Constituency profile

South Devon

South West · County constituency

Caroline Voaden MP
Sitting MP

Caroline Voaden

Liberal Democrat

First elected July 2024

Current PollCheck projection

Region & type
South West
County constituency
Last 5 GE winners
CCCCLD
Conservative 4/5, Liberal Democrats 1/5
EU referendum 2016
57.1% Leave
UK average 51.9%; +5.2pp above mean
Current outlook
Liberal Democrats +15.4pp
vs Reform UK 26.6%
SouthernLeave-leaning

About the South Devon constituency

South Devon is a county constituency in the South West, spanning parts of South Hams, Torbay and neighbouring councils. The sitting MP is Caroline Voaden (Liberal Democrat), first elected in July 2024.

At the 2024 general election, the Liberal Democrats won South Devon with 46.0% of the vote, ahead of the Conservatives on 31.4%, a majority of 7,127 votes. Turnout was 67.8%.

If a general election were held today, PollCheck's projection at the current seven-poll average has the Liberal Democrats on 42.0% and Reform UK on 26.6% in South Devon, a margin of 15.4 points. The projection updates automatically as new polls are added.

Demographically, South Devon is a Leave-leaning area (an estimated 57.1% voted Leave in 2016). About 34.9% of residents hold a degree, 69.3% of homes are owner-occupied, and the seat has a median age of about 52 (2021 Census).

Across the last 5 general elections on record, the seat has been won by the Conservatives 4 times, the Liberal Democrats 1 time (earlier years may be on predecessor boundaries).

Who lives in South Devon? Constituency demographics

From the 2021 Census and 2016 EU referendum estimates. Constituency-level data on 2024 boundaries.

Leave vote 2016
57.1%
UK average ~52%
Degree or above
34.9%
UK average ~34%
No qualifications
15.4%
UK average ~18%
Owner-occupied
69.3%
UK average ~63%
Renting (social + private)
29.2%
UK average ~36%
Median age
52.5
UK median ~40
Age 65+
35.0%
UK average ~19%
Age 18-34
20.1%
UK average ~28%

How did South Devon vote in 2024 and how would it vote now?

2024 vote shares from the HoC Library. Current projection is at the 7-poll average.

2024 general election

LD gain from Con · majority 7,127 votes (14.6pp) · turnout 67.8%

Current projection

If a general election were held today, at current poll average

Map of South Devon

Switch between ward-level 2024 election winners and a demographic view. Ward winners are Britain Elects' / New Statesman modelled estimates with an average ~4pp margin of error per ward. The demographic view splits the seat into small neighbourhoods (around 1,500 residents each, from the 2021 Census). Hover any area for detail.

Council layer (not Westminster)

South Devon within South Hams and Torbay

South Devon crosses multiple council boundaries: South Hams (56%), Torbay (44%). English councils rotate their election cycles and none of the constituent councils were due to vote in 2026, so the figures below show the most recent ward result available for each ward.

Council overlap

CouncilShare of seat
South Hams
30 LSOAs
56%
Torbay
24 LSOAs
44%

Most recent council ward results

Latest council winner per ward. Where the council held a May 2026 election, those results are shown; otherwise we show the most recent available ward result (via DCLEAPIL, 2014-2024), or, where the seat was uncontested at the last election, the current sitting councillor from OpenCouncilData. The "Shift since GE2024" column is only computed for May 2026 results - earlier council votes pre-date the GE, so no directional shift is shown.

Ward GE2024 winner Latest council winner Shift since GE2024 Turnout

Projection trajectory

PollCheck's projection for South Devon at each of the last 60 GB polls. Hover the chart for the underlying poll details.

Who has won South Devon at past general elections?

2024 result is on current boundaries. The 2019 row is the UK Parliament's notional recalculation onto the 2024 boundaries (directly comparable to 2024). The 2010, 2015 and 2017 rows are on the boundaries in force at the time and aren't directly comparable.

Year Result MP Lab Con LD Right (Ref/UKIP) Green Other Majority Turnout
2010predecessorCon holdSarah Wollaston Totnes MP7.4%45.9%35.6%6.0% UKIP2.5%2.7%4,92770.4%
2015predecessorCon holdSarah Wollaston Totnes MP12.7%53.0%9.9%14.1% UKIP10.3%-18,28568.6%-1.8
2017predecessorCon holdSarah Wollaston Totnes MP26.8%53.7%12.9%2.5% UKIP4.2%-13,47772.9%+4.3
2019notionalConservative winnerAnthony Mangnall Totnes MP, pre-review boundary17.0%53.6%28.2%-0.2%1.0%13,71975.6%
2024LD gain from ConCaroline Voaden6.3%31.5%46.0%13.0% Ref3.1%0.3%7,12767.8%-7.8

South Devon was created or substantially redrawn by the 2023 boundary review. Pre-2024 rows below are for the predecessor seat Totnes (the seat that covered most of this area), so vote shares and majorities aren’t directly comparable to the post-2024 figures.

Constituencies most like South Devon

Five seats with similar demographic profiles to South Devon. Politics shown for context.

What would change this seat?

Move the sliders to set national vote shares. The per-seat projection updates live. Reset returns to the current 7-poll average.

Related

Sources

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