North Devon (UK Parliament constituency)

North Devon is a constituency^{[n 1]} represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2019 by Selaine Saxby of the Conservative Party.^{[n 2]}

North Devon
County constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of North Devon in Devon
Location of Devon within England
County	Devon
Electorate	75,098 (December 2010)^[1]
Major settlements	Barnstaple and Ilfracombe
Current constituency
Created	1950
Member of Parliament	Selaine Saxby (Conservative)
Seats	One
Created from	Barnstaple and South Molton
1832–1885
Seats	Two
Type of constituency	County constituency
Created from	Devon
Replaced by	South Molton Barnstaple Tiverton Honiton

Boundaries

 

Map of current boundaries

1832–1868: The Hundreds of Bampton, Black Torrington, Braunton, Crediton, Fremington, Halberton, Hartland, Hayridge, Hemyock, North Tawton and Winkleigh, Shebbear, Sherwill, South Molton, Tiverton, Witheridge, and West Budleigh.^[2]

1868–1885: The Hundreds of Bampton, Braunton, Crediton, Fremington, Halberton, Hartland, Hayridge, Hemyock, North Tawton, Shebbear, Sherwill, South Molton, Tiverton, Winkleigh, Witheridge, and West Budleigh.^[3]

1950–1974: The Boroughs of Barnstaple and South Molton, the Urban Districts of Ilfracombe and Lynton, and the Rural Districts of Barnstaple and South Molton.

1974–1983: The Boroughs of Barnstaple and Bideford, the Urban Districts of Ilfracombe, Lynton, and Northam, and the Rural Districts of Barnstaple, Bideford, and South Molton.

1983–2010: The District of North Devon, and the District of Mid Devon wards of Taw, Taw Vale, and West Creedy.

2010–present: The District of North Devon.

Proposed

Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, enacted by the Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023, the composition of the constituency from the next general election, due by January 2025, will be unchanged.^[4]

History

 

 

Context: 1832-1868. Extract from 1837 result: the main striped area at centre

A two-seat constituency of the same name existed from 1832 to 1885, formally titled the 'Northern Division of Devon'.

This began at the 1832 general election, when the Reform Act 1832 divided the former two-seat Devon into Northern and Southern divisions, each of which elected two MPs using the bloc vote system of election. The constituency was abolished for the 1885 general election, when the Redistribution of Seats Act split the county into smaller single-seat divisions. Its second creation is current, and began at the 1950 general election (covering a smaller area than before). Prior to 1950, its territory was split between the old constituencies of Barnstaple and South Molton.

In the 20th century this area had a prominent national MP, Jeremy Thorpe, who led a Liberal Party revival countrywide, with particular strength in the south-west. The Liberal Democrats and its predecessor the Liberal Party have, since the Second World War, performed strongly in this seat; it was held for twenty years by Thorpe as the Liberal leader. He lost it in the 1979 general election, amid a scandal as a married man in love with Norman Scott and Thorpe's alleged involvement in a plot to murder him, of which he was found not guilty the same year. At the 1992 general election Liberal Democrat Nick Harvey regained the seat from the Conservatives. He lost the seat 23 years later.

Members of Parliament

MPs 1832–1885

Election	1st Member^[5]		1st Party	2nd Member^[5]		2nd Party
1832		Viscount Ebrington	Whig^[6]^[7]		Hon. Newton Fellowes	Whig^[6]^[8]
1837					Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, Bt	Conservative^[6]
1839 by-election		Lewis William Buck	Conservative^[6]
1857		James Wentworth Buller	Whig^[6]^[9]		Charles Trefusis	Conservative
1859			Liberal
1865 by-election		Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, Bt	Liberal
1866 by-election					Sir Stafford Northcote, Bt	Conservative
1885 by-election					John Moore-Stevens	Conservative
1885	constituency abolished by Redistribution of Seats Act

MPs since 1950

The Member of Parliament for the constituency is Selaine Saxby who succeeded the previous conservative MP Peter Heaton-Jones at the 2019 UK General Election.

