Torridge and West Devon (UK Parliament constituency)
Coordinates: 50°42′54″N 4°15′47″W / 50.715°N 4.263°W
Torridge and West Devon | |
---|---|
County constituency for the House of Commons | |
![]() Boundary of Torridge and West Devon in Devon | |
![]() Location of Devon within England | |
County | Devon |
Electorate | 77,417 (December 2010)[1] |
Major settlements | Bideford, Great Torrington, Holsworthy and Tavistock |
Current constituency | |
Created | 1983 |
Member of Parliament | Geoffrey Cox (Conservative) |
Number of members | One |
Created from | Devon West and Devon North[2] |
Torridge and West Devon is a constituency[n 1] represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2005 by Geoffrey Cox, a Conservative.[n 2]
Boundaries[]
1983–1997: The District of Torridge, and the Borough of West Devon.
1997–2010: The District of Torridge, and the Borough of West Devon except the ward of Buckland Monachorum.
2010–present: The District of Torridge, and the Borough of West Devon wards of Bere Ferrers, Bridestowe, Buckland Monachorum, Burrator, Lydford, Mary Tavy, Milton Ford, Tamarside, Tavistock North, Tavistock South, Tavistock South West, Thrushel, and Walkham.
Before the 2010 general election, the constituency comprised Torridge District and almost all of West Devon District. However, in the redistribution of that year, when the number of seats in the county rose from 11 to 12, the town of Okehampton and scattered small settlements surrounding it transferred to the new Central Devon seat.[3]
The constituency area contains the former borough constituencies of Bere Alston (abolished 1832, settlement part of Bere Ferrers) and Tavistock (abolished 1885).
History[]
The constituency was created in 1983, largely from the abolished West Devon seat, but with additions then and later from North Devon which was formed in 1950.
- Political history
The seat unusually saw its second member, (Emma Nicholson), who attained the second absolute majority in its history, a Conservative, defect or "cross the floor" in 1995 to the Liberal Democrats. After the 1997 election she was appointed to the House of Lords.
At 1997 election the seat was won by the Liberal Democrat candidate John Burnett. He also was elevated to the peerage, and after standing down, the seat was gained by Geoffrey Cox of the Conservative Party who attained a majority of 3,236 votes in 2005. In 2010 he won with a majority of 2,957, boundary changes making the reduced majority notionally a 0.2% swing from the Liberal Democrats - compared with a 2.3% swing between the two parties nationally.
In 2015 the Liberal Democrat vote collapsed and they came third behind UKIP and the Conservatives. Cox was elected with an absolute majority.
In 2017 the absence of UKIP saw Labour come second behind the Conservatives. Cox further increased his absolute majority, which became the largest in Devon and Cornwall.
In 2019, Cox was re-elected with 60.1% of the vote and a majority of 24,992 (41.8%), the highest vote share ever recorded in the seat, and once again the largest majority in Devon and Cornwall.
Constituency profile[]
The economy of the area is dominated by sectors such as agriculture, food processing, defence, hospitality, construction, maintenance and engineering and from Bideford and Northam a small amount of fishing; it also includes tourism, such as the island of Lundy, and sandy resort of Westward Ho!, to the small, centrally pedestrianised, cobbled, museum-dotted village of Clovelly. Great Torrington and Buckland Monachorum are among the archetypal rural villages, in an area with tranquil retreats, relatively close to the edge of Dartmoor.
Workless claimants, registered jobseekers, were in November 2012 lower than the national average of 3.8%, at 2.5% of the population based on a statistical compilation by The Guardian.[4]
Members of Parliament[]
Election | Member[5] | Party | |
---|---|---|---|
1983 | Peter Mills | Conservative | |
1987 | Emma Nicholson | Conservative | |
1995 | Liberal Democrat | ||
1997 | John Burnett | Liberal Democrat | |
2005 | Geoffrey Cox | Conservative |
Elections[]
Elections in the 2010s[]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Geoffrey Cox | 35,904 | 60.1 | +3.6 | |
Liberal Democrats | David Chalmers | 10,912 | 18.3 | +0.6 | |
Labour | Siobhan Strode | 10,290 | 17.2 | –4.5 | |
Green | Chris Jordan | 2,077 | 3.5 | +0.8 | |
Independent | Bob Wootton | 547 | 0.9 | New | |
Majority | 24,992 | 41.8 | +7.0 | ||
Turnout | 59,730 | 74.8 | +0.8 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | +1.5 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Geoffrey Cox | 33,612 | 56.5 | +5.6 | |
Labour | Vince Barry | 12,926 | 21.7 | +11.1 | |
Liberal Democrats | David Chalmers | 10,526 | 17.7 | +4.5 | |
Green | Chris Jordan | 1,622 | 2.7 | –4.3 | |
Independent | Robin Julian | 794 | 1.3 | New | |
Majority | 20,686 | 34.8 | +2.2 | ||
Turnout | 59,616 | 74.0 | +1.8 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | –2.4 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Geoffrey Cox | 28,774 | 50.9 | +5.2 | |
UKIP | Derek Sargent | 10,371 | 18.3 | +12.8 | |
Liberal Democrats | Paula Dolphin | 7,483 | 13.2 | –27.1 | |
Labour | Mike Sparling | 6,015 | 10.6 | +5.3 | |
Green | Cathrine Simmons | 3,941 | 7.0 | +5.1 | |
Majority | 18,403 | 32.6 | +28.2 | ||
