Waveney Valley (UK Parliament constituency)

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

Waveney Valley is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. It was 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, thus becoming the first Green seat in the East of England.

Boundaries

See also: 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies § Notional 2019 general election results

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. ^[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 (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:

Contributions of pre-2024 constituencies to Waveney Valley constituency ^[4]

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. ^{[5] [6]}

Constituency profile

Electoral Calculus characterised the proposed seat as "Strong Right", with right-wing economic and social views, high home ownership levels and strong support for Brexit. ^[7]

The seat was a target seat, in the 2024 general election, for the Green Party ^[8] who won half of the council wards in the seat in the 2023 local elections and who ultimately won the seat.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party
	2024	Adrian Ramsay	Green

Elections

Elections in the 2020s

General election 2024: Waveney Valley ^{[9] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Green	Adrian Ramsay	20,467	41.7	+32.4
	Conservative	Richard Rout	14,873	30.3	−31.9
	Reform UK	Scott Huggins	7,779	15.9	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			5,594	11.4
Turnout			49,072	67.2
	Green win (new seat)

Elections in the 2010s

See also: 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies § Notional 2019 general election results

2019 notional result [10]
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

Main article: Opinion polling for the 2024 United Kingdom general election § Waveney Valley

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 [11]	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

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. "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.
3. "The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023". Schedule I Part 2 Eastern region.
4. "Waveney Valley (31 May 2024 - ) - overlaps". UK Parliament election results. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
5. "Waveney Valley - General election results 2024". BBC News. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
6. "Notional election for the constituency of Waveney Valley on 12 December 2019". UK Parliament election results. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
7. "New Seat Details - Waveney Valley". www.electoralcalculus.co.uk. Retrieved 2024-02-06.
8. 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.
9. "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.
10. "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.
11. 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

52°28′N1°43′E / 52.47°N 1.71°E / 52.47; 1.71