Totnes (UK Parliament constituency) (original) (raw)

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Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1997 onwards

Totnes
Former county constituencyfor the House of Commons
Outline mapBoundary of Totnes in Devon
Outline mapLocation of Devon within England
County Devon
Electorate 67,562 (December 2010)[1]
Major settlements Totnes, Dartmouth, Kingsbridge, Salcombe and Brixham
1997–2024
Seats One
Created from South Hams
Replaced by South Devon
1885–1983
Seats One
Type of constituency County constituency
Created from South Devon
Replaced by Teignbridge and South Hams[2]
1295–1868
Seats Two
Type of constituency Borough constituency
Replaced by Devon Southern

Totnes was a parliamentary constituency[n 1] in Devon represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament.[n 2]

Under the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the constituency name was abolished. With to minor boundary changes, it was renamed South Devon at the 2024 general election.[3]

An original parliamentary borough of Totnes or Totness[4] was created in 1295. It returned two MPs to the House of Commons of England until 1707, then to the House of Commons of Great Britain until 1800, and finally to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1801 until it was abolished under the Representation of the People Act 1867 with effect from the 1868 election. The constituency was reformed in 1885, in a much narrower form than previously.

It was abolished again at the 1983, largely replaced by the South Hams constituency. In 1997, South Hams was abolished and largely replaced by the reformed Totnes. At the 2024 general election, the name Totnes disappeared once again, as the constituency was renamed South Devon constituency with minor boundary changes.

The constituency was a generally safe seat for the Conservative Party since the 1920s; it returned a Conservative MP at every general election for which it existed since 1924 (as did South Hams, the constituency that replaced it between 1983 and 1997), though it came close to falling to the Liberal Democrats in 1997, 2001 and 2005.

Its Conservative MP from 2010, Dr Sarah Wollaston, defected to the Liberal Democrats in 2019, after a brief spell as an independent, and prior to that as a member of Change UK, a new party formed from MPs formerly Conservative or Labour, after she became disillusioned with the Conservative Party's position on Brexit. She came second to a new Conservative candidate in 2019.

During the 2016 EU Referendum, Totnes is estimated to have narrowly voted to Leave, by 53.9% vs. 46.1% Remain. Although the town of Totnes itself is a Remain stronghold, the larger town of Brixham and the rural areas of the constituency voted in favour of Brexit.

Map

Map of boundaries 2010−2024

1885–1918: The Municipal Borough of Totnes, and the Sessional Divisions of Ermington and Plympton, and Stanborough and Coleridge.

1918–1950: The Municipal Borough of Totnes, the Urban Districts of Ashburton, Buckfastleigh, Kingsbridge, Newton Abbot, Salcombe, and Teignmouth, the Rural District of Kingsbridge, and parts of the Rural Districts of Newton Abbot and Totnes.

1950–1974: The Municipal Boroughs of Clifton, Dartmouth, Hardness, and Totnes, the Urban Districts of Ashburton, Buckfastleigh, Kingsbridge, Newton Abbot, and Salcombe, the Rural Districts of Kingsbridge and Newton Abbot, and part of the Rural District of Totnes.

1974–1983: The Municipal Boroughs of Clifton, Dartmouth, Hardness, and Totnes, the Urban Districts of Ashburton, Buckfastleigh, Kingsbridge, Newton Abbot, and Salcombe, and the Rural Districts of Kingsbridge, Newton Abbot, and Totnes.

1997–2010: The District of South Hams wards of Avon and Harbourne, Avonleigh, Dartington, Dartmouth Clifton, Dartmouth Hardness, Dart Valley, Eastmoor, Garabrook, Kingsbridge, Kingswear, Malborough, Marldon, Salcombe, Saltstone, Skerries, South Brent, Stoke Gabriel, Stokenham, Thurlestone, Totnes, Totnes Bridgetown, and West Dart, the Borough of Torbay wards of Blatchcombe, Furzeham with Churston, and St Peter's with St Mary's, and the District of Teignbridge wards of Ambrook, Ashburton, and Buckfastleigh.

