ByLaurence Cawley & Andy Trigg,BBC News, in Waveney Valley
BBC
Long the key town of the former South Norfolk constituency, Diss has been at the heart of a Conservative seat since 1950. It now sits in the new Waveney Valley constituency which straddles Suffolk and Norfolk. What is on the minds of those who live here?
"Having seen quite a few general elections over the years I suspect there might well be change," says Jane Trippett-Jones, who lives in the town. "People are just disillusioned, people are very angry.
"I would urge everybody to vote. It is an interesting time for the area."
The new seat is surrounded by traditionally Conservative constituencies, including South West Norfolk, previously held by the former prime minister Liz Truss.
"We've got new boundaries and that's quite exciting," says Ms Trippett-Jones. "We are a border town and that sort of thing is important.
"South Norfolk has long been a Conservative stronghold. For this election, I really don't know."
Asked about the issues on the minds of her friends in Diss, Ms Trippett-Jones cites "the degeneration of the health service", the wait for dental and GP appointments, High Street regeneration and a perceived lack of visible policing in the town.
Just as striking as what people are saying in Diss, is what they are not saying.
Nearly all of the traders the BBC spoke with voiced concerns about airing their opinions publicly for fear their views might cost them customers.
Usually delivered with a wry smile, the phrase "I'd better not say anything" is the most recurring utterance here in the market town.
Yet away from the microphone, people speak in sometimes hushed tones about a range of concerns stretching from immigration and the housing given to asylum seekers, to support for former military personnel, to a sense that the whole political system feels broken.
While some mentioned voting Green, many others said they would be voting for Reform UK, or the traditional three main parties.
Father-of-10 Peter Banham-Gibbs, lives in a village near Diss with children aged between one and 14 years old.
"We've got seven girls and three boys and we're quite a busy family," he says. "It is none stop, all of the time."
A night shift worker, he says his key election concern revolves around taxes to ensure his earnings go as far as they can.
Mr Banham-Gibbs says he will vote but has not yet decided which candidate will win his cross.
"When I get the odd five minutes I am listening to what they have got to say."
Grace Mcintosh is landlady at The Greyhound pub.
"I'd say a lot of the issues are to do with a lack of shops, especially clothes and shoe shops," she says.
"The big chains have been taken out such as Poundland... a lot of pensioners who come in here talk about how they have to go to Norwich to get their bits and bobs.
"There's also the NHS dentistry issue - a lot of people who come in here talk about having to go private. I've gone private because I couldn't get an NHS appointment.
"It is a massive issue," she says.
Ms Mcintosh says some of her customers say they have not seen a dentist for three or four years "due to the fact they can't get in".
Asked what her priority is for the election, Ms Mcintosh says: "Probably the NHS and dentistry - that's the main thing, people's health."
Five miles (8km) south of Diss sits the Suffolk town of Eye.
Gemma Lewis is collecting her two children from school.
Her main concerns ahead of the election relate to traffic and facilities in the area.
"The traffic down here is awful with cars mounting the pavement putting children at high risk," Mrs Lewis says.
"It would be nice to see a local post office (they currently have to travel to Diss) and some restaurants.
"It would also be good to have better sports facilities for the children. We don't have a good sport centre here."
She has not yet decided who she will vote for but says she will be considering it "closely".
Retired graphic designer Gary Rowland says the main concerns amongst people in Eye concerned their "quality of life".
This includes traffic and the addition of new homes, he says.
He says Eye is plagued by large lorries trying to cut through the town when their vehicles are too big for its winding streets.
"We hope our new MP will look at this," he says.
"We've got 300 new homes going on the airfield but there are no plans yet to enlarge schools or the doctor's surgery," he says.
As a result, he says, he is both "hopeful" and "doubtful" that the needs of the newly formed constituency will be met by whoever wins the seat.
The candidates for Waveney Valley are:
- Scott Huggins, Reform UK
- Gurpreet Padda, Labour
- Adrian Ramsay, Green
- Richard Rout, Conservative
- Maya Severyn, Social Democratic Party
- John Shreeve, Liberal Democrats
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Diss
Eye
General election 2024
