Conservatives hold on to South West Devon

Rebecca Smith had 2,112 vote majority over Labour

The South West Devon seat held by veteran MP Sir Gary Streeter has been retained for the Conservatives..

Rebecca Smith won with a majority of 2,112 over Labour’s Sarah Allen. Both sit on Plymouth City Council.

At 67 per cent, turnout was the largest of the three Plymouth seats.

Refleting the national picture, the election proved disasterous for the Tories across Devon, where the party lost more than half its seats; six to the Liberal Democrats and one, Plymouth Moor View, to Labour.

The new MP said it was “brilliant “ to win and thanked all her fellow candidates for fighting “a clean campaign”. The result followed more than a year of “working really hard”.

She said she would work positively and constructively for the people of her constituency which includes Plympton, Plymstock, Ivybridge and villages within West Devon and the South Hams.

The areas had been “brilliantly served” by Conservative MPs Sir Gary Streeter and Sir Geoffrey Cox, who is has been retained in the Torridge seat which is now combined with Tavistock, over many years and she said she would  work with “honesty, decency and integrity”

Miss Smith moved back to Plymouth nine years ago to be closer to family. She said her victory ended the longest drought in female parliamentary representation in Plymouth since Lady Nancy Aster was elected in 1919 and served for nine years.

She said she is looking forward to taking her work on Violence Against Women and Girls to Westminster and added: “I am most grateful for the trust you have put in me to serve your community.”

South West Devon results:

Rebecca Smith (Conservative): 17,916

Sarah Allen (Labour): 15,804

Steve Horner (Reform UK): 9,361

Julian Brazil (Liberal Democrat): 5,551

Lauren McLay (Green): 2,925 votes

Alan Spencer (Independent): 438

Ben Davy (Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition): 141

Darryl Ingram (Heritage Party) 106