Central Devon is a constituency represented in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

of the

UK Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...

since 2010 by

Mel Stride Melvyn John Stride (born 30 September 1961) is a British politician who has served as Secretary of State for Work and Pensions since October 2022. He previously served in the May Government as Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster G ...

, a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

History

The constituency was created for the 2010 general election, following a review of parliamentary representation in

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

by the

Boundary Commission for England The boundary commissions in the United Kingdom are non-departmental public bodies responsible for determining the boundaries of constituencies for elections to the House of Commons. There are four boundary commissions: * Boundary Commission for ...

, which increased seats in the county from 11 to 12. Central Devon covers parts of the

East Devon East Devon is a local government district in Devon, England. Its council has been based in Honiton since February 2019, and the largest town is Exmouth (with a population of 34,432 at the time of the 2011 census). The district was formed ...

, Mid Devon,

Teignbridge Teignbridge is a local government district in Devon, England. Its council is based in Newton Abbot. Other towns in the district include Ashburton, Buckfastleigh, Dawlish and Teignmouth. It is named for the old Teignbridge hundred. ...

and

West Devon West Devon is a local government district and borough in Devon, England. Towns and villages in the district include Chagford, Okehampton, Princetown and Tavistock, where the council is based. The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the ...

districts. The wards from the last election presented a notional

majority of just over 1,700, making it a

marginal seat A marginal seat or swing seat is a constituency held with a small majority in a legislative election, generally one conducted under a single-winner voting system. In Canada, they may be known as target ridings. The opposite is a safe seat. The ...

at the first election. Despite this,

's majority was 17.1 percentage points and an

absolute majority A supermajority, supra-majority, qualified majority, or special majority is a requirement for a proposal to gain a specified level of support which is greater than the threshold of more than one-half used for a simple majority. Supermajority r ...

.Devon Central
UK Polling report, Retrieved 29 May 2010

Boundaries

The constituency contains

electoral wards The wards and electoral divisions in the United Kingdom are electoral districts at sub-national level, represented by one or more councillors. The ward is the primary unit of English electoral geography for civil parishes and borough and dist ...

from four districts. *From

: Exe Valley; *From Mid Devon: Boniface,

Bradninch Bradninch is a small town and former manor in Devon, England, lying about south of Cullompton. Much of the surrounding farmland belongs to the Duchy of Cornwall. There is an electoral ward with the same name. At the 2011 Census the ward pop ...

, Cadbury, Lawrence, Newbrooke, Sandford and Creedy, Silverton, Taw, Taw Vale, Upper Yeo, Way, Yeo; *From

: Ashburton and Buckfastleigh, Bovey Tracey, Chudleigh, Haytor, Kenn Valley, Moorland, Teignbridge North, Teign Valley; *From

: Chagford, Drewsteignton, Exbourne, Hatherleigh, Lew Valley, North Tawton, Okehampton East, Okehampton West, South Tawton.

Members of Parliament

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

Notes

References

External links

nomis Constituency Profile for Central Devon
– presenting data from the ONS annual population survey and other official statistics.
Central Devon Conservatives

Central Devon Liberal Democrats

Central Devon Labour Party
{{Coord , 50.7, -3.9, dim:40000_region:GB-DEV, display=title Parliamentary constituencies in Devon Parliamentary constituencies in South West England Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 2010