Why Waveney Valley is a key election battleground

A new constituency has become a key battleground in the general election.

Waveney Valley, which sits across the border between Norfolk and Suffolk, will be contested for the first time on 4 July.

The seat is a key target for the Greens who are hoping their co-leader, Adrian Ramsay, could be their first MP in East Anglia.

Labour, the Conservatives, Reform UK, the Liberal Democrats and the Social Democratic Party are also competing to win over the electorate.

Here is a list of candidates, in alphabetical order according to surname:

Reform candidate, Scott Huggins, said people were starting to see his party as a credible opposition in government.

"Everybody is fed up," he said. "Everybody wants change.

"Essentially, change means something drastic. It isn't the Tories and the Labour Party who say they are change, but they're not saying how they will be any different to how they have been in the past.

"Instead of being stuck in the past, what we need to do is look forward and have a real system that works."

Standing for Labour is environmental scientist Gurpreet Padda.

She is calling for better transport links, better education opportunities and improved access to GPs.

“I think a lot of people are feeling disillusioned, are looking for a change,” she said.

“They're looking to Labour for stability. They want to put money in their pockets. They are impacted by the cost of living.”

Adrian Ramsay, 43, was born in Norwich and became one of the youngest councillors in the country when he was first elected to the city council in 2003.

He said people in the Waveney Valley were looking for change.

"For so long people in South Norfolk and north Suffolk have had MPs from just one party and they want to see a change because they want to see their services restored," he said.

"They want someone who will defend their local environment, a champion for the local community.

"Imagine the shockwaves sent to the political system if we got a Green MP in what has traditionally been a Conservative heartland in rural East Anglia."

Richard Rout, 45, is the former deputy leader of Suffolk County Council and is standing for the Conservatives.

He wants to offer voters hope after what he calls a “difficult period” across the western world.

“I know people have found it hard, but I'm just trying to restore people's faith in politicians,” he said.

“For too long, I feel we've got the wrong sort of politician.

"I look around Waveney Valley, small market towns, small villages, farming and I understand those issues because I've met them myself and I think that's the message I'm trying to land."

Standing for the Liberal Democrats is 64-year-old businessman John Shreeve.

He said he was pleased to see former Liberal Democrat minister, Norman Lamb, back his opponent, Mr Ramsay in the campaign.

"There’s no such thing as bad publicity so the more publicity I attract, the more contentious I am, the better,” he said.

"The main thing I am campaigning on is disillusionment. So many voters are so annoyed at the stage of our democracy and I look at all the other parties, churning out their promises as to what they will offer.

"And when you talk to most people, they don't believe a word of it."

Maya Severyn, who is standing in the seat for the Social Democratic Party, hoped this election would "make people more aware" of the party and its policies.

"I live and work in the Waveney Valley, when I talk to people and through my work on the council I know the biggest thing is number one people don’t feel like they are being listened to," she said.

Housing, the local economy, and transport are what Ms Severyn believes are the key local issues to people living in Waveney Valley.

"We have to make sure that communities are connected," she said. "No-one should be more than 10 minutes away from a bus stop."

A full list of candidates can be found here.

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