Summary

  • What do the people of Norwich think about the upcoming election?

  • BBC TV and radio programmes are coming live from the city

  • Social care, health and education - and Brexit - are among the issues voters are talking about

  • Norwich South has been held by Labour's Clive Lewis since 2015

  • Conservative Chloe Smith has held Norwich North since winning the 2009 by-election

  • Coverage on Friday 22 November 2019

  1. Air quality solutions 'already there'published at 11:42 Greenwich Mean Time 22 November 2019

    Ali Clabburn of car-sharing company Liftshare, based in Norwich, wants politicians to invest in cycling, walking and car clubs in UK cities.

    "If we get it done now we could really start reducing emissions and improving air quality in our cities," he said.

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  2. 'Norwich is a Remain city'published at 11:32 Greenwich Mean Time 22 November 2019

    The Tories have a "tussle" on their hands for the Norwich North seat as the city voted to remain in the European Union, according to the Eastern Daily Press, external business and politics editor.

    The seat was held at the last election by the Conservatives' Chloe Smith, by a slim majority of 507.

    Labour's Karen Davis is one of the main challengers for the seat.

    Richard Porritt, talking to BBC5Live's Adrian Chiles (pictured below) said: "I think Conservative HQ would like Chloe to talk about Brexit. I think she probably would prefer not to talk about it as much as some of the other Tory candidates because Norwich is a Remain city.

    "Karen has hit the ground running but it's a real tussle; Chloe is very well known, I think a lot of people here in Norwich would say she's done a lot for the constituency but there are national issues at play as well."

    A full list of candidates can be found here.

    Adrian Chiles live from The Forum in Norwich
  3. It's Adrian's round at the cafepublished at 11:15 Greenwich Mean Time 22 November 2019

    BBC 5 Live's Adrian Chiles is broadcasting from Cafe Marzano at the Forum.

    Milk, no sugar, Adrian, thanks.

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  4. Farming 'can provide climate change answers'published at 11:07 Greenwich Mean Time 22 November 2019

    Nicholas stressed to the Victoria Derbyshire audience that "climate change is very real" and that fellow farmers on the Norfolk coast had seen their land disappear underwater.

    "As farmers, land owners, land managers we have a key role to play in climate change - we have an ambition as the farmers' union to be carbon neutral by 2040 but we're not going to do that on our own.

    "We need an integrated environmental and agricultural policy that leads the way.

    "We need incentives, and it has to be across government, but food, farming and agriculture can provide a lot of the answers."

    Nicholas
  5. 'I don't give a toss about Brexit'published at 10:45 Greenwich Mean Time 22 November 2019

    Kathleen got a loud cheer on the Victoria Derbyshire programme when she was brutally honest about the B-word.

    "Our economy is not working for people who most need it," she said.

    "I don't give a toss about Brexit - what I want is our politicians to deliver on domestic issues. I want a country that's OK for my kids and people who most need it to be OK."

    Kathleen
  6. Social care system is 'broken' and needs 'reform'published at 10:42 Greenwich Mean Time 22 November 2019

    A woman who relies on carers to get into and out of bed everyday said the social care system "needs fixing".

    Edith told Victoria Derbyshire, live from Norwich Castle, that she has serious problems with carers being able to go into her home.

    She says at times she has had no support, and it was "really worrying" as her parents get older and with no siblings to rely on.

    "We had promises of a green paper on social care reform, now we're talking about a white paper," she said.

    "It undoubtedly needs funding but you can't throw money at a broken system; we need to reform and fix the system."

    Edith on Victoria Derbyshire
  7. 'It's been a nightmare'published at 10:35 Greenwich Mean Time 22 November 2019

    Mum-of-three Sam told the Victoria Derbyshire programme, which is hosting a live debate from Norwich Castle, that her family was on Universal Credit and "really feeling the squeeze".

    "I am really undecided - we voted Leave but we are so dissatisfied with what's going on," she said.

    "It's been a nightmare trying to work out who is telling the truth and how it will affect us, the people."

    Sam
  8. Cobbled streets endear Norwich to Nagapublished at 10:20 Greenwich Mean Time 22 November 2019

    Kate Scotter
    BBC News

    Naga Munchetty may have spent less than 24 hours in Norwich, but the "Fine City" has left an impression on the BBC Breakfast presenter.

    Kate Scotter and Naga Munchetty

    She said it was a "beautiful" city with a "great vibe".