2010–2024: The District of South Hams wards of Allington and Loddiswell, Avon and Harbourne, Dartington, Dartmouth and Kingswear, Dartmouth Townstal, East Dart, Eastmoor, Kingsbridge East, Kingsbridge North, Marldon, Salcombe and Malborough, Saltstone, Skerries, South Brent, Stokenham, Thurlestone, Totnes Bridgetown, Totnes Town, West Dart, and Westville and Alvington, and the Borough of Torbay wards of Berry Head with Furzeham, Blatchcombe, Churston with Galmpton, and St Mary's with Summercombe.

The Totnes constituency covered the eastern part of the South Hams district of Devon, including the towns of Totnes, Dartmouth, Kingsbridge and Salcombe, as well as parts of the unitary authority of Torbay, including the town of Brixham.

Constituency profile

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Post-1997 recreation, the seat was divided between the South Hams and Torbay council areas, with around 60% of the electorate residing in the former and 40% in the latter in its final form after the 2010 boundary changes.[5]

Despite the name of the constituency, the largest town in it was not Totnes but Brixham, a fishing port in the Torbay portion of the seat of around 17,000 people. Totnes itself, a market town in South Hams of around 9,000 renowned for its alternative and "New Age" community, accounted for only around 10% of the voters in the constituency bearing its name.[5]

The seat also included the South Hams towns of Kingsbridge, Salcombe and Dartmouth, as well as the western suburbs of the Torbay town of Paignton, most of which belonged to the Torbay constituency.[5]

Much of the constituency was rural, taking in numerous villages in the picturesque South Hams district as well as the Torbay village of Churston.[5]

Workless claimants, registered jobseekers, were in November 2012 significantly lower than the national average of 3.8%, at 2.4% of the population based on a statistical compilation by The Guardian.[6]

Members of Parliament

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Constituency created 1295

Parliament First member Second member
1295 Johannes de Blakedon[7]
1362 Richard Whitelegh[8]
1366 John Prescott[9]
1372 John Prescott[9]
1373 John Prescott[9]
1377 (Jan) William Burlestone
1377 (Oct) William Burlestone
1380 (Jan) William Burlestone
1381 William Burlestone
1383 (Feb) William Burlestone[10]
1386 Robert French John Pasford[11]
1388 (Feb) John Row Walter Browning[11]
1388 (Sep) John Statham Walter Browning[11]
1390 (Jan) John Poltimore Walter Hotot[11]
1390 (Nov)
1391 John Grey Thomas Norris[11]
1393 John Suell Robert Barneburgh[11]
1394 Richard Whitelegh John Pasford[11]
1395 Ellis Beare John Marshall[11]
1397 (Jan) John Gunne Ellis Beare[11]
1397 (Sep)
1399 Simon Marsh John Rose[11]
1401
1402 Henry Spencer John Hulle[11]
1404 (Jan)
1404 (Oct)
1406 Robert Wastell John Warwick[11]
1407 Alfred Wonston Sir John Pomeroy[11]
1410 Henry Austin Robert Wastell[11]
1411 John Bosom Henry Bremeler[11]
1413 (Feb)
1413 (May) John Sebright Henry Austin[11]
1414 (Apr)
1414 (Nov) William Ryder Henry Berkeley[11]
1415
1416 (Mar)
1416 (Oct)
1417
1419
1420 John Ash Walter Serle[11]
1421 (May) Henry Berkeley Thomas Kirkby[11]
1421 (Dec) Henry Chesewell William Cosyn[11]
1449 Adam Cokkys[7] Johannes Prall[7]
1450 Johannes Hobbys[7] Thomas Calwodeley[7]
1455 William Fowell[12] of Fowelscombe
1472 William Hody[13]
1491 Lewis Pollard[14]
1510-1523 No names known[15]
1529 John Giles Adam Ralegh[15]
1536 ?
1539 ?
1542 ?
1545 Roger Prideaux John Gale[15]
1547 Roger Prideaux Edmund Sture[15]
1553 (Mar) John Wotton Christopher Savery[15]
1553 (Oct) John Wotton Christopher Savery[15]
1554 (Apr) John Eveleigh Henry Gildon[15]
1554 (Nov) Richard Savery Christopher Savery[15]
1555 Peter Edgecombe Leonard Yeo[15]
1558 Bernard Smith Leonard Yeo[15]
1558–9 Leonard Yeo Sir Nicholas Poyntz[16]
1562–3 Sir Arthur Champernowne Richard Edgecombe I[16]
1571 Richard Hurleston John Stanhope[16]
1572 Robert Monson, made judge and repl. 1576 by Robert Beale Edward Buggin[16]
1584 Christopher Savery Nicholas Ball[16]
1586 John Giles Nicholas Hayman[16]
1588 Richard Edgecombe Simon Kelway[16]
1593 Richard Sparry Christopher Savery[16]
1597 Edward Giles Christopher Buggin[16]
1601 Leonard Darr Philip Holditch[16]
1604 Christopher Brocking Walter Dollings
1614 Nathaniel Rich Lawrence Adams
1621–1622 Sir Edward Giles Richard Rodd
1624 Arthur Champernoun Sir Edward Giles
1625 Sir Edward Seymour, 2nd Baronet Sir Edward Giles
1626 Arthur Champernoun Philip Holditch
1628-1629 Sir Edward Giles Thomas Prestwood
1629–1640 No Parliaments summoned
Apr 1640 Oliver St John John Maynard[_citation needed_]
Nov 1640 Oliver St John John Maynard[_citation needed_]
1645 Oliver St John John Maynard[_citation needed_]
1648 Oliver St John John Maynard[_citation needed_]
1653 _Totnes not represented in Barebone's Parliament_[_citation needed_]
1654 Major-General Desborough _(one seat only)_[_citation needed_]
1656 Christopher Maynard _(one seat only)_[_citation needed_]
1659 Capt. John Pleydell Gilbert Evelyn[_citation needed_]