Election		Member^[5]	Party
	1950	Christopher Peto	Conservative
	1955	James Lindsay	Conservative
	1959	Jeremy Thorpe	Liberal
	1979	Tony Speller	Conservative
	1992	Nick Harvey	Liberal Democrats
	2015	Peter Heaton-Jones	Conservative
	2019	Selaine Saxby	Conservative

Elections

 

North Devon historical election results

Elections in the 2020s

Next general election: North Devon

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Selaine Saxby^[10]
	Liberal Democrats	Ian Roome^[11]
	Reform UK	Nigel James^[12]
Majority
Turnout

Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: North Devon^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Selaine Saxby	31,479	56.5	+10.7
	Liberal Democrats	Alex White	16,666	29.9	−8.1
	Labour	Finola O'Neill	5,097	9.1	−3.6
	Green	Robbie Mack	1,759	3.2	+1.8
	Independent	Steve Cotten	580	1.0	New
Majority			14,813	26.6	+18.8
Turnout			55,581	73.3	+0.1
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 2017: North Devon^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Peter Heaton-Jones	25,517	45.8	+3.1
	Liberal Democrats	Nick Harvey	21,185	38.0	+8.6
	Labour	Mark Cann	7,063	12.7	+5.6
	UKIP	Steve Crowther	1,187	2.1	−12.7
	Green	Ricky Knight	753	1.4	−4.4
Majority			4,332	7.8	−5.5
Turnout			55,705	73.2	+3.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	−2.7

See also: Opinion polling in United Kingdom constituencies, 2010–15 § North Devon

General election 2015: North Devon^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Peter Heaton-Jones^[16]	22,341	42.7	+6.7
	Liberal Democrats	Nick Harvey^[17]	15,405	29.4	−18.0
	UKIP	Steve Crowther^[18]	7,719	14.8	+7.6
	Labour	Mark Cann^[16]	3,699	7.1	+1.9
	Green	Ricky Knight^[16]	3,018	5.8	+4.4
	Communist	Gerry Sables	138	0.3	+0.1
Majority			6,936	13.3	+1.9
Turnout			52,453	70.2	+1.3
	Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing	+12.3

General election 2010: North Devon^[19][20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Nick Harvey	24,305	47.4	+0.9
	Conservative	Philip Milton	18,484	36.0	+0.3
	UKIP	Steve Crowther	3,720	7.2	+2.0
	Labour	Mark Cann	2,671	5.2	−3.7
	Green	L'Anne Knight	697	1.4	−2.3
	BNP	Gary Marshall	614	1.2	New
	Independent	Rodney Cann	588	1.1	New
	English Democrat	Nigel Vidler	146	0.3	New
	Communist	Gerry Sables	96	0.2	New
Majority			5,821	11.4	+1.8
Turnout			51,321	68.9	+0.6
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	+0.6

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: North Devon^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Nick Harvey	23,840	45.9	+1.7
	Conservative	Orlando Fraser	18,868	36.3	−1.9
	Labour	Mark Cann	4,656	9.0	−1.1
	UKIP	John Browne	2,740	5.3	+0.3
	Green	Ricky Knight	1,826	3.5	+1.1
Majority			4,972	9.6	+3.6
Turnout			51,930	68.1	−0.2
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	+1.8

General election 2001: North Devon^[22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Nick Harvey	21,784	44.2	−6.6
	Conservative	Clive E.J. Allen	18,800	38.2	−1.3
	Labour	Vivian G. Gale	4,995	10.1	+0.3
	UKIP	Roger Knapman	2,484	5.0	New
	Green	Anthony J. Bown	1,191	2.4	New
Majority			2,984	6.0	−5.3
Turnout			49,254	68.3	−9.4
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	−5.8^[n 3]

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: North Devon^[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Nick Harvey	27,824	50.8	+3.7
	Conservative	Richard Ashworth	21,643	39.5	−6.2
	Labour	Eithne "Annie" Brenton	5,347	9.8	+3.9
Majority			6,181	11.3	+9.9
Turnout			54,814	77.7	−6.7
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	+5.0

