The battle for Britain’s most easterly seat
With a month to go until the general election, the fight to win Britain's most easterly seat is intensifying.
The new constituency of Lowestoft in Suffolk was formerly part of the Waveney seat, which had been held by the Conservatives for 14 years.
But Labour is sensing a possible upset, even though victory would need a swing in the vote of more than 16%.
Candidates standing for election in the seat also include representatives from the Liberal Democrats, the Greens and Reform UK.
The Lowestoft seat is on the Labour target list, but you have to scroll a long way down to find it.
It comes in at 198th place and while it may not be a key Labour goal, it is one that the party is eyeing up with considerable interest.
Labour candidate Jess Asato said that in the present political climate, she sensed a change was in the air.
"We're taking nothing for granted and we are out every single day fighting for every single vote, but what we're hearing from people on the doorsteps is that they do want a change in government," she said.
Conservative Peter Aldous said: "There has been significant investment in the town and across the constituency over the years, but there is still unfinished business and that is what I want to complete."
Reform UK is hoping to woo some disaffected Conservative voters to their party and candidate June Mummery is feeling in confident mood.
"It's a shambles right now," she said.
"The Tories have failed and Labour, well, where is Labour? Members of Parliament are all career politicians and they don't seem to get any work done."
The Liberal Democrats candidate, Adam Robertson also spelt out his priorities, adding: "We need to reform NHS dentistry to make sure everyone can see a dentist and not have to pay for private treatment - and we want to build 150,000 new homes, if not more."
The co-leader of the Greens, Adrian Ramsay, who will be standing in the new neighbouring seat of Waveney Valley, says his party is "on a roll".
And Lowestoft Greens candidate Toby Hammond said: "A lot of our focus is on the new Waveney Valley constituency which we know we can win, but there are some really important issues for the Lowestoft seat including sewage in the rivers, coastal flooding and sea level rise."
The Lowestoft constituency was originally created for the 1885 general election, but was abolished almost 100 years later for the 1983 ballot.
It was succeeded by the constituency of Waveney.
The Conservatives narrowly took the seat from Labour in 2010 and have increased their majority in subsequent elections.
Following the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, Waveney was abolished with Lowestoft re-established for the 2024 general election.
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