Two members

| Year | First member[17] | First party | Second member[17] | Second party | | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | 1660 | Thomas Chafe | | Thomas Clifford | | | | | 1661 | Sir Edward Seymour, 3rd Baronet | | Tory | | | | | 1673 | Sir Thomas Berry | | | | | | | Feb 1679 | John Kelland | | | | | | | Aug 1679 | Edward Seymour (later 4th Baronet) | | Tory | | | | | 1681 | Charles Kelland | | John Kelland | | | | | 1685 | Sir Edward Seymour, 3rd Baronet | | Tory | | | | | 1689 | Rawlin Mallock | | Sir John Fowell, Bt | | | | | 1690 | Henry Seymour Portman | | | | | | | 1692 | Thomas Coulson | | | | | | | 1695 | Sir Edward Seymour, 4th Baronet | | Tory | Edward Yarde | | | | 1698 | Thomas Coulson | | | | | | | 1699 | Francis Gwyn | | | | | | | 1701 | Sir Christopher Musgrave, Bt | | | | | | | 1702 | William Seymour | | Tory | | | | | 1705 | Sir Humphrey Mackworth | | Tory | | | | | 1708 | Sir Edward Seymour, 5th Baronet | | Tory | George Courtenay | | | | 1710 | Thomas Coulson | | Francis Gwyn | | | | | 1713 | Stephen Northleigh | | | | | | | 1715 | Arthur Champernowne | | | | | | | 1717 | Sir John Germain, Bt | | | | | | | 1718 | Sir Charles Wills | | | | | | | 1722 | Joseph Banks | | | | | | | 1727 | Exton Sayer | | | | | | | 1732 | Sir Henry Gough, Bt | | | | | | | 1734 | Sir Joseph Danvers, Bt | | | | | | | 1742 | John Strange | | Whig | | | | | 1747 | Charles Taylor | | | | | | | Apr 1754 | Browse Trist | | | | | | | Dec 1754 | Sir Richard Lloyd | | | | | | | 1759 | Richard Savage Lloyd | | | | | | | 1763 | Henry Seymour | | | | | | | 1768 | Sir Philip Jennings-Clerke, Bt | | | Peter Burrell | | | | 1774 | James Amyatt | | | | | | | 1780 | Launcelot Brown | | | | | | | 1784 | The Hon. Henry Phipps | | Tory | | | | | 1788 | Viscount Barnard | | Whig | | | | | 1790 | William Powlett Powlett | | Sir Francis Buller Yarde, Bt | | | | | 1796 | The Lord Arden | | | Lord George Seymour | | | | 1801 | William Adams | | Tory[18] | | | | | 1802 | John Berkeley Burland | | | | | | | 1804 | Vicary Gibbs | | Tory[18] | | | | | 1806 | Benjamin Hall | | Tory[18] | | | | | 1811 | Thomas Courtenay | | Tory[18] | | | | | 1812 | Ayshford Wise | | Whig[18] | | | | | 1818 | William Holmes | | Tory[18] | | | | | 1820 | John Bent | | | | | | | 1826 | The Earl of Darlington | | Tory[18] | | | | | 1830 | Charles Barry Baldwin | | Tory[18][19] | | | | | 1832 | Jasper Parrott | | Whig[18] | James Cornish | | Whig[18] | | 1835 | Lord Seymour | | Whig[18][20][21] | | | | | 1839 | | William Blount[n 3][18][22][23] (Whig) | | Charles Barry Baldwin[n 3] (Con)[18][19][20][24] | | | | 1840 | Charles Barry Baldwin | | Conservative | | | | | 1852 | Thomas Mills | | Whig | | | | | 1855 | The Earl of Gifford | | Whig | | | | | 1859 | | Liberal | | Liberal | | | | 1862 | John Pender | | Liberal | | | | | 1863 | Alfred Seymour | | Liberal | | | | | 1866 | John Pender declared not duly elected and seat left vacant | | | | | | | 1868 | Constituency disenfranchised by the Reform Act 1867 | | | | | |

