Torridge and West Devon (UK Parliament constituency)

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)
Current constituency
Created	1983 (1983)
Member of Parliament	Geoffrey Cox (Conservative)
Number of members	One
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency	South West England

Torridge and West Devon is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

It returns one Member of Parliament (MP), elected by the first-past-the-post voting system.

Boundaries

Prior to the 2010 general election, the constituency covered the entirety of the two districts from which it takes its name, Torridge and West Devon (apart from one West Devon ward). However, following a review of parliamentary representation in Devon by the Boundary Commission for England, which has increased the number of seats in the county from 11 to 12, the town of Okehampton and the area surrounding it have been transferred to the new Central Devon seat.

The main towns within the constituency are now Bideford, Great Torrington, Holsworthy and Tavistock; the constituency also includes the island of Lundy.

Proposed changes

As part of the Sixth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies which commenced in 2011, the Boundary Commission for England propose creating a cross-border Cornwall/Devon seat which would take over half the current electorate of Torridge and West Devon. The proposed "Bideford and Bude" would join Bideford, Torrington, and Hartland with Tintagel, Bude and Launceston.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	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 2010: Torridge and West Devon
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
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
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
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 Party	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

General Election 1992: Torridge and West Devon
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Emma Nicholson	29,627	47.3	−3.0
	Liberal Democrat	DI McBride	26,013	41.5	+2.3
	Labour	DG Brenton	5,997	9.6	+1.1
	Green	F Williamson	898	1.4	−0.6
	Natural Law	DH 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

See also

• List of Parliamentary constituencies in Devon