Labour's historic win in Suffolk Coastal is a "reflection of the appetite for change" after winning the seat from a former deputy prime minister. 

History was made in Suffolk Coastal on Friday when the constituency voted for its first ever Labour MP.

Just after 4am, it was announced that Jenny Riddell-Carpenter had won the seat, with a majority of 1,070 votes securing the seat from Dame Therese Coffey of the Conservatives, who had held the seat since 2010.

Ms Carpenter achieved 15,672 votes, followed by Dame Therese on 14,602.

Shortly before the polls closed on Thursday evening it was announced that the Conservative candidate and former health secretary was made a dame in the dissolution honours list. 

In third place came Matthew Jackson for Reform UK with 7,850. Julia Ewart for the Liberal Democrats came fourth with 6,947.

In fifth place came Julian Cusack for the Greens with 4,380.

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The seat has been Tory-held for decades, even withstanding the Labour landslide in 1997 when Conservative John Gummer retained the seat with 21,696 (32% of the vote).

Mr Gummer retired in 2010, which is when Dame Therese took over, scoring 25,475 (46% of the vote).

This majority increased in the intervening years.

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In 2015, she got 28,855 votes. This was just under 52%, with a majority of 18,842 votes between her and her closest rival, Labour's Russell Whiting.

In 2017, Dame Therese retained the seat with 33,713 (58% of the vote).

At the last election in 2019, her total number of votes was slightly lower at 32,958, 1.5% down from 2017. Labour, too, was down on the previous election, with candidate Cameron Matthews winning just 12,425, down by more than 5,000 votes than the last election.

Turnout for Suffolk Coastal was amongst the highest in the county, with 66.6% of the electorate having come out to vote.

Speaking after the result had been declared, Ms Riddell-Carpenter thanked Dame Therese for having fought "a clean campaign", and also thanked the many people in this constituency who have voted Labour for the first time in their lives.

"Some will be surprised by this result, but it goes to show that no seat is a safe seat," she said. "This is a reflection of the appetite for change that is present in every corner of Suffolk Coastal."

She reiterated that her main priorities going forward will be SEND provision, adult social care and the environment, referencing in particular the River Deben and the issue of sewage.

Meanwhile, Dame Therese congratulated her opponent, saying she always knew that this would be a "hard battle" to win.

"It has been the privilege of my life to be the member of parliament for Suffolk Coastal since 2010, until tonight," she said.

"This has not been an easy campaign for me, not an easy result for me or for my party across the country. But I know that also, with turnout down, it was going to be a struggle. With Reform rebounding, it was going to be a struggle, and so it proved."

She thanked everyone who had been part of her campaign, and all those who voted for her.

Dame Therese continued: "I know that we worked hard, but it wasn’t enough. Democracy is what it is, and I respect that."

She added that, having been made a dame on the day of election itself, was in a way a "bittersweet ending".

Results in full

Jenny Riddell-Carpenter (L) 15,672

Dame Therese Coffey* (C) 14,602

Matthew Jackson (RUK) 7,850

Julia Ewart (LD) 6,947

Julian Cusack (G) 4,380

Turnout 66% - majority 1,070