South Norfolk Conservative MP Richard Bacon will stand at next general election
If he wins he could become the county's longest serving post-war MP
Last updated 8th Dec 2022
A Norfolk MP has said he will fight the next general election, paving the way for him to become the county’s longest continuously-serving MP since the Second World War.
Richard Bacon, who has represented South Norfolk in parliament since 2001, has said he will again be standing as the Conservative party’s candidate at the next election.
He is already Norfolk’s longest-serving current MP and if he is re-elected in 2024, serving a full term through to 2029, it would mean that he had served for 28 years.
That would break the county’s record for longest continuous period in office since 1945, held by former North Norfolk MP Ralph Howell and Mr Bacon’s immediate predecessor in South Norfolk, John MacGregor, who each served 27 years.
Sir Henry Bellingham served 32 years in North West Norfolk, not including four years out of office, after losing his seat to Labour in 1997.
Mr Bacon’s constituency currently includes Diss, Harleston, Loddon, Long Stratton and Costessey.
But the seat’s boundaries are proposed to change in 2023, meaning he could lose Diss and Harleston, while gaining Wymondham.
He won his seat in 2019 with a majority of 21,275 votes over the second-placed Labour candidate.
With Labour currently leading the Tories in the national polls by around 20 points, some models suggest South Norfolk would go to Labour if an election were held tomorrow.