Central Suffolk (UK Parliament constituency)

Central Suffolk was a county constituency in the county of Suffolk. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

Central Suffolk
Former county constituency for the House of Commons
County	Suffolk
1983–1997
Seats	One
Created from	Eye, Ipswich and Bury St Edmunds[1]
Replaced by	Central Suffolk & North Ipswich, Bury St Edmunds

History

The constituency was created for the 1983 general election, primarily from the abolished county constituency of Eye, including the town of Stowmarket. It also included four wards from the north-western part of the Borough of Ipswich, transferred from the borough constituency thereof, and a small rural area to the west, equivalent to the former Rural District of Thedwastre, transferred from Bury St Edmunds.

It was in turn replaced by the Central Suffolk and North Ipswich constituency for the 1997 general election with a substantial area of the constituency, including Stowmarket, joining a reconfigured Bury St Edmunds constituency.

Boundaries

• The District of Mid Suffolk; and
• The Borough of Ipswich wards of Broom Hill, Castle Hill, Whitehouse, and Whitton.^[2]

Members of Parliament

Election		Member[3]	Party
	1983	Michael Lord	Conservative
	1997	constituency abolished: see Central Suffolk and North Ipswich and Bury St Edmunds

Elections

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1983: Suffolk Central^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Michael Lord	30,096	53.5
	Liberal	Nicholas Baldwin	15,365	27.3
	Labour	Diana Sierakowski	10,828	19.2
Majority			14,731	26.2
Turnout			56,289	74.4
	Conservative win (new seat)

General election 1987: Suffolk Central^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Michael Lord	32,422	53.7	+0.2
	Liberal	Thomas Dale	16,132	26.7	−0.6
	Labour	Mark Walker	11,817	19.6	+0.4
Majority			16,290	27.0	+0.8
Turnout			60,371	76.2	+1.8
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.4

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1992: Suffolk Central^[6][7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Michael Lord	32,917	49.6	−4.1
	Liberal Democrats	Lesley Henniker-Major	16,886	25.4	−1.3
	Labour	John Harris	15,615	23.5	+3.9
	Green	John Matthissen	800	1.2	New
	Natural Law	Julie Wilmot	190	0.3	New
Majority			16,031	24.1	−2.9
Turnout			66,408	80.3	+4.1
	Conservative hold		Swing	−1.4