General Election 2024: What issues do Felixstowe and Woodbridge residents, in the Suffolk Coastal constituency, care about?

With a general election right around the corner, here are the issues residents in the Suffolk Coastal constituency care about.

Since it was created for the 1983 election, Suffolk Coastal has only seen two leaders, John Gummer and Thérèse Coffey, both Conservative.

Five candidates have stepped up to contest the Tory safe seat, home to both rural and urban settings spanning most of Suffolk’s coastline.

I visited Felixstowe and Woodbridge to ask residents on the street what was on their minds ahead of the vote on July 4 — 22 took time to share their views.

Like its neighbouring constituency to the north, the biggest concern, and often the first being shared, was the state of the NHS, having been mentioned 15 times in total, 13 of which referred specifically to long waiting times.

Cost-of-living pressures featured just as heavily, with another 15 mentions — if probed further, some mentioned stubbornly high energy bills (7), childcare costs (4), the need for fairer benefits (3), and low pensions (1).

The economy more generally saw six total mentions, with three saying the national debt should be addressed, and another three arguing taxes were too high.

Following closely behind the first two, with 10 mentions, were concerns about the environment. Alongside several concerns which included the need to use more brownfield sites for energy developments, invasion of the countryside, and declining wildlife, most residents (8) shared worries about the amount of sewage spilt into the waterways.

Issues were more spread out from this point, with potholes, social care, and lack of affordable housing, featuring in four residents’ minds.

Other issues which cropped up ever so often were immigration (3), education (3), crime (2), and international conflicts (2).

Unlike the neighbouring Lowestoft constituency, however, residents in Felixstowe and Woodbridge were more split when asked whether they had already taken their decision — 12 said they had their minds set on a candidate, nine said they were still on the fence, and one said he wouldn’t vote for anyone.

Although those who spoke to me were not representative of the constituency as a whole, and candidates might have had a different experience on the doorstep, their responses gave a flavour of what’s on voters’ minds ahead of the ballots.

So, what do candidates think?

Conservatives:

Representing the Tories, Thérèse Coffey, who has led this constituency since 2010, will be looking for a fifth consecutive term, having won 56.2 per cent of the vote last time around.

Part of her top priorities is supporting nature and rural communities, through farming, rural services, and moving energy connections closer to London.

Ms Coffey also said she would push for the creation of well-paid local jobs and ensure more dentists are available to residents.

Liberal Democrats:

Julia Ewart will be standing as the Lib Dem candidate for this constituency for the second time, having won 15 per cent of the vote in 2019, where she already works as a councillor.

She said her priorities included improving NHS services, with a focus on having more dentists, reducing waiting lists, and making sure ambulances are available when needed.

Her other two top priorities are also to address the sewage and water quality problems, as well as ensuring voters are more confident in their representatives through honesty.

Green Party:

The Green challenger for Suffolk Coastal, where communities are already represented by several green councillors, is Julian Cusack.

If elected, he would push for the expansion of renewables and an offshore grid with brownfield onshore connections, while continuing to oppose Sizewell C and the proposed electricity substation at Friston.

Other commitments also include calling for the renationalisation of the water companies to ensure water quality in rivers and build affordable housing in brownfield sites.

Labour Party:

The Labour candidate is Jenny Riddell-Carpenter, who has not commented.

Reform UK:

The Reform candidate, Matthew Paul Jackson, has also not commented.