    "It has its two cathedrals, churches, cobbled streets: I love a cobbled street, it endears me to a place," she said.

    But Naga said it was people who live in Norwich that had most interested her during the Breakfast show's live broadcast from the city.

    "We focused a lot about the NHS, and while people were positive about their experiences, there were concerns about things like staff shortages," she said.

  9. Eye in the skypublished at 10:09 Greenwich Mean Time 22 November 2019

    The BBC's drone pilot Ant Saddington was setting up for a flight over the city earlier this morning.

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    And this is what he captured: Norwich Cathedral, the Cathedral of St John the Baptist, City Hall and some of Norwich's many fine medieval churches.

    Drone view of Norwich
  10. East of England's most marginal seatpublished at 09:51 Greenwich Mean Time 22 November 2019

    Robby West
    BBC Norfolk political reporter

    Norwich North is the most marginal seat in the East of England.

    Held by Conservative Chloe Smith, with a majority of 507, Labour is the main challenger here.

    It is the Norwich seat that doesn't include the city centre.

    Thorpe St Andrew village sign on River GreenImage source, Geograph/Helen Steed

    An overwhelmingly residential constituency, it includes places like Hellesdon, Sprowston and Thorpe St Andrew.

    According to the latest stats, about two-thirds of people here own their home but there are areas of high deprivation, too.

    People in this constituency tell me the big issues for them are the future of the NHS, education funding and, of course, Brexit.

    A full list of candidates can be found here.

  11. Canaries singing but not winningpublished at 09:35 Greenwich Mean Time 22 November 2019

    Norwich City FC has the oldest continuously sung football anthem in the world, On The Ball, City, which exorts the Canaries to "Kick it off, throw it in, have a little scrimmage".

    And here's a fact loved by fans - they're the only English team to beat Bayern Munich at the Olympic Stadium. Just don't mention where they are in the Premier League table...

    Norwich City v Blackburn RoversImage source, Getty Images
  12. In-debt hospital struggling to meet demandpublished at 09:20 Greenwich Mean Time 22 November 2019

    Nikki Fox
    BBC Look East health correspondent

    Serving more than a million people, Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital is one of the largest teaching hospitals in the country, but it’s struggling to meet demand.

    For two of the past three months it has recorded the worst accident and emergency waiting times in the country, and referral to treatment times for cancer patients are below the national average.

    Norfolk and Norwich HospitalImage source, PA

    Quite simply it doesn’t have enough beds. In January, the first of 100 new beds is being added. The hospital still has to find the people to staff it.

    So why are so many beds needed? The number of patients coming through A&E at the hospital since 2001 has more than doubled.

    That’s partly because Norfolk has an ageing population living with with more complex conditions, but also because the city's walk-in centre has reduced its opening hours, GP surgeries are struggling for staff and social care services can’t cope, so people’s conditions worsen.

    An added worry is the pressure of repaying a Private Finance Initiative debt to the company that bankrolled the building of the hospital in the first place. That’s £60m a year, or a tenth of its income.

    It seemed a good idea at the time, but with forecasted demand hugely underestimated, managers are hoping they can get through winter without inflatable tents being put up outside A&E.

  13. A&E delays: Why are we waiting?published at 09:06 Greenwich Mean Time 22 November 2019

    The Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (NNUH) was last week revealed to have the worst A&E waiting figures in England.

    Last month more than 23,000 patients visited Norfolk's three A&E departments: at the NNUH, the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King's Lynn and the James Paget Hospital in Gorleston.

    A+EImage source, PA Media

    At the NNUH, one in three patients waited more than four hours for treatment - the worst figure n England, and the third-worst in the UK.

    The government target is for 95% to be seen within that time frame.

    Chris Cobb, the NNUH's chief operating officer, told BBC Radio Norfolk: "It is clear we are not performing at a level that we would like for our patients.

    "In the last 12 months, we've had a 10% increase in the number of attendances. The staff are working very hard to maintain a high level of care in a space which is really too small for the demand we've been asked to deal with."

  14. A hospital in need of a shot in the armpublished at 09:00 Greenwich Mean Time 22 November 2019

    The Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital was rated as "requires improvement" by inspectors in May.

    Norfolk and Norwich HospitalImage source, Getty Images

    The Care Quality Commission, external (CQC) found "definitive steps" needed to be taken to "improve the culture, openness and transparency throughout the organisation and reduce inconsistencies in culture and leadership."

