Torridge and West Devon (UK Parliament constituency)

Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1983–2024

Torridge and West Devon
Former 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)
Major settlements	Bideford, Great Torrington, Holsworthy, Tavistock and Clovelly
1983–2024
Seats	One
Created from	Devon West and Devon North
Replaced by	Torridge and Tavistock

Torridge and West Devon was a constituency in Devon represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament.

Under the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the constituency was abolished. Subject to minor boundary changes, it was reformed as Torridge and Tavistock, which was first contested at the 2024 general election.

Boundaries

Map of boundaries 2010–2024

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.

2010–2024: 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.

The constituency area contained 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.

Members of Parliament

	Member	Party
1983	Peter Mills	Conservative
1987	Emma Nicholson	Conservative
1995	Emma Nicholson	Liberal Democrat
1997	John Burnett	Liberal Democrat
2005	Geoffrey Cox	Conservative

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: Torridge and West Devon
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

General election 2017: Torridge and West Devon
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Geoffrey Cox	33,612	56.5	+5.6
	Labour Co-op	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

General election 2015: Torridge and West Devon
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

General election 2010: Torridge and West Devon
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

General election 2005: Torridge and West Devon
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

General election 2001: Torridge and West Devon
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

General election 1997: Torridge and West Devon
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

General election 1992: Torridge and West Devon
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

General election 1987: Torridge and West Devon
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	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

General election 1983: Torridge and West Devon
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)

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.
"The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume one: Report – South West | Boundary Commission for England". boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
"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. 20 April 2010. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
"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 20 September 2011. 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 6 December 2010.
"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.

External links

Torridge and West Devon UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 1997 – April 2010) at MapIt UK
Torridge and West Devon UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at MapIt UK

v t e Constituencies in South West England (58)
Labour (24)	Bournemouth East Bournemouth West Bristol East Bristol North East Bristol North West Bristol South Camborne and Redruth Exeter Filton and Bradley Stoke Forest of Dean Gloucester North East Somerset and Hanham North Somerset Plymouth Moor View Plymouth Sutton and Devonport Poole South Dorset South East Cornwall St Austell and Newquay Stroud Swindon North Swindon South Truro and Falmouth Weston-super-Mare
Liberal Democrats (22)	Bath Cheltenham Chippenham Frome and East Somerset Glastonbury and Somerton Honiton and Sidmouth Melksham and Devizes Mid Dorset and North Poole Newton Abbot North Cornwall North Devon South Cotswolds South Devon St Ives Taunton and Wellington Tewkesbury Thornbury and Yate Tiverton and Minehead Torbay Wells and Mendip Hills West Dorset Yeovil
Conservative (11)	Bridgwater Central Devon Christchurch East Wiltshire Exmouth and Exeter East North Cotswolds North Dorset Salisbury South West Devon South West Wiltshire Torridge and Tavistock
Green (1)	Bristol Central

50°42′54″N 4°15′47″W / 50.715°N 4.263°W / 50.715; -4.263

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