Post by John Chanin on Oct 22, 2023 8:54:40 GMT
The name of this seat describes exactly where it is, although the district council it was named after has now merged with Waveney into the new East Suffolk District. It contains a long strip of some of the most interesting coast in the country. Starting from the north there is Southwold, home to Adnams brewery and many second home owners. It is a charming little town at the mouth of the river Blyth with a small port, with a surprising amount of council housing. Down the coast is what was once the main mediaeval port in East Anglia, Dunwich, whose harbour was swept away in a great storm in the 1280s. Subsequent erosion over centuries of the soft Pliocene cliffs on this stretch of the coast have disappeared the town completely under the waves. Next comes the small and rather workaday town of Leiston, which is quite working class with substantial council housing. It is particularly good for nuclear power enthusiasts who like birds, as the RSBP Minsmere reserve sits on its sand dunes and marshes to the north, and the Sizewell nuclear power complex to the south. Inland is the slightly smaller and very similar town of Saxmundham, whose best feature is its name. Next comes Aldeburgh, famous for its music festival founded by composer Benjamin Britten who lived here. Longshore drift along the Suffolk coast has cut off the river Alde from the sea, and created the long gravel spit of Orford Ness, a National Trust nature reserve with some interesting wartime relics. The spit extends southwards a long way, also blocking off the coastal village of Orford from the sea. Altogether this coastal and holiday section accounts for a third of the seat, and is middling in class terms, with much older populations in the resort towns. Historically it is generally Conservative, although there is a significant minority Labour vote in Leiston, and the Liberal Democrats were competitive in Southwold and Saxmundham. However as elsewhere in the country the Conservatives crashed and burned at the 2023 local elections, winning only the village ward north of the river Deben. The Greens made inroads along the coast, extending from their stronghold inland, but the Liberal Democrats were the main beneficiaries.
Inland on the river Deben is a small urban section around Melton and Woodbridge, formerly the location of the District council. This area has a population of around 10,000. The town is socially quite split, with the area alongside the river being very middle-class with over 50% managerial occupations, while inland is much more working class, lower qualifications and quite a lot of council housing in the west of the town. Across the river is the famous archaeological site of Sutton Hoo, its spectacular boat burial and gold ornaments thought to be that of King Raedwald of the East Anglians - at the time the most powerful of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. Politically the Liberal Democrats have formed a pact with the Greens here, together winning all the council seats.
In the south, with a quarter of the voters, is the port of Felixstowe - the main urban component of the seat. It sits on the headland at the mouth of the Stour & Orwell estuaries, opposite to Harwich, and while the latter is the ferry port, Felixstowe is one of the largest commercial ports in the country, full of giant container ships. Felixstowe provides some variation as inland it is really quite working class, with the highest proportion of routine workers, the lowest with degrees, and a quarter of households in social rented housing. The east of the town along the coast is a major contrast with smart suburban owner-occupied housing and elements of a seaside resort. This contrast is reflected in local voting patterns, with Labour having their only councillors in this constituency in West Felixstowe.
Suffolk Coastal was oversized, and has lost the Halesworth area, inland in the north of the seat, to the new Waveney Valley constituency. But there is still a bit of rural Suffolk in this constituency. North of Saxmundham is an area of small agricultural villages, but there are few voters here. Many more, amounting to a fifth of the seat, are on the outskirts of Ipswich, between the town and Felixstowe on the east, and between the town and Woodbridge on the north. This is owner-occupied commuter village country, nearly as middle-class as Woodbridge, and likely to vote heavily Conservative at General Elections, while being competitive with the Liberal Democrats locally.
The demographic data given below show that despite the interior variety, overall the constituency is very average, apart from a high proportion of over 65s, typical of coastal seats. Nationally this seat was considered safe for the Conservatives, winning comfortably even in 1997. The opposition was fairly evenly split between Labour and Liberal Democrat, with the latter’s local strength not translating into national votes, as is so often the case. The loss of Halesworth makes little if any difference. However in 2024 the Conservative vote halved, and Labour won a narrow victory on less than a third of the vote, as Reform and Green took 25% between them. Liverpudlian Therese Coffey, briefly Deputy Leader, elected in 2010 to replace former cabinet minister John Gummer, was one of the most prominent casualties of the election. The new MP is Jenny Riddell-Carpenter, former PR and housing worker, who grew up in the area. It seems unlikely that her parliamentary career will be prolonged beyond the next election.
Census data : Owner-occupied 70% (192/575 in England & Wales), private rented 17% (330th), social rented 13% (362nd).
