Will Lowestoft give Labour a gain in general election?

Back in the 1980s the old name was replaced by Waveney to link it to the old district council - but now the district has merged to become East Suffolk and the loss of Bungay and several nearby villages has prompted the old name to be revived.

In 2019 Conservative Peter Aldous had a majority of 18,002 in Waveney and the loss of Bungay will not take anywhere near that number of voters out of the equation - so in normal times this would look like a safe Tory seat.

But these are not normal times and the old Waveney seat was held by the late Bob Blizzard for Labour between 1997 and 2010.

And the fact is that the rural votes lost in the latest review are likely to have been more sympathetic to the Tories than those in the town centre.

The new seat does include Beccles and a few villages around the main town - but it is certainly a seat Labour is targeting and its candidate Jess Asato has been campaigning hard for months.

What is very significant about this seat is that the characters of the likely three main candidates are set to be very much to the fore.

Peter Aldous campaigning with supporters in Oulton Broad. (Image: Lowestoft Conservative Association)

Since he was first elected Mr Aldous has developed a reputation as the consummate local MP. He has never had any ministerial ambitions but he has fought hard for his constituency - earning the admiration and respect of both his political colleagues and opponents.

One senior Labour figure in Suffolk told me: "I hope we win Lowestoft, but it would be a real shame to lose Peter!"

Jess Asato and her Labour team campaigning in Beccles. (Image: Lowestoft Labour Party)

Ms Asato is another well-known political figure in the area. She is known to hard-working and a good listener. She put in some good performances when contesting Norwich North in difficult elections for her party.

And Reform UK's June Mummery is one of her party's best-known figures in the region - her intervention into the contest could be bad news for Mr Aldous because she is likely to take some right-wing votes away from him.

June Mummery is standing for Reform UK (Image: Brexit Party/Reform UK)

Mr Aldous said he had been enjoying the campaign, despite somewhat dodgy weather, and he had been able to point to improvements in the area.

He said: "The (Gull Wing) bridge is nearly there and that's been an awful long time coming and we're getting some new developments in the town centre.

"I think people are proud of the town and want to improve and we're going in the right way."

Ms Asato said: “Having spoken to many residents across Lowestoft, Beccles and the villages I know they are crying out for change.

"Only Labour can fix the waiting lists in the NHS and bring dentists back to our area. We’re taking nothing for granted in our campaign - polls show Labour is neck and neck with the Conservatives and we will fight for every vote to change Lowestoft and change Britain.”

June Mummery was a Brexit Party MEP from 2019 until the UK left the EU the following year - and has been long-term campaigner for the British fishing industry.

Adam Robertson is the Liberal Democrat candidate for Lowestoft and Toby Hammond is contesting the seat for the Green Party.