Tiverton and Honiton is a

constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger State (polity), state (a country, administrative region, ...

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. Devon is ...

, England. The current MP is

Richard Foord Richard John Foord (; born 13 February 1978) is a British politician and former British Army officer who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Tiverton and Honiton in Devon since 2022. A member of the Liberal Democrats, he won the seat ...

of the Liberal Democrats, elected at a by-election on 23 June 2022. Prior to the by-election, the constituency had always returned a Conservative MP since its creation in 1997. The by-election was held following the resignation of

Neil Parish Neil Quentin Gordon Parish (born 26 May 1956) is a British farmer and former politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Tiverton and Honiton from 2010 until his resignation in 2022. A member of the Conservative Party, he was previo ...

after he was caught watching pornography in the House of Commons chamber (Parish himself admitted to doing so on two separate occasions).

Constituency profile

This is a mostly rural constituency covering a broad sweep between Exmoor to the north and

Lyme Bay Lyme Bay is an area of the English Channel off the south coast of England. The south western counties of Devon and Dorset front onto the bay. The exact definitions of the bay vary. The eastern boundary is usually taken to be Portland Bill on the ...

to the south, including the towns of Tiverton and

Honiton Honiton ( or ) is a market town and civil parish in East Devon, situated close to the River Otter, north east of Exeter in the county of Devon. Honiton has a population estimated at 11,822 (based on mid-year estimates for the two Honiton Ward ...

and their surrounding villages (which include extensive farmland, rivers popular with

kayak A kayak is a small, narrow watercraft which is typically propelled by means of a double-bladed paddle. The word kayak originates from the Greenlandic word ''qajaq'' (). The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each se ...

ers and part of the

Blackdown Hills The Blackdown Hills are a range of hills along the Somerset-Devon border in south-western England, which were designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in 1991. The plateau is dominated by hard chert bands of Upper Greensand wit ...

). Some residents commute to Exeter. Residents' wealth is around average for the UK.Electoral Calculus https://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/fcgi-bin/seatdetails.py?seat=Tiverton+and+Honiton

Boundaries

1997–2010: The District of Mid Devon except the wards of Taw, Taw Vale, and West Creedy, and the District of East Devon wards of Broadclyst, Clystbeare, Clyst Valley, Exe Valley, Honiton St Michael's, Honiton St Paul's, Otterhead, Ottery St Mary Rural, Ottery St Mary Town, Patteson, and Tale Vale. 2010–present: The District of Mid Devon wards of Canonsleigh, Castle, Clare and Shuttern, Cranmore, Cullompton North, Cullompton Outer, Cullompton South, Halberton, Lower Culm, Lowman, Upper Culm, and Westexe, and the District of East Devon wards of Axminster Rural, Axminster Town, Beer and Branscombe, Coly Valley, Dunkeswell, Feniton and Buckerell, Honiton St Michael's, Honiton St Paul's, Newbridges, Otterhead, Seaton, Tale Vale, Trinity, and Yarty.

Boundary changes for 2010

Parliament accepted the

Boundary Commission A boundary commission is a legal entity that determines borders of nations, states, constituencies. Notable boundary commissions have included: * Afghan Boundary Commission, an Anglo-Russian Boundary Commission, of 1885 and 1893, delineated the no ...

Fifth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies The Fifth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies was undertaken between 2000 and 2007 by the four boundary commissions for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland for the UK Parliament. The changes for England, Wales and Northern Ir ...

which slightly altered this constituency for the 2010 general election, and gave Devon 12 seats instead of 11. Some wards of Mid Devon District in this seat were transferred to the new

Central Devon Central Devon is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Mel Stride, a Conservative. History The constituency was created for the 2010 general election, following a review of parliamentary repr ...

constituency; however, parts of the

East Devon East Devon is a Non-metropolitan district, 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). ...

constituency, including the towns of

Axminster Axminster is a market town and civil parish on the eastern border of the county of Devon in England. It is from the county town of Exeter. The town is built on a hill overlooking the River Axe which heads towards the English Channel at Ax ...

and Seaton, were gained in return.

History

The seat came about when the town of Honiton from the

constituency was added to the Tiverton constituency in 1997. Both were long-established seats, with the former having existed from 1640 and the latter from 1615. Both elected two Members of Parliament until the 1884 Reform Act reduced the number for both to one and their area was widened to cover two divisions of the county under the

Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 (48 & 49 Vict., c. 23) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was a piece of electoral reform legislation that redistributed the seats in the House of Commons, introducing the concept of equal ...

. Prominent holders of the seats in the 19th century included Whig politician

Joseph Locke Joseph Locke FRSA (9 August 1805 – 18 September 1860) was a notable English civil engineer of the nineteenth century, particularly associated with railway projects. Locke ranked alongside Robert Stephenson and Isambard Kingdom Brunel as on ...

, a railway pioneer, who was MP for Honiton, and

Lord Palmerston Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, (20 October 1784 – 18 October 1865) was a British statesman who was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century. Palmerston dominated British foreign policy during the period ...

, who, while MP for Tiverton, served as the first Prime Minister from the newly formed

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

(1855–1858 and 1859–1865). The area served by the constituency had not been represented by a party other than the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

in Westminster since 1923. Following the

2022 Tiverton and Honiton by-election A by-election for the United Kingdom parliamentary constituency of Tiverton and Honiton was held on 23 June 2022. The vacancy was caused by the resignation on 4 May 2022 of the incumbent Member of Parliament (MP), Neil Parish of the Conservati ...

, the Liberal Democrats gained the seat from the Conservatives.

Members of Parliament

Elections

Elections in the 2020s

Elections in the 2010s

Elections prior to the 2010s

Notes

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tiverton And Honiton (Uk Parliament Constituency) Parliamentary constituencies in Devon Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1997 Tiverton, Devon