Waveney is a

constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger State (polity), state (a country, administrative region, ...

represented in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

of the

UK Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative supremac ...

since 2010 by

Peter Aldous Peter James Guy AldousPeter Aldous - Declaration of In ...

, a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

History

The seat was created for the 1983 general election following the implementation of the third periodic review of Westminster constituencies, broadly replacing

Lowestoft Lowestoft ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish in the East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . As the most easterly UK settlement, it is north-east of London, north-east of Ipswich and sou ...

, which the first victor of the new seat had served since 1959.

Political history

Waveney has been a

bellwether A bellwether is a leader or an indicator of trends.bellwether
" ''Cambridge Dictionary''. Ret ...

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 A hung parliament is a term used in legislatures primarily under the Westminster system to describe a situation in which no single political party or pre-existing coalition (also known as an alliance or bloc) has an absolute majority of legisl ...

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).

Prominent frontbenchers

Waveney had been held for many years by

James Prior James Michael Leathes Prior, Baron Prior, (11 October 1927 – 12 December 2016) was a British Conservative Party politician. A Member of Parliament from 1959 to 1987, he represented the Suffolk constituency of Lowestoft until 1983 and then ...

Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food was a United Kingdom cabinet position, responsible for the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. The post was originally named President of the Board of Agriculture and was created in 1889. ...

(1970–1972),

Leader of the House of Commons The leader of the House of Commons is a minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom whose main role is organising government business in the House of Commons. The leader is generally a member or attendee of the cabinet of the ...

(1972–1974),

Secretary of State for Employment The Secretary of State for Employment was a position in the Cabinet of the United Kingdom. In 1995 it was merged with Secretary of State for Education to make the Secretary of State for Education and Employment. In 2001 the employment functions w ...

(1979–1981), then

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a w ...

during the Thatcher ministry, with an economic politics considered more centre-ground, then known as forming the

wets During the 1980s, members of the moderate wing of the British Conservative Party who opposed some of the more hard-line policies of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher were often referred to by their opponents as "wets". Thatcher coined the usage in ...

' ideology.

Bob Blizzard Robert John Blizzard (31 May 1950 – 5 May 2022) was a British Labour politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for the Suffolk constituency of Waveney from 1997 until 2010. Early life Bob Blizzard was born on 31 May 1950 in Bury ...

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

and includes several smaller market towns and seaside resorts in northeast Suffolk. Electoral Calculus describes the seat as a "Somewhere", characterised by older, less educated voters with strong support for

Brexit Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or ...

. This corner of Suffolk arguably has stronger connections with Norfolk –

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

is an easier centre to reach than

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line r ...

– and there have been unsuccessful proposals to alter the county boundary to reflect this.

Boundaries and boundary changes

1983–1997: The District of Waveney. The constituency was formed from the abolished constituency of

, with the exception of a small part in the north which was now part of Norfolk. 1997–2010: The District of Waveney except the wards of Blything, Halesworth, and Southwold. Three wards transferred to

Suffolk Coastal Suffolk Coastal was a local government district in Suffolk, England. Its council was based in Melton, having moved from neighbouring Woodbridge in 2017. Other towns include Felixstowe, Framlingham, Leiston, Aldeburgh, and Saxmundham. The ...

. 2010–present: The District of Waveney wards of Beccles North, Beccles South, Bungay, Carlton, Carlton Colville, Gunton and Corton, Harbour, Kessingland, Kirkley, Lothingland, Normanston, Oulton, Oulton Broad, Pakefield, St Margaret's, The Saints, Wainford, Whitton, and Worlingham. Marginal changes due to revision of local authority wards. The seat is based on the coastal town of

, which today is generally

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

-voting, because of its recent history as a declining seaside resort,

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

and industrial town. However, the constituency also takes in the small towns of

Beccles Beccles ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the English county of Suffolk.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . The town is shown on the milestone as from London via the A145 and A12 roads, north-east of London as the crow fli ...

and Bungay. These along with the smaller inland rural villages are considerably more supportive of

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

Members of Parliament

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

Elections in the 2000s

Elections in the 1990s

Elections in the 1980s

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Waveney (Uk Parliament Constituency) Lowestoft Parliamentary constituencies in Suffolk Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1983 Waveney District