Turnout | 56,786 | 72.2 | +0.8 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | –3.8 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Geoffrey Cox | 25,230 | 45.7 | +3.4 | |
Liberal Democrats | Adam Symons | 22,273 | 40.3 | +3.4 | |
UKIP | Robin Julian | 3,021 | 5.5 | –0.9 | |
Labour | Darren Jones | 2,917 | 5.3 | –5.3 | |
Green | Cathrine Simmons | 1,050 | 1.9 | –2.0 | |
BNP | Nick Baker | 766 | 1.4 | New | |
Majority | 2,957 | 5.4 | –0.1 | ||
Turnout | 55,257 | 71.4 | +0.2 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | 0.0 |
Elections in the 2000s[]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Geoffrey Cox | 25,013 | 42.7 | +2.7 | |
Liberal Democrats | David Walter | 21,777 | 37.2 | –5.0 | |
Labour | Rebecca Richards | 6,001 | 10.2 | –0.5 | |
UKIP | Matthew Jackson | 3,790 | 6.5 | +1.7 | |
Green | Peter Christie | 2,003 | 3.4 | +1.1 | |
Majority | 3,236 | 5.5 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 58,584 | 70.2 | –0.3 | ||
Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Swing | +3.9 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal Democrats | John Burnett | 23,474 | 42.2 | +0.3 | |
Conservative | Geoffrey Cox | 22,280 | 40.0 | +1.5 | |
Labour | David Brenton | 5,959 | 10.7 | –1.7 | |
UKIP | Bob Edwards | 2,674 | 4.8 | +1.7 | |
Green | Martin Quinn | 1,297 | 2.3 | New | |
Majority | 1,194 | 2.2 | –1.1 | ||
Turnout | 55,684 | 70.5 | –7.4 | ||
Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | –0.6 |
Elections in the 1990s[]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal Democrats | John Burnett | 24,744 | 41.8 | +0.3 | |
Conservative | Ian Liddell-Grainger | 22,787 | 38.5 | –8.8 | |
Labour | David Brenton | 7,319 | 12.4 | +2.8 | |
Referendum | Roger Lea | 1,946 | 3.3 | New | |
UKIP | Matthew Jackson | 1,841 | 3.1 | New | |
Liberal | Michael Pithouse | 508 | 0.9 | New | |
Majority | 1,957 | 3.3 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 59,148 | 77.9 | –1.6 | ||
Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Swing | +4.6 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Emma Nicholson | 29,627 | 47.3 | –3.0 | |
Liberal Democrats | David McBride | 26,013 | 41.5 | +2.3 | |
Labour | David Brenton | 5,997 | 9.6 | +1.1 | |
Green | Frank Williamson | 898 | 1.4 | –0.6 | |
Natural Law | David Collins | 141 | 0.2 | New | |
Majority | 3,614 | 5.8 | –5.3 | ||
Turnout | 62,676 | 81.5 | +2.8 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | –2.6 |
Elections in the 1980s[]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Emma Nicholson | 29,484 | 50.3 | –7.7 | |
Liberal | John Burnett | 23,016 | 39.2 | +4.2 | |
Labour | David Brenton | 4,990 | 8.5 | +1.9 | |
Green (UK) | Frank Williamson | 1,168 | 2.0 | New | |
Majority | 6,468 | 11.1 | –11.9 | ||
Turnout | 58,658 | 78.7 | +2.7 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | –6.0 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Peter Mills | 31,156 | 58.0 | ||
Liberal | Victor Howell | 18,805 | 35.0 | ||
Labour | William Tupman | 3,531 | 6.6 | ||
Independent | Michael Beale | 116 | 0.2 | ||
Wessex Regionalist | Henrietta Rous | 113 | 0.2 | ||
Majority | 12,351 | 23.0 | |||
Turnout | 53,721 | 76.0 | |||
Conservative win (new seat) |
See also[]
Notes[]
- ^ A county constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
- ^ As with all constituencies, the constituency elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years.
References[]
- ^ "Electorate Figures - Boundary Commission for England". 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. Archived from the original on 6 November 2010. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
- ^ "'Devon West and Torridge', June 1983 up to May 1997". ElectionWeb Project. Cognitive Computing Limited. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
- ^ "2010 post-revision map non-metropolitan areas and unitary authorities of England" (PDF).
- ^ Unemployment claimants by constituency The Guardian
- ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "D" (part 2)
- ^ "Statement of Persons Nominated" (PDF).
- ^ "Devon West & Torridge parliamentary constituency - Election 2017". BBC News. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
- ^ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
- ^ "Devon West & Torridge constituency – Election 2015". BBC News. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
- ^ "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
- ^ "Statement of Persons Nominated and Notice of Poll: Torridge and West Devon" (PDF). West Devon Borough Council. 2010-04-20. Retrieved 2010-04-25.
- ^ "BBC NEWS – Election 2010 – Devon West & Torridge". BBC News.
- ^ "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- ^ "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- ^ "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- ^ "Devon West and Torridge". Archived from the original on 2011-09-20. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
- ^ "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- ^ "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Retrieved 2010-12-06.
- ^ "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- ^ "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- Parliamentary constituencies in Devon
- Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1983