: White 96%(143rd), Black 1%(386th), South Asian 1%(485th), Mixed 2%(381st), Other 1%(431st)
: Managerial & professional 38% (292nd), Routine & Semi-routine 27% (331st)
: Degree level 31%(323rd), Minimal qualifications 29%(239th)
: Students 4% (562nd), Over 65: 30% (13th)
Boundaries : The new seat is made up of 100% from Suffolk Coastal
90% of the old seat is in the new one, with 8% going to Waveney Valley, and 2% to Suffolk Central
Inland on the river Deben is a small urban section around Melton and Woodbridge, formerly the location of the District council. This area has a population of around 10,000. The town is socially quite split, with the area alongside the river being very middle-class with over 50% managerial occupations, while inland is much more working class, lower qualifications and quite a lot of council housing in the west of the town. Across the river is the famous archaeological site of Sutton Hoo, its spectacular boat burial and gold ornaments thought to be that of King Raedwald of the East Anglians - at the time the most powerful of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. Politically the Liberal Democrats have formed a pact with the Greens here, together winning all the council seats.
In the south, with a quarter of the voters, is the port of Felixstowe - the main urban component of the seat. It sits on the headland at the mouth of the Stour & Orwell estuaries, opposite to Harwich, and while the latter is the ferry port, Felixstowe is one of the largest commercial ports in the country, full of giant container ships. Felixstowe provides some variation as inland it is really quite working class, with the highest proportion of routine workers, the lowest with degrees, and a quarter of households in social rented housing. The east of the town along the coast is a major contrast with smart suburban owner-occupied housing and elements of a seaside resort. This contrast is reflected in local voting patterns, with Labour having their only councillors in this constituency in West Felixstowe.
Suffolk Coastal was oversized, and has lost the Halesworth area, inland in the north of the seat, to the new Waveney Valley constituency. But there is still a bit of rural Suffolk in this constituency. North of Saxmundham is an area of small agricultural villages, but there are few voters here. Many more, amounting to a fifth of the seat, are on the outskirts of Ipswich, between the town and Felixstowe on the east, and between the town and Woodbridge on the north. This is owner-occupied commuter village country, nearly as middle-class as Woodbridge, and likely to vote heavily Conservative at General Elections, while being competitive with the Liberal Democrats locally.
The demographic data given below show that despite the interior variety, overall the constituency is very average, apart from a high proportion of over 65s, typical of coastal seats. Nationally this seat was considered safe for the Conservatives, winning comfortably even in 1997. The opposition was fairly evenly split between Labour and Liberal Democrat, with the latter’s local strength not translating into national votes, as is so often the case. The loss of Halesworth makes little if any difference. However in 2024 the Conservative vote halved, and Labour won a narrow victory on less than a third of the vote, as Reform and Green took 25% between them. Liverpudlian Therese Coffey, briefly Deputy Leader, elected in 2010 to replace former cabinet minister John Gummer, was one of the most prominent casualties of the election. The new MP is Jenny Riddell-Carpenter, former PR and housing worker, who grew up in the area. It seems unlikely that her parliamentary career will be prolonged beyond the next election.
Census data : Owner-occupied 70% (192/575 in England & Wales), private rented 17% (330th), social rented 13% (362nd).
: White 96%(143rd), Black 1%(386th), South Asian 1%(485th), Mixed 2%(381st), Other 1%(431st)
: Managerial & professional 38% (292nd), Routine & Semi-routine 27% (331st)
: Degree level 31%(323rd), Minimal qualifications 29%(239th)
: Students 4% (562nd), Over 65: 30% (13th)
Boundaries : The new seat is made up of 100% from Suffolk Coastal
90% of the old seat is in the new one, with 8% going to Waveney Valley, and 2% to Suffolk Central
| 2017 | % | 2019 | % | Notional | % | 2024 | % | |
| Conservative | 33,713 | 58.1 | 32,958 | 56.5 | 29,558 | 56.5 | 14,602 | 29.5 |
| Labour | 17,701 | 30.5 | 12,425 | 21.3 | 11,203 | 21.4 | 15,672 | 31.7 |
| Liberal Democrat | 4,048 | 7.0 | 8,719 | 15.0 | 7,921 | 15.1 | 6,947 | 14.0 |
| Reform | 7,850 | 15.9 | ||||||
| Green | 1,802 | 3.1 | 2,713 | 4.7 | 2,308 | 4.4 | 4,380 | 8.9 |
| Other | 810 | 1.4 | 1,493 | 2.6 | 1,375 | 2.6 | ||
| Majority | 16,012 | 27.6 | 20,533 | 35.2 | 18,355 | 35.1 | -1,070 | -2.2 |