General election 1992: North Devon^[24][25]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Nick Harvey	27,414	47.1	+4.3
	Conservative	Tony Speller	26,620	45.7	−5.2
	Labour	Paul Donner	3,410	5.9	−0.4
	Green	Cathrine Simmons	658	1.1	New
	Natural Law	Gray Treadwell	107	0.2	New
Majority			794	1.4	N/A
Turnout			58,209	84.4	+2.7
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing	+4.7

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1987: North Devon^[26]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Tony Speller	28,071	50.9	−4.2
	Liberal	Michael Pinney	23,602	42.8	+4.9
	Labour	Ann Marjoram	3,467	6.3	+0.6
Majority			4,469	8.1	−9.1
Turnout			55,140	81.7	+1.6
	Conservative hold		Swing	−4.6

General election 1983: North Devon^[27]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Tony Speller	28,066	55.1	+4.7
	Liberal	Roger Blackmore	19,339	37.9	+1.5
	Labour	Peter James	2,893	5.7	−5.6
	Ecology	Roger Joanes	669	1.3	-0.1
Majority			8,727	17.2	+3.2
Turnout			50,967	80.1	−1.6
	Conservative hold		Swing	+1.6

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1979: North Devon

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Tony Speller	31,811	50.1	+13.5
	Liberal	Jeremy Thorpe	23,338	36.7	−11.4
	Labour	Antony John Saltern	7,108	11.2	−3.0
	Ecology	Tony Whittaker	729	1.2	New
	National Front	John Morley Price	237	0.4	New
	English National	Frank Hansford-Miller	142	0.2	−0.8
	Dog Lover's Party	Auberon Waugh	79	0.1	New
	Wessex Regionalist	Henrietta Elizabeth Rous	50	0.1	New
	Democratic Monarchist Public Safety White Resident	Bill Boaks	20	0.0	New
Majority			8,473	13.4	N/A
Turnout			63,514	81.71	+7.13
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+12.45

General election October 1974: North Devon

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Jeremy Thorpe	28,209	48.1	−5.8
	Conservative	Tony Speller	21,488	36.6	+0.2
	Labour	Alexandra Jessie Golant	8,536	14.2	+4.5
	English National	Frank Hansford-Miller	568	1.0	New
Majority			6,721	11.5	−6.0
Turnout			58,621	74.58	−11.9
	Liberal hold		Swing	−3.0

General election February 1974: North Devon

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Jeremy Thorpe	34,052	53.9	+9.8
	Conservative	Timothy Carleton Keigwin	22,980	36.4	−5.8
	Labour	Terence Kendrick Marston	6,140	9.7	−2.6
Majority			11,072	17.5	+16.6
Turnout			63,172	86.49	+1.6
	Liberal hold		Swing	+7.8

General election 1970: North Devon

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Jeremy Thorpe	18,893	44.1	+0.5
	Conservative	Timothy Carleton Keigwin	18,524	43.2	+2.7
	Labour	Chris Mullin	5,268	12.3	−3.6
	Democratic Party	Barry Gray Morris	175	0.4	New
Majority			369	0.9	−2.2
Turnout			42,860	84.9	−0.4
	Liberal hold		Swing	+1.1

Elections in the 1960s

General election 1966: North Devon

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Jeremy Thorpe	16,797	43.6	−7.1
	Conservative	Timothy Carleton Keigwin	15,631	40.5	+3.5
	Labour	James H. Rayner	6,127	15.9	+3.6
Majority			1,166	3.1	−10.6
Turnout			38,555	85.3	+1.0
	Liberal hold		Swing	+5.3

General election 1964: North Devon

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Jeremy Thorpe	19,031	50.71	+7.77
	Conservative	Basil Peto	13,895	37.02	-4.94
	Labour	Frank Paton	4,603	12.27	-2.83
Majority			5,136	13.69	+12.71
Turnout			37,529	84.32	-0.46
	Liberal hold		Swing	+6.35

