Suffolk Coastal (UK Parliament constituency)

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).

Suffolk Coastal
County constituency for the House of Commons
Boundaries since 2024
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)
Seats	One
Created from	Sudbury & Woodbridge, and Eye[2]

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 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

• The District of Suffolk Coastal.^[11]

1997–2010

• The District of Suffolk Coastal wards of Aldeburgh, Alderton and Sutton, Bramfield and Cratfield, Buxlow, Felixstowe Central, Felixstowe East, Felixstowe North, Felixstowe South, Felixstowe South East, Felixstowe West, Hollesley, Kelsale, Kirton, Leiston, Martlesham, Melton, Nacton, Orford, Saxmundham, Snape, Trimleys, Tunstall, Ufford, Walberswick, Westleton, Woodbridge Centre, Woodbridge Farlingaye, Woodbridge Kyson, Woodbridge Riverside, Woodbridge Seckford, and Yoxford; and
• The District of Waveney wards of Blything, Halesworth, and Southwold.^[12]

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.

Map of boundaries 2010-2024

2010–2024

• The District of Suffolk Coastal wards of Aldeburgh, Farlingaye, Felixstowe East, Felixstowe North, Felixstowe South, Felixstowe South East, Felixstowe West, Hollesley with Eyke, Kyson, Leiston, Martlesham, Melton and Ufford, Nacton, Orford and Tunstall, Peasenhall, Rendlesham, Riverside, Saxmundham, Seckford, Snape, Sutton, Trimleys with Kirton, Walberswick and Wenhaston, and Yoxford; and
• The District of Waveney wards of Blything, Halesworth, Southwold and Reydon, and Wrentham.^[13]

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):

• The District of East Suffolk wards of: Aldeburgh & Leiston; Deben; Eastern Felixstowe; Kelsale & Yoxford; Martlesham & Purdis Farm; Melton; Orwell & Villages; Rendlesham & Orford; Saxmundham; Southwold; Western Felixstowe; Woodbridge; Wrentham, Wangford & Westleton.^[15]

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

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

Elections

Election results 1983-2024

Elections in the 2020s

General election 2024: Suffolk Coastal

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Jenny Riddell-Carpenter	15,672	31.7	+10.3
	Conservative	Thérèse Coffey	14,602	29.5	−26.9
	Reform UK	Matthew Jackson	7,850	15.9	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Julia Ewart	6,947	14.0	−1.1
	Green	Julian Cusack	4,380	8.9	+4.5
Majority			1,070	2.2
Turnout			49,451	66.4	−5.7
Registered electors			74,522
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+18.7

Elections in the 2010s

2019 notional result[17]
Party		Vote	%
	Conservative	29,558	56.4
	Labour	11,203	21.4
	Liberal Democrats	7,921	15.1
	Green	2,308	4.4
	Others	1,375	2.6
Turnout		53,365	72.1
Electorate		72,663

General election 2019: Suffolk Coastal^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Thérèse Coffey	32,958	56.5	−1.6
	Labour	Cameron Matthews	12,425	21.3	−9.2
	Liberal Democrats	Julia Ewart	8,719	15.0	+8.0
	Green	Rachel Smith-Lyte	2,713	4.7	+1.6
	Independent	Tony Love	1,493	2.6	New
Majority			20,533	35.2	+7.6
Turnout			58,308	71.2	−2.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	+3.9

Tony Love was originally standing as the Brexit Party candidate for this constituency.^[19]

General election 2017: Suffolk Coastal^[20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Thérèse Coffey	33,713	58.1	+6.2
	Labour	Cameron Matthews	17,701	30.5	+12.5
	Liberal Democrats	James Sandbach	4,048	7.0	−1.6
	Green	Eamonn O'Nolan	1,802	3.1	−2.8
	Independent	Philip Young	810	1.4	New
Majority			16,012	27.6	−6.3
Turnout			58,074	73.2	+2.6
	Conservative hold		Swing	-3.2

General election 2015: Suffolk Coastal^[21][22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Thérèse Coffey	28,855	51.9	+5.5
	Labour	Russell Whiting	10,013	18.0	+1.9
	UKIP	Daryll Pitcher	8,655	15.6	+9.9
	Liberal Democrats	James Sandbach	4,777	8.6	−21.2
	Green	Rachel Smith-Lyte	3,294	5.9	+3.9
Majority			18,842	33.9	+17.3
Turnout			55,594	70.6	−0.6
	Conservative hold		Swing	+1.8

General election 2010: Suffolk Coastal^[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Thérèse Coffey	25,475	46.4	+1.8
	Liberal Democrats	Daisy Cooper	16,347	29.8	+7.7
	Labour	Adam Leeder	8,812	16.1	−10.1
	UKIP	Stephen Bush	3,156	5.7	+1.9
	Green	Rachel Fulcher	1,103	2.0	−1.3
Majority			9,128	16.6	−1.8
Turnout			54,893	71.2	+3.9
	Conservative hold		Swing	−2.9

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: Suffolk Coastal^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Gummer	23,415	44.6	+1.3
	Labour	David Rowe	13,730	26.1	−8.7
	Liberal Democrats	David Young	11,637	22.1	+3.9
	UKIP	Richard Curtis	2,020	3.8	+0.1
	Green	Paul Whitlow	1,755	3.3	New
Majority			9,685	18.5	+10.0
Turnout			52,557	67.9	+2.3
	Conservative hold		Swing	+5.0

General election 2001: Suffolk Coastal^[25]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Gummer	21,847	43.3	+4.7
	Labour	Nigel Gardner	17,521	34.8	+2.0
	Liberal Democrats	Tony Schur	9,192	18.2	−3.2
	UKIP	Michael Burn	1,847	3.7	New
Majority			4,326	8.5	+2.7
Turnout			50,407	65.6	−10.2
	Conservative hold		Swing	+1.4

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: Suffolk Coastal^[26]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Gummer	21,696	38.6	−15.0
	Labour	Mark Campbell	18,442	32.8	+9.0
	Liberal Democrats	Alexandra Jones	12,036	21.4	−2.4
	Referendum	Stephen Caulfield	3,416	6.1	New
	Green	Anthony Slade	514	0.9	−0.6
	Natural Law	Felicity Kaplan	152	0.3	−0.1
Majority			3,254	5.8	−24.0
Turnout			56,256	75.8	−5.8
	Conservative hold		Swing	−12.0

General election 1992: Suffolk Coastal^[27][28]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Gummer	34,680	53.6	−2.1
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Monk	15,395	23.8	−6.0
	Labour	Terence Hodgson	13,508	20.9	+8.1
	Green	Anthony Slade	943	1.5	−0.3
	Natural Law	Felicity Kaplan	232	0.4	New
Majority			19,285	29.8	+3.9
Turnout			64,758	81.6	+3.7
	Conservative hold		Swing	+1.9

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1987: Suffolk Coastal^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Gummer	32,834	55.7	−2.5
	SDP	Joan Miller	17,554	29.8	+0.7
	Labour	Susan Reeves	7,534	12.8	+0.2
	Green	James Holloway	1,049	1.8	New
Majority			15,280	25.9	−3.2
Turnout			58,971	77.9	+2.9
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1983: Suffolk Coastal^[30]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Gummer	31,240	58.2
	SDP	David Houseley	15,618	29.1
	Labour	Denis Ballantyne	6,780	12.6
Majority			15,622	29.1
Turnout			53,638	75.0
	Conservative win (new seat)

See also

• List of parliamentary constituencies in Suffolk
• List of parliamentary constituencies in the East of England (region)

Notes

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