Devonwall is a jocular name used [1] in 2010 for a possible constituency that would combine parts of Devon and Cornwall and would be represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
The likely need for such a constituency to be created arose from the major 2013 Review of constituencies in England, instigated by the coalition government's legislation requiring constituencies to be within 5% of a given size. [2] The portmanteau name is the same as that used for a previous proposal first introduced in the 1970s to combine Cornwall and Devon together in an economic, political and statistical sense to form a South West region.
In a nationwide study into the 2013 Review, the research group Democratic Audit considered the South West England review area, and published an idea of how the redrawn map might look. In that model the resulting cross-border constituency was called "Torridge and Tintagel". [3] [4] The Boundary Commission for England published its actual initial proposals on 13 September 2011, proposing a cross-border constituency as "Bude and Bideford", [5] which was amended in October 2012 as "Bideford, Bude and Launceston". [6]
The Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011 proposed changes to the boundaries and number of UK constituencies, requiring that the electorate of each constituency must be within 5 percent of the national average. [2] An amendment to the bill by Lord Teverson that would have ensured that "all parts of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly must be included in constituencies that are wholly in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly" was defeated by 250 to 221 votes in the House of Lords. [7]
The proposal met opposition in both Devon and Cornwall. [8] There was strong cross party opposition to the bill in Cornwall due to some people[ who? ] believing the Cornish border would "not be respected"[ vague ] when the new constituency boundaries are drawn up. Commenting on this, Prime Minister David Cameron said "It's the Tamar, not the Amazon, for Heaven's sake", [9] referring to the fact that the River Tamar currently forms most of the border between Cornwall and Devon. Alison Seabeck, a Labour MP for Plymouth Moor View, said that "This is a very contentious subject, and I think Mr Cameron owes the public an explanation. This is a very sensitive issue." [10] However, Mark Harper, junior minister for Political and Constitutional Reform, pointed out that the two counties already shared a police force, and an MEP, so an MP across the Tamar River divide is not "impossible". [11]
Around 500 people gathered at a rally in Saltash in October 2010 organised by its mayor, Adam Killeya, who said of the border that it was "ancient and distinctive" and claimed most people wanted to continue with that status. [12] [ failed verification ] Guest speakers included Sheryll Murray, Conservative MP for South East Cornwall; Steve Gilbert, Liberal Democrat MP for St Austell and Newquay; Trevor Colman, UKIP MEP for South West England; and Mebyon Kernow councillor and deputy leader Andrew Long. At the rally Steve Gilbert said that "This is Cornwall and over there, that's England. When David Cameron said this is not the Amazon he was right... it's much more important."[ citation needed ] On the same day the Cornish and Celtic campaigner Michael Chappell announced that he was prepared to go on hunger strike over the boundary issue. [13]
In 2017, the Devonwall merger was proposed a third time, and would have seen parts of Devon and Cornwall sharing a single constituency. The proposal was again met with opposition in Devon and Cornwall, [8] [14] including from Geoffrey Cox, the then-MP for Torridge and West Devon (now Torridge and Tavistock). [14] The plans were scrapped in 2020. [15] [8]
Devon 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. The city of Plymouth is the largest settlement, and the city of Exeter is the county town.
Bideford is a historic port town on the estuary of the River Torridge in north Devon, South West England. It is the main town of the Torridge local government district.
The Tamar is a river in south west England that forms most of the border between Devon and Cornwall. A large part of the valley of the Tamar is protected as the Tamar Valley National Landscape, and some is included in the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape due to its historic mining activities.
Torridge and West Devon was a constituency in Devon represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament.
North Cornwall is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament by Ben Maguire, a Liberal Democrat since the 2024 general election. Like all British constituencies, the seat elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years. The seat was created in 1918. Since 1950, the constituency has been held by MPs from either the Conservative Party or the Liberal Democrats.
