Battle intensifies for constituency without towns

South Cambridgeshire is a mixture of villages and parts of Cambridge, and includes Addenbrooke's Hospital and the Cambridge Biomedical Campus

With a fortnight to go before the general election on 4 July, the political map is changing in the Cambridgeshire countryside.

The constituency boundaries in South Cambridgeshire have been redrawn and the area now contains no towns, but rather a patchwork of villages and a small pocket of the city of Cambridge.

The Conservative Party has won every election in South Cambridgeshire since it was formed in 1997.

The six candidates standing this year are hoping to woo a new set of voters.

The redrawn South Cambridgeshire constituency, which goes further east

The South Cambridgeshire constituency looked like this in the 2019 general election

Home to Wimpole Estate and Magog Downs, South Cambridgeshire is largely rural, and includes a small section of Cambridge including Addenbrooke's Hospital and the Cambridge Biomedical Campus.

The newly-redrawn constituency has a population of 105,000, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Boundary changes happen every 10 to 15 years to keep representation fair by reflecting population changes.

Voters do not need to do anything, as long as they are registered, but they will notice a new set of names on their ballot papers.

'Do something'

Miranda Fyfe said she sympathised with people facing long waits for NHS treatment

Miranda Fyfe, the Green Party candidate for South Cambridgeshire, said this general election was completely different from the last.

"In 2019 people didn't have a choice to vote for a Green Party candidate, we stood aside, this time candidates are standing right across England and Wales," she said.

Ms Fyfe, a former NHS manager, said more funding was needed for healthcare.

"I recently had the experience of being put on the short two-week waiting list and I realise how unpleasant it is," she said.

"Fortunately for me I got the all-clear, but I absolutely sympathise with those people who are having to wait a long time."

'Botched job'

Pippa Heylings said she wanted Cambridgeshire's waterways to be protected

Pippa Heylings is the Liberal Democrat candidate for South Cambridgeshire and said she was hearing about healthcare concerns "on every doorstep".

"So many people are either themselves, or have loved ones, in pain, on the waiting list," she said.

She said the environment was important to her and that she wanted to see an end to sewage being dumped in waterways.

East West Rail (EWR), a project linking Oxford and Cambridge impacting a number of villages in the area, was a "botched job" and "hugely environmentally damaging", she added.

She also supported the need for electrified railways.

Pothole complaints

Chris Carter-Chapman said potholes had come up a lot during his canvassing

Chris Carter-Chapman, representing the Conservative and Unionist Party, said he was concerned about "environmental threats" facing the area.

"We've got an East West rail route nobody wants, two busways either side of the constituency, we've got the Honey Hill development," he said.

"We're beset by seriously misthought-out development plans."

He said people he had been canvassing wanted shorter NHS waiting times, more police on the streets - and were fed up with potholes.

"Potholes come up at every single door, and we need to get some of the extra government money we've secured spent right here," he said.

Luke Viner said new houses needed to be built in a "controlled way"

Luke Viner, the Labour Party candidate, said transport and housing were among his top priorities.

"Living in the village of Fulbourn, I find it staggering that if I want to drive into the city it takes only 10 minutes, but if I want to take the bus it takes about 50 minutes."

He said he supported the idea of building more houses.

"We need to build affordable homes, and also we need to do that in a sensible controlled way, a local way, so people actually have a say into where these houses are being built," he said.

The EWR project was a "good idea" in principle, he added, but he wanted the line to run on electricity, rather than diesel, and for there to be an additional station.

The two remaining candidates are James Gordon, an independent, and Harrison Edwards, for Reform UK.

Mr Gordon said an independent vote would lead to "real change in the political landscape" and promised to donate the majority of his salary as an MP to local charities.

You can find a full list of candidates here.