Waveney (UK Parliament constituency)

For the local government district, see Waveney.

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)
Major settlements	Lowestoft
Current constituency
Created	1983 (1983)
Member of Parliament	Peter Aldous (Conservative)
Number of members	One
Created from	Lowestoft
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency	East of England

Waveney is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.

Boundaries

The seat is based on the busy 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 and Bungay and the smaller inland rural villages supporting the Tories. It was held by Labour from their landslide win in 1997 until the 2010 General Election, when it returned to Tory control with a small majority. It had been held for many years by the high profile Conservative cabinet minister James Prior, a famous 'wet' in the early years of Margaret Thatcher's government.

Boundary review

Following their review of parliamentary representation in Suffolk in 2007, the Boundary Commission for England recommended minor alterations to the existing constituency arrangement. The electoral wards used in the creation of this seat are:

• 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 from the district of Waveney.

Constituency profile

Waveney has become something of a bellwether seat in recent years, swinging heavily in line with the mood of the nation. Labour's big majority in 1997 reflected their large overall majority in the commons, and by the 2010 election it had become the seat that the Conservatives needed to win back to secure an overall majority. Fittingly, it is now a marginal Tory seat in a hung parliament.

The seat is based around the town of Lowestoft, and includes several smaller seaside resorts in North-East Suffolk. The area has not suffered as much from the decline in domestic tourism as Great Yarmouth, across the border in Norfolk, but the local economy has been hit by the gradual closing of holiday camps and dearth of visiting trade.

This corner of Suffolk has arguably stronger connections with Norfolk - Norwich is an easier centre to reach than Ipswich - and there have been unsuccessful proposals to alter the county boundaries to reflect this.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party
	1983	James Prior	Conservative
	1987	David Porter	Conservative
	1997	Bob Blizzard	Labour
	2010	Peter Aldous	Conservative

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

Results for the Waveney constituency 2010 election were declared on 7 May 2010 at 5am.

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
	None of the above	Louis Barfe	106	0.2	+0.2
Majority			769	1.5
Turnout			51,141	65.1	+1.5
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

Shortly after the general election "None of the above" candidate Louis Barfe defected to the Green Party. This was the Labour Party's second highest share of the vote in East Anglia.

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
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Porter	33,174	48.2	−0.2
	Labour	EC 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	N/A
	Labour	Alan Lark	19,284	30.0%	N/A
	Social Democrat	D Beaven	13,845	0.4%	N/A
Majority			11,783	18.35%	N/A
Turnout			81,889	78.39%	N/A
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

General Election 1983: Waveney
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Jim Prior	30,371	51.76	N/A
	Labour	Alan Lark	16,073	27.39	N/A
	Social Democrat	G Artis	12,234	20.85	N/A
Majority			14,298	24.37	N/A
Turnout			77,960	75.27	N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)

See also

• List of Parliamentary constituencies in Suffolk