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] |
Overlaps | |
European Parliament constituency | South West England |
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 (the wards of Bere Ferrers, Bridestowe, Buckland Monachorum, Burrator, Chagford, Courtenay, Drewsteignton, Exbourne, Hatherleigh, Lew Valley, Lydford, Mary Tavy, Milton Ford, North Tawton, Okehampton, South Tawton, Tamarside, Tavistock North, Tavistock South, Thrushel, and Walkham).
1997-2010: The District of Torridge, and the Borough of West Devon wards of Bere Ferrers, Bridestowe, Burrator, Chagford, Courtenay, Drewsteignton, Exbourne, Hatherleigh, Lew Valley, Lydford, Mary Tavy, Milton Ford, North Tawton, Okehampton, South Tawton, Tamarside, Tavistock North, Tavistock South, Thrushel, and Walkham.
2010–present: The District of Torridge (the wards of Appledore, Bideford East, Bideford North, Bideford South, Broadheath, Clinton, Clovelly Bay, Coham Bridge, Forest, Hartland and Bradworthy, Holsworthy, Kenwith, Monkleigh and Littleham, Northam, Orchard Hill, Shebbear and Langtree, Tamarside, Three Moors, Torrington, Two Rivers, Waldon, Westward Ho!, and Winkleigh), 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, who attained the second absolute majority in its history, a Conservative, defect or "cross the floor" in 1995 to the Liberal Democrats (Emma Nicholson) — she was appointed after the subsequent election to the Lords.
The seat was then won by that party's candidate for the next Parliament John Burnett (LD). He also was elevated to a peerage, and in losing incumbency, the seat yielded to Geoffrey Cox 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.
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
General Election 2015: Torridge and West Devon[6][7] | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Conservative | Geoffrey Cox[8] | 28,774 | 50.9 | +5.2 | |
UKIP | Derek Sargent[9] | 10,371 | 18.3 | +12.9 | |
Liberal Democrat | Paula Dolphin[8] | 7,483 | 13.2 | -27.1 | |
Labour | Mike Sparling | 6,015 | 10.6 | +5.4 | |
Green | Cathrine Simmons[8] | 3,941 | 7.0 | +5.1 | |
Majority | 18,403 | 32.5 | +28.1 | ||
Turnout | 56,786 | 72.2 | +0.8 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
General Election 2010: Torridge and West Devon[10][11][12] | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Conservative | Geoffrey Cox | 25,230 | 45.7 | +3.4 | |
Liberal Democrat | 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 | +1.4 | |
Majority | 2,957 | 5.4 | |||
Turnout | 55,257 | 71.4 | +0.2 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | 0.0 | |||
Elections in the 2000s
General Election 2005: Torridge and West Devon[13] | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Conservative | Geoffrey Cox | 25,013 | 42.7 | +2.7 | |
Liberal Democrat | 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 | |||
Turnout | 58,584 | 70.2 | -0.3 | ||
Conservative gain from Liberal Democrat | Swing | +3.9 | |||
General Election 2001: Torridge and West Devon[14] | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Liberal Democrat | 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 | N/A | |
Majority | 1,194 | 2.2 | |||
Turnout | 55,684 | 70.5 | -7.4 | ||
Liberal Democrat hold | Swing | ||||
Elections in the 1990s
General Election 1997: Torridge and West Devon[15][16] | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Liberal Democrat | John Burnett | 24,744 | 41.84 | ||
Conservative | Ian Liddell-Grainger | 22,787 | 38.53 | ||
Labour | David Brenton | 7,319 | 12.38 | ||
Referendum | Roger Lea | 1,946 | 3.29 | ||
UKIP | Matthew Jackson | 1,841 | 3.11 | ||
Liberal | Michael Pithouse | 508 | 0.86 | ||
Majority | 1,957 | 3.31 | |||
Turnout | 59,148 | 77.91 | |||
Liberal Democrat gain from Conservative | Swing | ||||
General Election 1992: Torridge and West Devon[17][18] | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Conservative | Emma Nicholson | 29,627 | 47.3 | −3.0 | |
Liberal Democrat | 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 | +0.2 | |
Majority | 3,614 | 5.8 | −5.3 | ||
Turnout | 62,676 | 81.5 | +2.8 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | −2.6 | |||
Elections in the 1980s
General Election 1987: Torridge and West Devon[19] | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Conservative | Emma Nicholson | 29,484 | 50.26 | ||
Liberal | John Burnett | 23,016 | 39.24 | ||
Labour | David Brenton | 4,990 | 8.51 | ||
Green | Frank Williamson | 1,168 | 1.99 | ||
Majority | 6,468 | 11.03 | |||
Turnout | 78.68 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
General Election 1983: Torridge and West Devon[20] | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Conservative | Peter Mills | 31,156 | 58.00 | ||
Liberal | V. Howell | 18,805 | 35.00 | ||
Labour | W.A. Tupman | 3,531 | 6.57 | ||
Independent | M.J. Beale | 116 | 0.22 | ||
Wessex Regionalist | Henrietta Rous | 113 | 0.21 | ||
Majority | 12,351 | 22.99 | |||
Turnout | 76.04 | ||||
Conservative win (new seat) | |||||
See also
Notes and references
- 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. 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
- ↑ Unemployment claimants by constituency The Guardian
- ↑ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "D" (part 2)
- ↑ "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.
- 1 2 3 http://electionresults.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/devon-west-torridge-2015.html
- ↑ http://www.dereksargent.com/
- ↑ "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. 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.
- ↑ http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/constit/317.htm
- ↑ "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.