South West Devon is a constituency most recently represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament from 1997 to 2024, by Sir Gary Streeter, a Conservative. Plymstock Radford Councillor Rebecca Smith retained the seat for the Conservatives in the 4 July 2024 general election after Sir Gary Streeter didn't stand for re-election.
Holsworthy is a market town and civil parish in the Torridge district of Devon, England, 36 miles (58 km) west of Exeter. The River Deer, a tributary of the River Tamar, forms the western boundary of the parish, which includes the village of Brandis Corner. According to the 2011 census the population of Holsworthy was 2,641, growing to an estimated 3,287 in 2019.
The Atlantic Coast Express (ACE) is an express passenger train in England that has operated at various times between London and seaside resorts in the South West England. It is currently operated as a summer only service by Great Western Railway between London Paddington and Newquay.
The River Torridge is a river in Devon in England; it rises near Meddon. The river describes a long loop through Devon farming country where its tributaries the Lew and Okement join before meeting the Taw at Appledore and flowing into the Bristol Channel. The river is spate dependent and often flows between wooded banks which can be steep. The Torridge local government district is named after the river.
The North Devon Coast is a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Devon, England, designated in September 1959. The AONB contributes to a family of protected landscapes in the Southwest of England and a total of 38% of the region is classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as Category V Protected Landscapes. The twelve Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty extend to 30% of the region, twice the proportion covered by AONBs in England as a whole and a further two National Parks, Dartmoor and Exmoor, cover an additional 7%.
Devonwall is one name given to various proposals to link or combine the counties of Cornwall and Devon together in whole or in part. The name was initially used to describe political concept introduced in the United Kingdom in the 1970s by the Conservative government. It was an attempt to link the two counties together in an economic, political and statistical sense to form a South West region. This involved combining and centralising some local government functions and services such as the police, ambulance, fire services, as well as media output such as local TV and newspapers.
The region of South West England is divided into 58 parliamentary constituencies, which are made up of 16 borough constituencies and 42 county constituencies. Since the general election of July 2024, 24 are represented by Labour MPs, 22 by Liberal Democrat MPs, 11 by Conservative MPs, and 1 by a Green MP.
The evolution of transport in Cornwall has been shaped by the county's strong maritime, mining and industrial traditions and much of the transport infrastructure reflects this heritage.
Holsworthy was a railway station in Devon, England, on the now-closed railway line from Okehampton to Bude. It opened in 1879 to serve the market town of Holsworthy and closed in 1966, a victim of the Beeching Axe.
The Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011(c. 1) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that made provision for the holding of a referendum on whether to introduce the Alternative Vote system in all future general elections to the UK Parliament and also made provision on the number and size of parliamentary constituencies. The Bill for the Act was introduced to the House of Commons on 22 July 2010 and passed third reading on 2 November by 321 votes to 264. The House of Lords passed the Bill, with amendments, on 14 February 2011, and after some compromises between the two Houses on amendments, it received Royal Assent on 16 February 2011.
The 2013 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, also known as the Sixth Review, was an ultimately unfruitful cycle of the process by which constituencies of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom are reviewed and redistributed. The four UK boundary commissions carried out their reviews between 2011 and 2013, but their recommendations were not taken up by the government and instead the 2018 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies was carried out from 2016 to 2018. That review was also not implemented and its results were formally laid aside in 2020.
Upper Tamar lake is a reservoir on the border of Cornwall and Devon in south-west England. It is owned by South West Water and managed by the South West Lakes Trust. The reservoir serves the water supply in the Bude area of Cornwall and surrounding districts, including Clovelly, Bradworthy and Warbstow.
The 2011 Torridge District Council election took place on 5 May 2011 to elect members of Torridge District Council in Devon, England. The whole council was up for election and the council stayed under no overall control.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Cornwall: Cornwall – ceremonial county and unitary authority area of England within the United Kingdom. Cornwall is a peninsula bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall is also a royal duchy of the United Kingdom. It has an estimated population of half a million and it has its own distinctive history and culture.
Presented below is an alphabetical index of articles related to Cornwall: