Tiverton & Honiton

Neil Parish will remain MP for Tiverton & Honiton after winning the seat with an increased majority.

The Conservative MP beat Labour's Liz Pole by 24,239 votes, 4,438 more votes than the majority at the 2017 election.

John Timperley of the Liberal Democrats came third and the Green Party's Colin Reed came fourth.

• General election 2019: Latest national results
• Election 2019: Election words and phrases explained

Voter turnout was up by 0.2 percentage points since the last general election.

Nearly 60,000 people, 71.9% of those eligible to vote, went to polling stations across the area on Thursday, in the first December general election since 1923.

Two of the five candidates, Mr Reed and Margaret Dennis (UKIP) lost their £500 deposits after failing to win 5% of the vote.

This story was created using some automation.

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A large seat in the rolling rural landscape in mid and east Devon, the areas covered by Tiverton and Honiton have elected Conservative MPs for decades.

Named after the two market towns that are the major population centres in the area, Honiton (pictured) is also known for lace-making.

According to the 2011 census, nearly a quarter of the constituency's residents are over 65 and 98.5% of its population is white.

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Conservative Neil Parish won the seat in 2010 with a majority of 9,320, bolstering his support in the 2015 and 2017; and possibly hoping to boost his numbers further this time around.

However, UKIP came second in 2015, which may be why it has fielded a candidate in 2019 along with Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Greens.

You can find out more about the area's candidates and previous results here.

As we wait for the election results to come through, here's a quick recap of what people in one Devon town said they wanted to see from the election.

Asked about the issues that mattered to them, many in Honiton - part of the Tiverton and Honiton constituency - said they were concerned about the health of the high street itself.

Brexit was a big issue for some as well, needless to say.

You can find out more about what they said here.

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Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson said during a trip to Cornwall that her party could be the one that caused big problems for Boris Johnson as he sought a parliamentary majority.

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Housing is, of course, a hot topic nationally.

In the South West, many areas have high house prices and high rents, which coupled with the region's low salaries causes many difficulties for people just trying to keep a roof over their head.

Jeremy Corbyn addressed some of these problems during a campaigning visit to Falmouth.

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The prime minister and Conservative Party leader was interviewed several times during visits to the South West.

This is some of what he said about the region and what his party planned to deliver:

• On the NHS after being questioned on hospitals frequently being on high alert and having to turn away patients: "We are putting in the biggest cash boost in memory... but there is more to do."
• On improving train lines in the South West, particularly on the main line on the coast at Dawlish, which can be susceptible to bad weather: "We will put in the £80m needed to fix the line at Dawlish that is needed and come up with a proper long-term solution."
• On fishing: "We will absolutely maximize the interests of fishermen in the South West and across the whole of the UK."
• On the South West Water rebate of £50 a year per customer because SWW bills are the highest in Britain: "We're committed to funding through the whole of the next Parliament."

Liz Pole, the Labour candidate for Tiverton and Honiton, can’t watch as the Conservatives gain Blyth Valley from Labour.

This is the first time the area has had a Tory MP and not a Labour one.

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As the ballot boxes arrive at the counts throughout the South West, estimations for when results will be in are also being predicted:

• Camborne and Redruth: 01:00
• Newton Abbot: 02:00
• Exeter: 03:30
• Tiverton and Honiton: 05:00
• Torridge and West Devon: 05:00
• Truro and Falmouth: 02:00

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This is the first General Election since 1923 to be held in December.

Hopefully these mince pies and chocolates at the count in Tiverton were bought more recently than that...

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