Post by andrewp on Jul 18, 2020 18:21:33 GMT
The current Newton Abbot constituency was formed in 2010, and largely succeeded the Teignbridge constituency. In the boundary change of that year some inland territory on the edges of Dartmoor, including the towns of Ashburton and Buckfastleigh was lost to the new Central Devon seat. The seat is now quite a compact constituency covering the coastal area between Exeter and Torquay.
The 3 towns of the seat are Newton Abbot itself along with the seaside resorts of Dawlish and Teignmouth.
Newton Abbot is the largest town, and sits at the head of the Teign Estuary and has a population of 25000. Its an old railway town and is surprisingly gritty. It grew rapidly in the mid 19th Century around a major South Devon Railway Company works. It’s also home to the most South Westerly racecourse in the UK. Newton Abbot’s East division was the last place outside of Exeter and Plymouth to elect a Labour County councillor to Devon County Council, in 1989. In 2019 its four wards elected 5 Lib Dems, 3 Independents and 1 Conservative to the District council.
The two coastal resorts are smaller, but both grew from small fishing villages when the railway arrived. Both are faded Victorian grandeur. Dawlish has a population of 16,000 and has the unique feature of the main South West railway line running along the seafront between the Beach and the promenade. In 2014, a heavy storm washed away the railway line, leaving the track dangling in mid air and closing the main line to Cornwall. Neighbouring Dawlish Warren is home to many caravan and holiday parks and a golf links course on a spit at the mouth of the Exe estuary. Dawlish votes Conservative in general elections but the Liberal Democrats won all 5 local council seats in the town whilst winning control of the council in 2019.
Teignmouth ( population 15000) sits at the mouth of the river Teign. It has a small fishing port, and a sandy beach with rows of seaside B and B’s. Teignmouth is slightly better for the Liberal Democrats than Dawlish. The seaside resorts in this seat are not quite as genteel and elderly as those across the estuary in East Devon. Elsewhere there are several very large villages like Kingsteignton and Kingkerswell.
The predecessor seat of Teignbridge was a new creation in the boundary changes that came into force for the 1983 general election, formed from parts of the old Tiverton and Totnes constituencies. It had a notional Conservative majority of 9800, but attracted attention due to the Chief Constable of Devon and Cornwall Police, John Alderson, resigning to fight the seat for the Liberal/SDP Alliance. In the end new Conservative candidate Patrick Nicholls won comfortably by 8000. Nicholls held on in the 1997 landslide by 281 votes but lost to Liberal Democrat Richard Younger Ross in 2001. Younger Ross then went onto to double his majority in 2005 against one Stanley Johnson. The 2010 boundary changes were fairly politically neutral but Anne Marie- Morris beat Richard Younger- Ross by 523 votes in 2010. Morris is a member of the ERG, and has increased her majority in every subsequent election. Newton Abbot is estimated to have voted 56% leave. Labour actually came second in 2017, but the Lib Dems at least retook that position in 2019, but Morris won by 17,500 and this seat looks safe for the moment.
The 3 towns of the seat are Newton Abbot itself along with the seaside resorts of Dawlish and Teignmouth.
Newton Abbot is the largest town, and sits at the head of the Teign Estuary and has a population of 25000. Its an old railway town and is surprisingly gritty. It grew rapidly in the mid 19th Century around a major South Devon Railway Company works. It’s also home to the most South Westerly racecourse in the UK. Newton Abbot’s East division was the last place outside of Exeter and Plymouth to elect a Labour County councillor to Devon County Council, in 1989. In 2019 its four wards elected 5 Lib Dems, 3 Independents and 1 Conservative to the District council.
The two coastal resorts are smaller, but both grew from small fishing villages when the railway arrived. Both are faded Victorian grandeur. Dawlish has a population of 16,000 and has the unique feature of the main South West railway line running along the seafront between the Beach and the promenade. In 2014, a heavy storm washed away the railway line, leaving the track dangling in mid air and closing the main line to Cornwall. Neighbouring Dawlish Warren is home to many caravan and holiday parks and a golf links course on a spit at the mouth of the Exe estuary. Dawlish votes Conservative in general elections but the Liberal Democrats won all 5 local council seats in the town whilst winning control of the council in 2019.
Teignmouth ( population 15000) sits at the mouth of the river Teign. It has a small fishing port, and a sandy beach with rows of seaside B and B’s. Teignmouth is slightly better for the Liberal Democrats than Dawlish. The seaside resorts in this seat are not quite as genteel and elderly as those across the estuary in East Devon. Elsewhere there are several very large villages like Kingsteignton and Kingkerswell.
The predecessor seat of Teignbridge was a new creation in the boundary changes that came into force for the 1983 general election, formed from parts of the old Tiverton and Totnes constituencies. It had a notional Conservative majority of 9800, but attracted attention due to the Chief Constable of Devon and Cornwall Police, John Alderson, resigning to fight the seat for the Liberal/SDP Alliance. In the end new Conservative candidate Patrick Nicholls won comfortably by 8000. Nicholls held on in the 1997 landslide by 281 votes but lost to Liberal Democrat Richard Younger Ross in 2001. Younger Ross then went onto to double his majority in 2005 against one Stanley Johnson. The 2010 boundary changes were fairly politically neutral but Anne Marie- Morris beat Richard Younger- Ross by 523 votes in 2010. Morris is a member of the ERG, and has increased her majority in every subsequent election. Newton Abbot is estimated to have voted 56% leave. Labour actually came second in 2017, but the Lib Dems at least retook that position in 2019, but Morris won by 17,500 and this seat looks safe for the moment.