Elections in the 1950s

General election 1959: North Devon

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Jeremy Thorpe	15,831	42.94	+10.49
	Conservative	James Lindsay	15,469	41.96	-5.17
	Labour	Geoffrey W. Pitt	5,567	15.10	-5.32
Majority			362	0.98	N/A
Turnout			36,867	84.78	+3.67
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+7.88

General election 1955: North Devon^[28]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	James Lindsay	16,784	47.13	-5.18
	Liberal	Jeremy Thorpe	11,558	32.45	+13.04
	Labour	Harold Heslop	7,272	20.42	-7.65
Majority			5,226	14.68	-9.56
Turnout			35,614	81.11	00.00
	Conservative hold		Swing	+9.11

General election 1951: North Devon

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Christopher Peto	19,780	52.41	+6.08
	Labour	William H. Wilkey	10,632	28.17	+4.93
	Liberal	G. Alexander Halse	7,326	19.41	-11.02
Majority			9,148	24.24	+8.34
Turnout			35,614	81.11	-4.58
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.51

General election 1950: North Devon

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Christopher Peto	17,724	46.33
	Liberal	Guy Naylor	11,640	30.43
	Labour	W.A. Barker	8,892	23.24
Majority			6,084	15.90
Turnout			38,256	85.69
	Conservative win (new seat)

Elections in the 1880s

By-election, 2 Jul 1885: North Devon (1 seat)^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Moore-Stevens^[30]	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

• Caused by Northcote's appointment as First Lord of the Treasury and elevation to the peerage, becoming Earl of Iddesleigh.

General election 1880: North Devon (2 seats)^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Thomas Dyke Acland	Unopposed
	Conservative	Stafford Northcote	Unopposed
Registered electors			9,496
	Liberal hold
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1870s

By-election, 18 Mar 1874: North Devon (1 seat)^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Stafford Northcote	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

• Caused by Northcote's appointment as Chancellor of the Exchequer.

General election 1874: North Devon (2 seats)^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Thomas Dyke Acland	Unopposed
	Conservative	Stafford Northcote	Unopposed
Registered electors			9,829
	Liberal hold
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1860s

General election 1868: North Devon (2 seats)^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Stafford Northcote	3,967	34.8	N/A
	Liberal	Thomas Dyke Acland	3,898	34.2	N/A
	Conservative	John Walrond	3,520	30.9	N/A
Turnout			7,642 (est)	82.5 (est)	N/A
Registered electors			9,260
Majority			69	0.6	N/A
	Conservative hold
Majority			378	3.3	N/A
	Liberal hold

By-election, 18 March 1867: North Devon^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Stafford Northcote	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

• Caused by Northcote's appointment as Secretary of State for India

By-election, 14 July 1866: North Devon^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Stafford Northcote	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

• Caused by Northcote's appointment as President of the Board of Trade

By-election, 9 May 1866: North Devon^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Stafford Northcote	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

• Caused by Trefusis' elevation to the peerage, becoming Lord Clinton.

General election 1865: North Devon^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Thomas Dyke Acland	Unopposed
	Conservative	Charles Trefusis	Unopposed
Registered electors			8,746
	Liberal hold
	Conservative hold

By-election, 1 April 1865: North Devon^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Thomas Dyke Acland	Unopposed
	Liberal hold

• Caused by Buller's death.

Elections in the 1850s

General election 1859: North Devon^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	James Wentworth Buller	Unopposed
	Conservative	Charles Trefusis	Unopposed
Registered electors			8,764
	Liberal hold
	Conservative hold

General election 1857: North Devon^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	James Wentworth Buller	3,652	45.2	New
	Conservative	Charles Trefusis	2,322	28.7	N/A
	Conservative	Stafford Northcote	2,105	26.1	N/A
Majority			1,547	19.1	N/A
Turnout			5,866 (est)	80.7 (est)	N/A
Registered electors			7,264
	Whig gain from Conservative		Swing	N/A
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

General election 1852: North Devon^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Lewis William Buck	Unopposed
	Conservative	Thomas Dyke Acland	Unopposed
Registered electors			8,064
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1840s

General election 1847: North Devon^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Lewis William Buck	Unopposed
	Conservative	Thomas Dyke Acland	Unopposed
Registered electors			8,597
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

