Battle heats up for Norwich North constituency

Hellesdon is included in the Norwich North constituency

Norwich North has been held by the Conservatives for 15 years - but what will happen in this election?

Former cabinet minister Chloe Smith first won the seat in 2009 but, almost two years ago, she announced that she would stand down at the next election.

It took almost a year for the Conservatives to announce its proposed parliamentary candidate, but he was forced to step down shortly after.

It is a target seat for Labour, who have campaigned heavily in the area, with the Green Party, Liberal Democrats, Reform UK and an independent candidate also standing.

Norwich International Airport sits in the constituency

Norwich North includes areas such as Mile Cross, Old Catton and Hellesdon, as well as Norwich International Airport.

Its boundaries have changed since the last election, with Drayton moved from Broadland back into the constituency.

Election candidates, listed in alphabetical order by their last name, have been talking about their priorities.

The Liberal Democrats' Chika Akinwale said health and education were priorities for her

Liberal Democrat Chika Akinwale said that improving access to health services was a key issue for her.

She said people in Norwich North found trying to get an NHS appointment with a dentist “almost impossible”, while many faced long waits to see a GP.

Ms Akinwale, who is a district councillor in Ely, also said that education was the “best possible investment our country can make” and she wanted improved provision for children with special educational needs.

“If elected, I would champion the Liberal Democrats' plan to ensure every child get the much-needed support they deserve,” she added.

Labour's Alice MacDonald said a new dental school in the city could lead to more dentists wanting to work in Norwich

Alice MacDonald, from Labour, said her party would provide 700,000 extra urgent dental appointments and 40,000 additional NHS appointments nationally.

She backed the idea of a new dental school being opened at the University of East Anglia.

"If we’ve got people training here, they are more likely to stay here and provide the services that we need," she said.

Ms MacDonald, who previously worked in the charity sector, said she had grown up in west Norfolk before making her home in the constituency.

She said there was a shortage of affordable homes and wanted councils to have more house building powers, pointing to Norwich City Council’s Goldsmith Street development as an example of what could be done.

Ben Price, from the Green Party, said sites like Anglia Square needed to be redeveloped into affordable housing

The Green Party’s Ben Price said brownfield sites in Norwich could be redeveloped into “good, affordable, social low-carbon housing”.

“The white elephant in the room is Anglia Square, which is an absolute opportunity that has been continually undersold by the Labour council,” he added.

Mr Price, who is a councillor in Norwich, said he had lived in the city for a long time and would be “a local voice” for constituents.

He also said he wanted to see better funding for the NHS and more work done to attract “low-carbon” jobs to the city.

The Conservatives' Charlotte Salomon said a new training school could see dentists "commit" to Norwich

Charlotte Salomon, from the Conservatives, said that “getting [NHS] waiting lists down” was a priority for her and she also backed the idea of a local dentistry school.

“It’s quite a commitment for people to move to Norwich so I think the best thing we can do is train and retain people in Norwich,” she said.

Ms Salomon described herself as “a normal person” with small children, who could bring a “fresh on the ground perspective” to parliament.

She said her party’s plan to bring back the Help to Buy scheme would help people get on to the housing ladder, while people wanted to know more about the Conservatives' proposals to curb “both legal and illegal migration”.

Nick Taylor, from Reform UK, said people were worried about crime

Reform UK candidate Nick Taylor said his campaign was mainly based on national issues, but added that “some of those feed into what’s going on locally as well”.

He said that he wanted to see more police on the streets and warned of daylight muggings and drug dealing along with “an epidemic of shoplifting”.

Mr Taylor said that he had lived in Norwich for 21 years, ran his own business and had “a rich life experience”.

He said an increasing population was putting too much pressure on housing and that Reform’s plan to raise the basic rate tax threshold would “disproportionately benefit the lower paid”.

Independent candidate Fiona Grace is also standing in the constituency.