One member

Year Member[17] Whip
1885 Francis Mildmay Liberal
1886 Liberal Unionist
1912 Unionist
1922 Samuel Harvey Unionist
1923 Henry Vivian Liberal
1924 Samuel Harvey Unionist
1935 Ralph Rayner Conservative
1955 Ray Mawby Conservative
1983 constituency abolished: see South Hams and Teignbridge

Between 1983 and 1997 the constituency was replaced by the South Hams constituency. Anthony Steen was returned at every election.

Election Member[17] Party
1997 Anthony Steen Conservative
2010 Sarah Wollaston Conservative
2019 Change UK
Independent
Liberal Democrats
2019 Anthony Mangnall Conservative
2024 constituency abolished: see South Devon

Elections in the 2010s

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Elections in the 2000s

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Elections in the 1990s

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Elections in the 1970s

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Elections in the 1960s

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Elections in the 1950s

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Elections in the 1940s

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Elections in the 1930s

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General Election 1939–40: Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1940. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by the Autumn of 1939, the following candidates had been selected;

Elections in the 1920s

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Election results 1885-1918

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Elections in the 1910s

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General Election 1914–15:

Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1915. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;

Foot

Elections in the 1880s

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Lopes

Mildmay

Elections in the 1900s

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Elections in the 1890s

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Election results 1832-1868

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Elections in the 1860s

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On petition, Pender was unseated on 22 March 1866. No writ was issued to replace him and, in 1868, the seat was disenfranchised and absorbed into South Devon.

By-election caused by the death of George Hay.

By-election caused by the death of Thomas Mills.

Elections in the 1850s

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By-election caused by Edward Seymour becoming 12th Duke of Somerset.

Seymour was appointed Commissioner of Woods, Forests, Land Revenues, Works, and Buildings, requiring a by-election.

Elections in the 1840s

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587

The previous by-election was declared void on petition, causing a by-election.

Elections in the 1830s

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  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. ^ a b Both Baldwin and Blount received equal votes at the 1839 by-election and were declared elected. However, this was declared void on 8 April 1840 and a by-election was called

  4. ^ "Electorate Figures - Boundary Commission for England". 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. Archived from the original on 6 November 2010. Retrieved 13 March 2011.

  5. ^ "'Totnes', Feb 1974 - May 1983". ElectionWeb Project. Cognitive Computing Limited. Archived from the original on 3 April 2016. Retrieved 24 March 2016.

  6. ^ "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.

  7. ^ "No. 19016". The London Gazette. 25 January 1833. p. 170.

  8. ^ a b c d Waller, Robert; Byron Criddle (2007). The Almanac of British Politics (8th ed.). London: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-37823-9.

  9. ^ Unemployment claimants by constituency The Guardian

  10. ^ a b c d e Watkin, Hugh (1914). The history of Totnes priory & medieval town, Devonshire, together with the sister priory of Tywardreath, Cornwall.

  11. ^ "WHITELEGH, Richard, of Osborn Newton in Churchstow, Devon". History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 10 May 2013.

