Tiverton and Honiton (UK Parliament constituency)

Tiverton and Honiton is a constituency^{[n 1]} in Devon, England. The current MP is Richard Foord of the Liberal Democrats, elected at a by-election on 23 June 2022.

Tiverton and Honiton
County constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Tiverton and Honiton in Devon
Location of Devon within England
County	Devon
Electorate	75,839 (December 2010)^[1]
Major settlements	Tiverton, Honiton, Axminster, Seaton and Cullompton
Current constituency
Created	1997
Member of Parliament	Richard Foord (Liberal Democrat)
Seats	One
Created from	Tiverton, Honiton

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 after he was caught watching pornography in the House of Commons chamber (Parish himself admitted to doing so on two separate occasions).^[2]

Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the seat will be abolished, with the majority, including the towns of Axminster, Cullompton, Honiton and Seaton, being included in the new constituency of Honiton and Sidmouth, to be first contested at the next general election. The town of Tiverton and surrounding rural areas will be included in the newly created cross-county boundary seat of Tiverton and Minehead.^[3]

Constituency profile

This is a mostly rural constituency covering a broad sweep between Exmoor to the north and Lyme Bay to the south, including the towns of Tiverton and Honiton and their surrounding villages (which include extensive farmland, rivers popular with kayakers and part of the Blackdown Hills). Some residents commute to Exeter.^[4] Residents' wealth is around average for the UK.^[5]

Boundaries

 

Map of current 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's Fifth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies 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 constituency; however, parts of the East Devon constituency, including the towns of Axminster and Seaton, were gained in return.

History

The seat came about when the town of Honiton from the Honiton 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.

Prominent holders of the seats in the 19th century included Whig politician Joseph Locke, a railway pioneer, who was MP for Honiton, and Lord Palmerston, who, while MP for Tiverton, served as the first Prime Minister from the newly formed Liberal Party (1855–1858 and 1859–1865).

The area served by the constituency had not been represented by a party other than the Conservative Party in Westminster since 1923. Following the 2022 Tiverton and Honiton by-election, the Liberal Democrats gained the seat from the Conservatives.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member^[6]	Party
	1997	Angela Browning	Conservative
	2010	Neil Parish	Conservative
	2022		Independent
	2022 by-election	Richard Foord	Liberal Democrats

Elections

Results over time by percentage

Results over time by number of votes

Elections in the 2020s

2022 Tiverton and Honiton by-election^[7][8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Richard Foord	22,537	52.9	+38.1
	Conservative	Helen Hurford	16,393	38.5	−21.7
	Labour	Liz Pole	1,562	3.7	−15.8
	Green	Gill Westcott	1,064	2.5	−1.3
	Reform UK	Andy Foan	481	1.1	New
	UKIP	Ben Walker	241	0.6	−1.0
	Heritage	Jordan Donoghue-Morgan	167	0.4	New
	For Britain	Frankie Rufolo	146	0.3	New
Majority			6,144	14.4	N/A
Turnout			42,593	52.3	−19.6
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing	+29.9

Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: Tiverton and Honiton^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Neil Parish	35,893	60.2	―1.2
	Labour	Liz Pole	11,654	19.5	―7.6
	Liberal Democrats	John Timperley	8,807	14.8	+6.8
	Green	Colin Reed	2,291	3.8	+0.3
	UKIP	Margaret Dennis	968	1.6	New
Majority			24,239	40.7	+6.4
Turnout			59,613	71.9	+0.4
	Conservative hold		Swing	+3.3

General election 2017: Tiverton and Honiton^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Neil Parish	35,471	61.4	+7.4
	Labour	Caroline Kolek	15,670	27.1	+14.4
	Liberal Democrats	Matthew Wilson	4,639	8.0	―2.5
	Green	Gill Westcott	2,035	3.5	―2.9
Majority			19,801	34.3	―3.2
Turnout			57,815	71.5	+1.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	―3.5

General election 2015: Tiverton and Honiton^[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Neil Parish	29,030	54.0	+3.7
	UKIP	Graham Smith	8,857	16.5	+10.5
	Labour	Caroline Kolek	6,835	12.7	+3.8
	Liberal Democrats	Stephen Kearney	5,626	10.5	―22.8
	Green	Paul Edwards	3,415	6.4	+4.9
Majority			20,173	37.5	+20.5
Turnout			53,763	70.5	―1.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	―3.4

General election 2010: Tiverton and Honiton^[12][13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Neil Parish	27,614	50.3	+3.6
	Liberal Democrats	Jon Underwood	18,294	33.3	+4.2
	Labour	Vernon Whitlock	4,907	8.9	―4.4
	UKIP	Daryl Stanbury	3,277	6.0	+1.2
	Green	Cathy Connor	802	1.5	―1.3
Majority			9,320	17.0	+0.6
Turnout			54,894	71.5	+1.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	―0.3

Elections prior to the 2010s

General election 2005: Tiverton and Honiton^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Angela Browning	27,838	47.9	+0.8
	Liberal Democrats	David Nation	16,787	28.9	―6.9
	Labour	Fiona Bentley	7,944	13.7	+1.8
	UKIP	Bob Edwards	2,499	4.3	+2.0
	Liberal	Roy Collins	1,701	2.9	+1.8
	Green	Colin Matthews	1,399	2.4	+0.6
Majority			11,051	19.0	+7.7
Turnout			58,168	69.8	+0.6
	Conservative hold		Swing	+3.8

General election 2001: Tiverton and Honiton^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Angela Browning	26,258	47.1	+5.8
	Liberal Democrats	James Barnard	19,974	35.8	―2.7
	Labour	Isabel Owen	6,647	11.9	―0.9
	UKIP	Alan Langmaid	1,281	2.3	New
	Green	Matthew Burgess	1,030	1.8	+1.0
	Liberal	Jennifer Roach	594	1.1	0.0
Majority			6,284	11.3	+8.5
Turnout			55,784	69.2	―8.4
	Conservative hold		Swing	+4.2

General election 1997: Tiverton and Honiton^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Angela Browning	24,438	41.3
	Liberal Democrats	James Barnard	22,785	38.5
	Labour	John King	7,598	12.8
	Referendum	Stephen Lowings	2,952	5.0
	Liberal	Jennifer Roach	635	1.1
	Green	Emily McIvor	485	0.8
	National Democrats	Del Charles	236	0.4
Majority			1,653	2.8
Turnout			59,129	77.6
	Conservative 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)

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. Ambrose, Tom (30 April 2022). "Tory Neil Parish to resign as MP after porn 'moment of madness'". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
3. "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.
4. UK Polling Report http://ukpollingreport.co.uk/2015guide/tivertonandhoniton/
5. Electoral Calculus https://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/fcgi-bin/seatdetails.py?seat=Tiverton+and+Honiton
7. "The results". Mid Devon District Council. June 2022. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
8. "Tiverton and Honiton turnout 52%". Sky News. 24 June 2022. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
9. "Statement of Persons Nominated" (PDF).
10. . Devon Live. 11 May 2017. Archived from the original on 11 May 2017.
11. . Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
12. . Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
13. Finan, Kevin (20 April 2010). "Statement of Persons Nominated - Tiverton & Honiton" (MS Word). Acting Returning Officer, Mid Devon District Council. Retrieved 21 April 2010.
14. . Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
15. . Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
16. . Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

Sources

• David Boothroyd. "Constituencies in the unreformed House". Constituency enfranchisement dates. Retrieved 6 August 2005.

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