Central Suffolk and North Ipswich is a constituency 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. T ...

of the

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since 2010 by

Dan Poulter Daniel Leonard James Poulter (born 30 October 1978) is a British Conservative Party politician, who was elected at the 2010 general election as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich. Poulter is a psychiatrist and ...

, 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 in ...

History

The county constituency was formed for the 1997 general election, largely from eastern parts of the abolished constituency of Central Suffolk, including the north-western wards of the Borough of Ipswich. Also included western fringes of Suffolk Coastal. Sir Michael Lord, knighted in 2001, who had held the predecessor seat of Central Suffolk, was the first MP who served the seat, from 1997 until 2010. The 2010 general election saw the fourth win for a

with the election of Dan Poulter, who retained the seat at the 2015 and 2017 elections.

Constituency profile

Central Suffolk and North Ipswich is a safe seat for the Conservative Party, primarily made up of rural farming communities and retirement properties. The exception to this are the three wards from

Ipswich Borough Council Ipswich Borough Council, founded in 1974 after the abolition of the County Borough of Ipswich, governs the non-metropolitan district of Ipswich in Suffolk. It is the second tier of a two-tier system, fulfilling functions such as refuse collecti ...

, which polarise support between the Conservatives and Labour, and

Kesgrave Kesgrave is a town in the English county of Suffolk on the eastern edge of Ipswich. Kesgrave forms part of the wider Ipswich Built-up area. History The area was recorded as ''Gressgrava'' in the Domesday Book, by the late 15th century its nam ...

, a new satellite town, which shows strong support for the Conservatives. The rural areas which make up the majority of the constituency, consistently return a majority of Conservative councillors. The local government make up of the seat, in respect of the number of borough and district councillors elected by party is 27 Conservative, 5 Labour, 4 Independent, 3 Liberal Democrat, and 2 Green. (Barking by-election 2016 was a Green gain).

Boundaries and boundary changes

1997–2010: The District of Mid Suffolk wards of Barham, Barking, Bramford, Claydon, Creeting, Debenham, Eye, Fressingfield, Helmingham, Hoxne, Mendlesham, Palgrave, Stonham, Stradbroke, Wetheringsett, Weybread, and Worlingworth, the District of Suffolk Coastal wards of Bealings, Dennington, Earl Soham, Framlingham, Glemham, Grundisburgh and Witnesham, Hasketon, Kesgrave, Otley, Rushmere, and Wickham Market, and the Borough of Ipswich wards of Broom Hill, Castle Hill, Whitehouse, and Whitton. 2010–present: The District of Mid Suffolk wards of Barking and Somersham, Bramford and Blakenham, Claydon and Barham, Debenham, Eye, Fressingfield, Helmingham and Coddenham, Hoxne, Mendlesham, Palgrave, Stradbroke and Laxfield, The Stonhams, Wetheringsett, and Worlingworth, the District of Suffolk Coastal wards of Earl Soham, Framlingham, Grundisburgh, Hacheston, Kesgrave East, Kesgrave West, Otley, Rushmere St Andrew, Wickham Market, and Witnesham, and the Borough of Ipswich wards of Castle Hill, Whitehouse, and Whitton. Lost the Borough of Ipswich ward of Broom Hill which had been abolished by a revision of the borough wards; area covered by the ward now included in the borough constituency of Ipswich. Other marginal changes due to revision of local authority wards.

Members of Parliament

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

Elections in the 2000s

Elections in the 1990s

Notes

References

External links

nomis Constituency Profile for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich
— presenting data from the ONS annual population survey and other official statistics. {{DEFAULTSORT:Suffolk Central And North Ipswich Parliamentary constituencies in Suffolk Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1997 Politics of Ipswich