  12. ^ a b c "PRESCOTT, John (c.1327-1412), of Prescott, Rake and Exeter, Devon". History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 11 May 2013.

  13. ^ "BURLESTONE (BORLESTON), William (d.1406), of Harberton, Devon. - History of Parliament Online". www.historyofparliamentonline.org.

  14. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t "History of Parliament". History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 4 November 2011.

  15. ^ Vivian, Lt.Col. J.L., (Ed.) The Visitations of the County of Devon: Comprising the Heralds' Visitations of 1531, 1564 & 1620, Exeter, 1895, p.369

  16. ^ Baker, J. H. "Hody, Sir William". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/13456. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)

  17. ^ Baker, J.H., Biography of Sir Lewis Pollard, published in History of Parliament: House of Commons 1439-1509, eds. Wedgwood, J.C., & Holt A.D.

  18. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "History of Parliament". History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 4 November 2011.

  19. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "History of Parliament". History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 4 November 2011.

  20. ^ a b c d Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "T" (part 2)

  21. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Stooks Smith, Henry. (1973) [1844-1850]. Craig, F. W. S. (ed.). The Parliaments of England (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. pp. 79–81. ISBN 0-900178-13-2.

  22. ^ a b Jenkins, Terry (2009). Fisher, D. R. (ed.). "BALDWIN, Charles Barry (?1789–1859), of 6 Parliament Street, Mdx". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 15 July 2018.

  23. ^ a b "Totnes Election". Morning Post. 3 July 1841. pp. 3–4. Retrieved 15 July 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.

  24. ^ Cobden, Richard (2015). Howe, Anthony; Morgan, Simon; Bannerman, Gordon (eds.). The Letters of Richard Cobden: Volume IV, 1860-1865. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 98. ISBN 978-0-19-921198-2. LCCN 2007028194. Retrieved 15 July 2018 – via Google Books.

  25. ^ "The Spectator". 4 January 1840. p. 11. Retrieved 15 July 2018.

  26. ^ "Totness Election - Close of the Poll". Bucks Herald. 27 July 1839. p. 2. Retrieved 15 July 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.

  27. ^ "Election Movements in the West of England". Western Courier, West of England Conservative, Plymouth and Devonport Advertiser. 9 June 1841. p. 3. Retrieved 15 July 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.

  28. ^ "Totnes parliamentary constituency - Election 2019". BBC. Retrieved 19 December 2019.

  29. ^ "Totnes Parliamentary Constituency results". BBC News. 9 June 2017.

  30. ^ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.

  31. ^ "Totnes - 2015 Election Results - General Elections Online". geo.digiminster.com. Retrieved 22 June 2018.

  32. ^ "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.

  33. ^ "BBC News - Election 2010 - Constituency - Totnes". news.bbc.co.uk.

  34. ^ "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

  35. ^ "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

  36. ^ "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

  37. ^ The Liberal Magazine, 1939

  38. ^ British parliamentary election results 1918-1949, Craig, F.W.S.

  39. ^ Western Times Devon, 2 Jun 1914

  40. ^ a b c d e f g h Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1974). British Parliamentary Election Results: 1885-1918. London: Macmillan Press. p. 262. ISBN 9781349022984.

  41. ^ a b Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1916

  42. ^ a b c d e f The Liberal Year Book, 1907

  43. ^ Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1886

  44. ^ a b Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1901

  45. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.

  46. ^ "Totnes". Kerry Evening Post. 17 December 1862. p. 5. Retrieved 25 March 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.

  47. ^ "Totnes". Exeter and Plymouth Gazette. 16 April 1859. p. 5. Retrieved 15 July 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.

  48. ^ "Totnes Election". Western Times. 4 April 1857. p. 10. Retrieved 15 July 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.

  49. ^ "Election Intelligence". Huddersfield Chronicle. 14 March 1857. p. 8. Retrieved 15 July 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.

  50. ^ "Election Movements in Devonshore". Exeter and Plymouth Gazette. 14 March 1857. p. 8. Retrieved 15 July 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.

  51. ^ "Page 3". London Courier and Evening Gazette. 21 July 1837. p. 3. Retrieved 28 April 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.

  52. ^ a b Jenkins, Terry. "Totnes". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 28 April 2020.