Waveney Valley (UK Parliament constituency)

Waveney Valley is a constituency of the House of Commons in the UK Parliament, 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 and is the first Green seat in the East of England.

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

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 characterises 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.

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	14,874	30.3	−31.9
	Reform UK	Scott Huggins	7,749	15.8	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			5,593	11.4
Turnout			49,043	68.5
	Green win (new seat)

Notional 2019 result

See also: 2023_Periodic_Review_of_Westminster_constituencies § Notional_2019_general_election_results

Constituency	Region	Country	Change	Party	Majority	Turnout	Votes
							Con	Lab	LD	Grn	Other	Total
Waveney Valley	EE	England	115.1	Con	22,364	72.7	31,898	9,534	4,696	4,775	377	51,280

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[10]	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. 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

52.47°N 1.71°E / 52.47; 1.71