Candidates from all five major national parties are standing in every parliamentary seat across the region, it has been revealed today.

Most have had their candidates in place for several months – the last candidates were selected by their parties during the last few weeks.

The full list of candidates, published today, also details a few independent candidates who have stumped up the £500 deposit they need to stand – and which will be lost if they fail to gain 5% of the vote at the General Election on May 7.

The main battlegrounds in this region are in Ipswich and Waveney where Labour is fighting hard to regain Suffolk’s two marginal seats.

Ben Gummer and Peter Aldous will be defending them against David Ellesmere and Bob Blizzard.

Other seats where there are intense fights include Clacton, which the Tories will be hoping to regain from UKIP’s Douglas Carswell, and Colchester where veteran LibDem Sir Bob Russell will be hoping to see off a Conservative challenge again.

There is also special interest in the safe Conservative seats of Braintree, South Suffolk and Bury St Edmunds where there will be a new MP elected following the departures of Brooks Newmark, Tim Yeo and David Ruffley.

Candidates

Braintree

James Cleverley (C), Malcolm Finken (Lab), Matthew Kiesel (LD), Richard Bingley (UKIP), Paul Jeater (G), Paul Hooks (BNP), Toby Pereira (Ind).

Bury St Edmunds

Jo Churchill (C), Bill Edwards (Lab), David Chappell (LD), John Howlett (UKIP), Helen Geake (G).

Central Suffolk and North Ipswich

Dr Dan Poulter (C)*, Jack Abbott (Lab), Jon Neal (LD), Mark Cole (UKIP), Rhodri Griffiths (G), Toby Holyoak (ED).

Clacton

Giles Watling (C), Tim Young (Lab), David Grace (LD), Douglas Carswell (UKIP)*, Chris Southall (G).

Colchester

Will Quince (C), Jordan Newell (Lab), Sir Bob Russell (LD)*, John Pitts (UKIP), Mark Goacher (G), Ken Scrimshaw (CPA).

Harwich and North Essex

Bernard Jenkin (C)*, Edward Carlsson Brown (Lab), Dominic Graham (LD), Mark Hughes (UKIP), Christopher Flossman (G).

Ipswich

Ben Gummer (C)*, David Ellesmere (Lab), Chika Akinwale (LD), Maria Vigneau (UKIP), Barry Broom (G).

South Suffolk

James Cartlidge (C), Jane Basham (Lab), Grace Weaver (LD), Steven Whalley (UKIP), Robert Lindsay (G), Stephen Todd (CPA).

Suffolk Coastal

Dr Therese Coffey (C)*, Russell Whiting (Lab), James Sandbach (LD), Daryll Pitcher (UKIP), Rachel Smith-Lyte (G).

Waveney

Peter Aldous (C)*, Bob Blizzard (Lab), Stephen Gordon (LD), Simon Tobin (UKIP), Graham Elliott (G).

West Suffolk

Matthew Hancock (C)*, Michael Jeffreys (Lab), Elfreda Tealby-Watson (LD), Julian Flood (UKIP), Niall Pettitt (G).

Witham

Priti Patel (C)*, John Clarke (Lab), Josephine Hayes (LD), Garry Cockrill (UKIP), James Abbott (G), Doreen Scrimshaw (CPA).

Key: C Conservative, Lab Labour, LD Liberal Democrat, UKIP United Kingdom Independence Party, G Green, CPA Christian People’s Alliance, G Green. BNP British National Party.