↑ "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  31. ↑ "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  32. ↑ "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  33. ↑ "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
  34. ↑ "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  35. ↑ "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

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