General election 1841: North Devon^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Lewis William Buck	Unopposed
	Conservative	Thomas Dyke Acland	Unopposed
Registered electors			8,869
	Conservative hold
	Conservative gain from Whig

Elections in the 1830s

By-election, 18 March 1839: North Devon^[29][6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Lewis William Buck	3,720	53.4
	Whig	James Wentworth Buller	3,240	46.6
Majority			480	6.8
Turnout			6,960	88.4
Registered electors			7,871
	Conservative gain from Whig

• Caused by Fortescue's succession to the peerage as 2nd Earl Fortescue

General election 1837: North Devon^[29][6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	Hugh Fortescue	Unopposed
	Conservative	Thomas Dyke Acland	Unopposed
Registered electors			7,757
	Whig hold
	Conservative gain from Whig

General election 1835: North Devon^[29][6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	Hugh Fortescue	Unopposed
	Whig	Newton Fellowes	Unopposed
Registered electors			6,236
	Whig hold
	Whig hold

General election 1832: North Devon^[29][6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	Hugh Fortescue	Unopposed
	Whig	Newton Fellowes	Unopposed
Registered electors			5,368
	Whig win (new seat)
	Whig win (new seat)

See also

• List of parliamentary constituencies in Devon

Notes

1. A county constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
2. 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.
3. This was in 2001 the largest two-party swing locally, (LD-UKIP)

References

1. . 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. Archived from the original on 6 November 2010. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
2. "The statutes of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. 2 & 3 William IV. Cap. LXIV. An Act to settle and describe the Divisions of Counties, and the Limits of Cities and Boroughs, in England and Wales, in so far as respects the Election of Members to serve in Parliament". London: His Majesty's statute and law printers. 1832. pp. 300–383. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
3. "Representation of the People Act 1867" (PDF). London. 1867. pp. 1165–1198. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
4. "The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023". Schedule 1 Part 7 South West region.
6. Stooks Smith, Henry. (1973) [1844-1850]. Craig, F. W. S. (ed.). The Parliaments of England (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. pp. 62, 70. ISBN 0-900178-13-2.
7. Churton, Edward (1838). The Assembled Commons or Parliamentary Biographer: 1838. p. 80. Retrieved 5 April 2019 – via Google Books.
8. Churton, Edward (1836). The Assembled Commons or Parliamentary Biographer: 1836. pp. 68–69. Retrieved 5 April 2019 – via Google Books.
9. Beckett, Ian F. W. (3 January 2008) [2004]. "Buller, Sir Redvers Henry (1839–1908)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/32165. Retrieved 31 July 2018. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
10. Selaine Saxby [@SelaineSaxby] (18 February 2023). "I am delighted to have been readopted to be the parliamentary candidate, for the next General Election (when we get there) to represent lovely #NDevon" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
11. "Liberal Democrat Prospective Parliamentary Candidates". Mark Pack. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
12. "North Devon Constituency". Reform UK. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
13. "Parliamentary election 12 December 2019". www.northdevon.gov.uk. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
14. "Parliamentary election 8 June 2017". North Devon Council. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
15. . Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
16. "Ricky is Green's 2015 candidate". North Devon Journal. 20 March 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
17. "UK ELECTION RESULTS". electionresults.blogspot.co.uk.
18. . North Devon Journal. 2 January 2014. Archived from the original on 15 March 2014. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
19. . Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
20. Pratt, D J (20 April 2010). "Statement of Persons Nominated and Notice of Poll" (MS Word). Acting Returning Officer, North Devon Council. Retrieved 21 April 2010.
21. . Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
22. . Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
23. . Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
24. . Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
25. . Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
26. . Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
27. . Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
28. The Times' Guide to the House of Commons. 1955.
29. Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. pp. 376–377. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.
30. "North Devon Election". Exeter and Plymouth Gazette. 30 June 1885. p. 1. Retrieved 19 December 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.

Sources

• The Times House of Commons 1945. 1945.
• The Times House of Commons 1950. 1950.
• The Times House of Commons 1955. 1955.