| North Devon County constituency |
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| North Devon shown within Devon, and Devon shown within England | |
| Created: | 1832, 1950 |
| MP: | Nicholas Harvey |
| Party: | Liberal Democrat |
| Type: | House of Commons |
| County: | Devon |
| EP constituency: | South West England |
North Devon is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.
Contents |
Boundaries
This constituency covers the north of Devon in the South West region of England. Although it shares the name as the North Devon local government district, it covers a slightly larger area to the south, including parts of the Mid Devon district. The Liberal Democrats and their predecessors the Liberal Party have historically shown a strong performance in this seat, which was held for two decades by former Liberal leader Jeremy Thorpe. He lost it in the 1979 General Election after the intense controversy surrounding his relationship with homosexual Norman Scott, and alleged involvement in a plot to murder him, of which he was found not guilty the same year. After a 13-year hiatus, Liberal Democrat Nicholas Harvey regained the seat from the Conservatives in 1992 and still holds the seat today, having retained it comfortably in the 2005 General Election.
History
The North Devon constituency was first created in 1832, as a result of the Reform Acts. Before that, the area was part of the Devon constituency. Between 1832 and 1885 the constituency elected two MPs to parliament.
In 1885, the constituency was split up into various divisions, however in 1950, the North Devon constituency was recreated, covering a smaller area than before.
Members of Parliament
1832-1885
| Year | 1st Member | 1st Party | 2nd Member | 2nd Party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1832 | Viscount Ebrington | Whig | Hon. Newton Fellowes | |||
| 1837 | Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, Bt | Conservative | ||||
| 1839 | Lewis William Buck | |||||
| 1857 | James Wentworth Buller | Hon. Charles Hepburn-Stuart-Forbes-Trefusis | Conservative | |||
| 1865 | Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, Bt | Liberal | ||||
| 1866 | Sir Stafford Northcote, Bt | Conservative | ||||
| 1885 | John Moore-Stevens | |||||
1950-present
The current Member of Parliament, since 1992, is Nicholas Harvey of the Liberal Democrats.
| Year | Member | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | constituency recreated | ||
| 1950 | Christopher Peto | Conservative | |
| 1955 | Conservative | ||
| 1959 | Jeremy Thorpe | Liberal | |
| 1979 | Tony Speller | Conservative | |
| 1992 | Nick Harvey | Liberal Democrat | |
Election results
Elections in 2000s
| General Election 2005: North Devon | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Liberal Democrat | Nicholas 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 | |
| UK Independence | John Browne | 2,740 | 5.3 | +0.3 | |
| Green | Ricky Knight | 1,826 | 3.5 | +1.1 | |
| Majority | 4,972 | 9.6 | |||
| Turnout | 51,930 | 68.1 | -0.2 | ||
| Liberal Democrat hold | Swing | -1.8 | |||
| General Election 2001: North Devon | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Liberal Democrat | Nicholas Harvey | 21,784 | 44.2 | -6.6 | |
| Conservative | Clive Allen | 18,800 | 38.2 | -1.3 | |
| Labour | Vivian Gale | 4,995 | 10.1 | +0.3 | |
| UK Independence | Roger Knapman | 2,484 | 5.0 | +5.0 | |
| Green | Anthony Bown | 1,191 | 2.4 | +2.4 | |
| Majority | 2,984 | 6.1 | -5.2 | ||
| Turnout | 49,254 | 68.3 | -9.4 | ||
| Liberal Democrat hold | Swing | ||||
Elections in 1990s
| General Election 1997: North Devon | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Liberal Democrat | Nicholas Harvey | 27,824 | 50.8 | ||
| Conservative | Richard Ashworth | 21,643 | 39.5 | ||
| Labour | Annie Brenton | 5,347 | 9.8 | ||
| Majority | 6,181 | 11.3 | |||
| Turnout | 54,814 | 77.7 | |||
| Liberal Democrat hold | Swing | ||||
| General Election 1992: North Devon | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Liberal Democrat | Nicholas Harvey | 27,414 | 47.1 | ||
| Conservative | A Speller | 26,620 | 45.7 | ||
| Labour | P Donner | 3,410 | 5.9 | ||
| Green | C Simmons | 658 | 1.1 | ||
| Natural Law | G Treadwell | 107 | 0.2 | ||
| Majority | 794 | 1.4 | |||
| Turnout | 84.4 | ||||
Elections in 1980s
| General Election 1987: North Devon | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Conservative | A Speller | 28,071 | 50.9 | ||
| Liberal | M Pinney | 23,602 | 42.8 | ||
| Labour | A Marjoram | 3,467 | 6.3 | ||
| Majority | 4,469 | 8.1 | |||
| Turnout | 81.7 | ||||
| General Election 1983: North Devon | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Conservative | A Speller | 28,066 | 55.1 | ||
| Liberal | R Blackmore | 19,339 | 37.9 | ||
| Labour | P James | 2,893 | 5.7 | ||
| Ecology | R Joanes | 669 | 1.3 | ||
| Majority | 8,727 | 17.2 | |||
| Turnout | 80.1 | ||||
Elections in 1970s
| General Election 1979: North Devon | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Conservative | Antony Speller | 31,811 | 50.1 | ||
| Liberal | Jeremy Thorpe | 23,338 | 36.7 | ||
| Labour | A. Saltern | 7,108 | 11.2 | ||
| Ecology | A. Whittaker | 729 | 1.2 | ||
| National Front | J. Price | 237 | 0.4 | ||
| English National | Frank Hansford-Miller | 142 | 0.2 | ||
| Dog Lover's Party | Auberon Waugh | 79 | 0.1 | ||
| Wessex Regionalist | H. Rous | 50 | 0.1 | ||
| Democratic Monarchist Public Safety White Resident | Bill Boaks | 20 | 0.0 | ||
| Majority | 8,473 | 13.3 | |||
| Turnout | 81.7 | ||||
See also
References
- The Times House of Commons 1945. 1945.
- The Times House of Commons 1950. 1950.
- The Times House of Commons 1955. 1955.
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