Central Devon is a

constituency An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

represented in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, 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 ...

of the

UK Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of ...

since

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

Mel Stride Sir Melvyn John Stride (born 30 September 1961) is a British politician who has served as Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer in Kemi Badenoch's Shadow Cabinet since November 2024. A member of the Conservative Party, he has been the Member of ...

of the Conservative Party.

History

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

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

by the

Boundary Commission for England In the United Kingdom, the boundary commissions are non-departmental public bodies responsible for determining the boundaries of parliamentary constituencies for elections to the House of Commons. There are four boundary commissions: one each f ...

, 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 is based in the town of Honiton, although Exmouth is the largest town. The district also contains the towns of Axminster, Budleigh Salterton, Cranbrook, Ottery St M ...

Mid Devon Mid Devon is a local government district in Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, t ...

Teignbridge Teignbridge is a local government district in Devon, England. Its council is based in the town of Newton Abbot. The district also includes the towns of Ashburton, Buckfastleigh, Dawlish, Kingsteignton and Teignmouth, along with numerous vi ...

and

West Devon West Devon is a local government district with borough status in Devon, England. Its council is based in Tavistock, the borough's largest town. The borough also includes the towns of Hatherleigh, North Tawton and Okehampton, along with nume ...

districts. The wards from the last election presented a notional

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

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. T ...

at the first election. Despite this,

's majority over the Liberal Democrats was 17.1 percentage points with an

absolute majority A majority is more than half of a total; however, the term is commonly used with other meanings, as explained in the " Related terms" section below. It is a subset of a set consisting of more than half of the set's elements. For example, if a gr ...

. Stride held the seat comfortably at the next three elections (2015, 2017 and 2019), but only just held on at the 2024 general election with a majority of 0.1% (61 votes) over the Labour Party candidate.

Boundaries

2010–2024

The constituency contained

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 (subnational entity), ward'' is the primary unit of English electoral geography for civil pa ...

from four districts. *From

: Exe Valley; *From

: Boniface,

Bradninch Bradninch is a small town, civil parish and Manorialism, manor in Devon, England, lying about south of Cullompton. Much of the surrounding farmland belongs to the Duchy of Cornwall. There is an Wards and electoral divisions in the United Kingd ...

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

: Ashburton and Buckfastleigh, Bovey Tracey,

Chudleigh Chudleigh () is an ancient wool town located within the Teignbridge District Council area of Devon, England; it is sited between Newton Abbot and Exeter. The electoral ward with the same name had a population of 5,919 at the 2021 United Kingdo ...

, Haytor, Kenn Valley, Moorland, Teignbridge North, Teign Valley; *From

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

2024–present

Further to the

2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies The 2023 review of Westminster constituencies was the most recent cycle of the process to redraw the Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, constituency map for the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. The new constituency b ...

which came into effect for the 2024 general election, and a local government boundary review in Mid Devon District which came into effect in May 2023, the constituency is composed of the following: *The District of Mid Devon wards of: Bradninch (nearly all); Cadbury; Crediton Boniface; Crediton Lawrence; Sandford & Creedy; Silverton; Taw Vale; Upper Yeo & Taw; Way; Yeo. * The District of Teignbridge wards of: Ashburton & Buckfastleigh; Bovey; Chudleigh; Haytor; Kenn Valley; Moretonhampstead; Teign Valley. * The Borough of West Devon wards of: Chagford; Drewsteignton; Exbourne; Hatherleigh; Okehampton North; Okehampton South; South Tawton. ''The East Devon ward of Exe Valley was included in the new constituency of Exmouth and Exeter East. Otherwise, only a very minor change to the boundary in the District of Teignbridge.''

Members of Parliament

Elections

Elections in the 2020s

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
(boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at ''MapIt UK''

(boundaries from June 2024) at ''MapIt UK'' {{Coord , 50.7, -3.9, dim:40000_region:GB-DEV, display=title Parliamentary constituencies in Devon Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 2010