Candidates for last Devon County Council elections

Graphic courtesy North Devon District Council returning officer

Graphic courtesy North Devon District Council returning officer

On Thursday, May 1st the polling stations will open at 7am across North Devon for what is expected to be the last ever councillor elections for Devon County Council in its current form.

The county council and eight district councils are expected to be merged into some form of a new ‘unitary authority’ in the biggest shake-up of local government for decades. The UK Government says it wants to "streamline" local councils, but critics say the change could undermine local decision-making.

The latest proposal is that North Devon, Torridge, Mid Devon and Exeter join forces to create one new council for our region - there’s more detail in this BBC News report.

Devon’s district councils issued a joint statement, saying, “We are fully supportive of genuine devolution of powers from Whitehall to local government.” 

“However, following the publication of the Devolution White Paper, and subsequent statements by the leader of Devon County Council (prior to the 2025 elections), we would like to make it clear that we do not support the creation of one unitary council for Devon.”

“Our objective must be to get this right for our residents and businesses. That cannot be achieved if we make rushed decisions that have not been given the serious consideration that they deserve." 

Local polling stations close at 10pm on May 1st, and a list of candidates for the Devon County Council seats in our area is in the graphics above.