Apart from the northernmost suburbs of Ipswich, most of this seat is covered by undulating, unspoilt farmland. It is geographically huge and stretches from Christchurch Park in Ipswich, the sprawling suburb of Kesgrave, to Palgrave and Mendham on the Norfolk border and from Coton in the west to Little Glenham in the east.
The economy is based largely on agriculture and associated industries. Unemployment is low and council housing amounts to only 14% of the total. Roads play a big part in the life of the constituency, which encompasses the A140 in the west and A12 in the east. The scrapping of the Ipswich northern bypass and the Kesgrave relief roads have been particularly controversial.
The sitting Conservative MP Michael Lord has held this seat since 1983, although he witnessed his majority being slashed to 3,500 votes in 1997.