Catherine Rowett on Green Party campaign in South Norfolk

Dr Catherine Rowett, who is standing for the Green Party in South Norfolk, said she had spent little time there because she did not have a realistic prospect of winning.

She made the remarks in response to an email inviting her to be interviewed about her prospects for this newspaper.

She wrote: "I don't think there is much that would make a story... since I have not been doing a lot of campaigning in South Norfolk."

Dr Rowett, a former MEP and UEA lecturer, defended her position, saying it was a better use of her time to campaign for the Greens in the new Waveney Valley, where her party are tipped to do well.

The cross-border seat which takes in parts of Norfolk, such as Diss, Harleston and Bunwell and Suffolk settlements such as Bungay, Eye and Halesworth, is a key target for the Greens in the election and is being contested by the party's co-leader, Adrian Ramsay. 

Dr Rowett said: "I've been putting a lot of effort into supporting his campaign in Waveney Valley and have not been doing a lot of campaigning in South Norfolk. 

"I've found myself divided between the two."

Prof Catherine Rowett (Image: Antony Kelly)

Dr Rowett said had instead run a largely digital campaign - engaging with prospective constituents via email or social media while canvassing in Waveney Valley. 

She added: "Many people loyally vote Green but know that the candidate won't actually win, so we stand everywhere in order to give people a voice against other parties.

"But we have to show people that it's possible for us to win sometimes."

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Caroline Lucas, who represented Brighton Pavilion, was the Green Party's first and only MP but she is not standing for re-election. 

Dr Rowett lives in Norwich and has worked in the UEA's philosophy department for 20 years.

She was elected to Norfolk County Council last year when she won the West Depwade by-election.

She said: "I'm quite well known around South Norfolk anyway, but it has been good to engage with people at hustings in the constituency."

The other candidates in South Norfolk are the Conservative's Poppy Simister-Thomas, Labour's Ben Goldsborough, the Lib Dem's Chris Brown, Reform UK's Chris Harrison, the SDP's Jason Maguire and independent candidate Paco Davila.