Lowestoft

Coordinates: 52°29′N 1°45′E / 52.48°N 1.75°E / 52.48; 1.75

Lowestoft (/ˈloʊ.əstɒft/, /ˈloʊstɒft/ or /ˈloʊstəf/) is a town in the English county of Suffolk. The town is on the North Sea coast and is the most easterly settlement of the United Kingdom. It is 110 miles (177 km) north-east of London, 38 miles (61 km) north-east of Ipswich and 22 miles (35 km) south-east of Norwich. It is situated on the edge of The Broads system and is the major settlement within the district of Waveney with a population of 71,010 in 2011

Some of the earliest evidence of settlement in Britain has been found in Lowestoft and the town has a long history. It is a port town which developed due to the fishing industry, and a traditional seaside resort. It has wide, sandy beaches, two piers and a number of other tourist attractions. Whilst its fisheries have declined, the development of oil and gas exploitation in the southern North Sea in the 1960s led to the development of the town, along with nearby Great Yarmouth, as a base for the industry. This role has since declined and the town has begun to develop as a centre of the renewable energy industry within the East of England.

Lowestoft (UK Parliament constituency)

Lowestoft was a parliamentary constituency centred on the town of Lowestoft in Suffolk. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system. It was more often won by the Conservative Party than not, although its representatives include two from the Liberal Party and one from the Labour Party.

History

The constituency was created for the 1885 general election, and abolished for the 1983 general election.

Boundaries

Throughout its existence, the Lowestoft constituency covered the North-Eastern corner of Suffolk and, although encompassing some rural areas, drew the majority of its voters from the towns of Lowestoft, a resort and fishing port, and Beccles; it also included the smaller towns of Bungay and Southwold, with its brewing interests.

Southwold is now in the Suffolk Coastal constituency.

The constituency established in 1885, which was formally named The Northern or Lowestoft Division of Suffolk (and was sometimes referred to simply as "Suffolk North"), also included the town of Halesworth and the rural areas in between. In the boundary changes of 1918, when the constituency became simply the "Lowestoft Division of Suffolk" or Suffolk, Lowestoft, Halesworth was transferred to the neighbouring Eye division; the constituency was now defined as consisting of the boroughs of Lowestoft, Beccles and Southwold, the Bungay and Oulton Broad Urban Districts (the latter of which was a suburb of Lowestoft itself), the Mutford and Lothingland and Wangford Rural Districts and eight parishes in Blything Rural District.