    An action plan put in place by chief executive Mark Davies will continue for five years.

    The emergency and teaching hospital had improved from an earlier "inadequate" rating.

    The CQC found that the quality of care to patients with mental concerns needed to improve, although the hospital was praised for introducing a "fatigue team" to reduce tiredness levels among staff.

  15. The first NHS hospital financed by the private sectorpublished at 08:56 Greenwich Mean Time 22 November 2019

    Norwich is served by the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital at Colney, on the western edge of the city.

    Opened in 2001, it replaced the old Victorian hospital on St Stephens Road, opened in 1883, which itself replaced a hospital originally founded in 1771.

    It blazed a trail for Private Finance Initiatives, external (PFIs) in the health service, becoming the first hospital to be paid for by the private sector.

    trolleyImage source, Getty Images

    The old Victorian wards closed for good in 2003 and moved to the new £229m, 1,200-bed complex.

    It became a leading teaching and research hospital, serving a local population of more than a million across Norfolk and north Suffolk.

  16. Can new bosses turn mental health trust around?published at 08:52 Greenwich Mean Time 22 November 2019

    Nikki Fox
    BBC Look East health correspondent

    The problems started at Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) in 2012 when two counties merged their mental health services.

    Big cuts followed with a reduction in beds and staff. Predicted demand was underestimated, community services were cut back and an ethos of prevention turned into crisis management.

    Prof Jonathan Warren
    Image caption,

    Prof Jonathan Warren took over as NSFT chief executive in April

    Hundreds of young people are waiting for counselling with some on the list for more than a year, and numerous inquests into patients' deaths have criticised care, procedures, staffing levels and the treatment of bereaved relatives.

    Private hospitals could have taken some of the strain but the persistent problem of recruiting well-trained, experienced staff meant poor practice and ward closures at places like The Priory at Great Ellingham and the former Mundesley Hospital.

    The only trust of its kind in special measures, NSFT has a new management team which says it is determined to turn things around with a culture that empowers staff.

    Those who have lost loved ones hope, this time, it will.

  17. 'The end of my world'published at 08:46 Greenwich Mean Time 22 November 2019

    Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) is the worst-performing mental health trust in the country.

    It recently admitted that it should not have discharged Henry Travis-Williams, a 21-year-old man detained under the Mental Health Act who later took his own life. An inquest found a series of failings in his care.

    Pippa Travis-Williams, his said his death was "the end of my world".

    You can read more about his story here.

    Henry and Pippa Travis-WilliamsImage source, Family picture
  18. Who holds power in Norwich North?published at 08:44 Greenwich Mean Time 22 November 2019

    Norwich North is a bellwether seat and has been won by the governing party at every general election since 1983.

    Conservative Chloe Smith has been MP since a by-election in 2009, sparked when Labour’s Dr Ian Gibson stood down in the wake of the expenses scandal.

    Chloe Smith

    She defended her seat in 2015 and secured 43% of the vote, 10% more than second-placed Labour. Two years later, the gap between the two parties narrowed to just 1% and 507 votes.

    The constituency, which includes housing estates on the outskirts of the city and Norwich airport, voted Leave in the EU referendum.

    A full list of candidates for the constituency can be found here.

  19. Who holds power in Norwich South?published at 08:42 Greenwich Mean Time 22 November 2019

    Norwich comprises two Parliamentary constituencies: Norwich South and Norwich North.

    Clive Lewis was elected in Norwich South in 2015, wresting the seat back for Labour from the Lib Dems, who took it in 2010 by just 300 votes.

    The constituency includes the city centre, the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital and both universities.

    Clive LewisImage source, PA Media

    While he won with a comfortable lead over the Tories of more than 7,000 votes in 2015, support for Mr Lewis soared in 2017.

    He secured 61% of the vote and twice as many votes as the Conservatives.

    The constituency voted Remain in the 2016 referendum.

    A full list of candidates for the constituency can be found here.

  20. What do businesses want from the election?published at 08:30 Greenwich Mean Time 22 November 2019

    The John Innes Centre, one of the UK's most important hubs for plant science and microbiology, is on the outskirts of the city at Norwich Research Park.

    Its work includes designing wheat to meet the anticipated need to to produce 60% more to feed the global population in 2050.

    BBC Breakfast's Victoria Fritz is there to talk to business owners about what they want from the election.

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