Devon and East Plymouth (European Parliament constituency)
Encyclopedia
Devon and East Plymouth was a European Parliament constituency
covering all of Devon
in England
, with the exception of the city of Plymouth
. It was created in 1994 to replace the majority of Devon
and a small part of Cornwall and Plymouth
.
Prior to its uniform adoption of proportional representation
in 1999, the United Kingdom
used first-past-the-post
for the European elections
in England
, Scotland
and Wales
. The European Parliament constituencies
used under that system were smaller than the later regional constituencies and only had one Member of the European Parliament
each.
The constituency consisted of the Westminster Parliament constituencies of Exeter
, Plymouth Sutton, South Hams
, Teignbridge
, Tiverton
, Torbay
and Torridge and West Devon.
The seat became part of the much larger South West England constituency
in 1999.
was a candidate with the description "Literal Democrat", a name very similar to that of the Liberal Democrats. They launched legal action in the High Court of Justice
alleging that the Returning Officer
had wrongly accepted a nomination which was designed to confuse voters. The Judge ruled that the nomination had to stand. He won more than 10,000 votes, while Liberal Democrat candidate Adrian Sanders
finished only 700 votes behind the winner. This prompted a change in the law
, banning potentially confusing party descriptions.
|- style="background-color:#F6F6F6"
! style="background-color: " |
| colspan="2" | New creation:
gain.
| align="right" | Swing
| align="right" | N/A
||
European Parliament constituency
Members of the European Parliament are elected by the population of the member states of the European Union , divided into constituencies....
covering all of Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, with the exception of the city of Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
. It was created in 1994 to replace the majority of Devon
Devon (European Parliament constituency)
Devon was a European Parliament constituency covering all of Devon in England, with the exception of the city of Plymouth.Prior to its uniform adoption of proportional representation in 1999, the United Kingdom used first-past-the-post for the European elections in England, Scotland and Wales...
and a small part of Cornwall and Plymouth
Cornwall and Plymouth (European Parliament constituency)
Cornwall and Plymouth was a European Parliament constituency covering Cornwall and Plymouth in England.Prior to its uniform adoption of proportional representation in 1999, the United Kingdom used first-past-the-post for the European elections in England, Scotland and Wales...
.
Prior to its uniform adoption of proportional representation
Proportional representation
Proportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...
in 1999, the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
used first-past-the-post
Plurality voting system
The plurality voting system is a single-winner voting system often used to elect executive officers or to elect members of a legislative assembly which is based on single-member constituencies...
for the European elections
Elections in the European Union
Elections to the Parliament of the European Union take place every five years by universal adult suffrage. 736 MEPs are elected to the European Parliament which has been directly elected since 1979. No other body is directly elected although the Council of the European Union and European Council is...
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. The European Parliament constituencies
European Parliament constituency
Members of the European Parliament are elected by the population of the member states of the European Union , divided into constituencies....
used under that system were smaller than the later regional constituencies and only had one Member of the European Parliament
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...
each.
The constituency consisted of the Westminster Parliament constituencies of Exeter
Exeter (UK Parliament constituency)
Exeter is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....
, Plymouth Sutton, South Hams
South Hams (UK Parliament constituency)
South Hams was a county constituency based on the South Hams district of Devon. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....
, Teignbridge
Teignbridge (UK Parliament constituency)
Teignbridge was, from 1983 until 2010, a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-History:...
, Tiverton
Tiverton (UK Parliament constituency)
Tiverton was a constituency located in east Devon, formerly represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Enfranchised as a parliamentary borough in 1615 and first represented in 1621, it elected two Members of Parliament by the first past the post system of election...
, Torbay
Torbay (UK Parliament constituency)
-Elections in the 2000s:-Elections in the 1990s:-Elections in the 1980s:-Notes and references:...
and Torridge and West Devon.
The seat became part of the much larger South West England constituency
South West England (European Parliament constituency)
South West England is a constituency of the European Parliament. For 2009 it elects 6 MEPs using the d'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation, reduced from 7 in 2004.-Boundaries:...
in 1999.
Members of the European Parliament
| Elected | Name | Party |
|---|---|
| 1994 | Giles Chichester Giles Chichester Giles Chichester is a British Conservative Party politician, and a Member of the European Parliament for South West England and Gibraltar. He was elected as a temporary Vice President of the European Parliament on 6 July 2011 to replace Silvana Koch-Mehrin who had resigned over plagiarism... |
Results
Only one election was held in the seat, in 1994. When nominations closed, it was revealed that Richard HuggettRichard Huggett
Richard John Huggett is a British citizen noted for standing in a variety of elections using descriptions which were similar, but not identical, to those of established political parties, leading to this practice being outlawed under the Registration of Political Parties Act 1998.Most notably he...
was a candidate with the description "Literal Democrat", a name very similar to that of the Liberal Democrats. They launched legal action in the High Court of Justice
High Court of Justice
The High Court of Justice is, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, one of the Senior Courts of England and Wales...
alleging that the Returning Officer
Returning Officer
In various parliamentary systems, a returning officer is responsible for overseeing elections in one or more constituencies.-Australia:In Australia a returning officer is an employee of the Australian Electoral Commission or a State Electoral Commission who heads the local divisional office...
had wrongly accepted a nomination which was designed to confuse voters. The Judge ruled that the nomination had to stand. He won more than 10,000 votes, while Liberal Democrat candidate Adrian Sanders
Adrian Sanders
Adrian Mark Sanders is a Liberal Democrat politician in the United Kingdom. He is the Member of Parliament for Torbay in Devon.-Personal life:...
finished only 700 votes behind the winner. This prompted a change in the law
Registration of Political Parties Act 1998
The Registration of Political Parties Act 1998 , or An Act to make provision about the registration of political parties was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom to set up a register of political parties in the United Kingdom. Previously there had been no such register, and political...
, banning potentially confusing party descriptions.
|- style="background-color:#F6F6F6"
! style="background-color: " |
| colspan="2" | New creation:
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
gain.
| align="right" | Swing
| align="right" | N/A
||