THE GREEN PARTY has chosen its candidate for Central Devon at the next general election. 

Gill Westcott is a Mid Devon district councillor for Canonsleigh, a grandmother and has lived in the constituency for 14 years. 

She is hoping her green goals and local ties will woo voters. 

“I would be honoured to represent the communities in Central Devon,” she said.  

“I’ve taught in schools and adult education, grown and sold vegetables, been a parish councillor and helped start a community land trust to provide low-cost housing for local people. 

"The government is chipping away at our democracy, betraying our kids and our future, failing the NHS and those in need of social care, failing British farmers, failing to halt growing inequality. 

“I stand for repairing and improving our democracy; a fully public, well-funded NHS; real action on climate and ecology, better rural services and a flourishing locally based economy.  

“I want us to clean up our rivers, support our farmers to protect nature and move to a fairer, cleaner, safer and greener economy.” 

The other candidates announced so far are incumbent Tory MP Mel Stride and Liberal Democrat Mark Wooding. 

The Central Devon seat extends from Crediton to Okehampton and Ashburton and has been Conservative since it was created in 2010. Mel Stride MP won over 55 per cent of the vote in 2019 with a big 17,721-strong majority. 

The latest YouGov poll has predicted the Conservatives will hang on to the seat despite a Labour landslide across the country. 

The pollster said the Conservatives would get just 33 per cent of the vote, Labour 30 per cent, the Liberal Democrats 16 per cent, the Greens nine per cent and Reform UK 12 per cent. 

The Central Devon constituency boundaries are being moved slightly at the next election. Cowley and Brampford Speke will be lost to new seat Exmouth and Exeter East, and a parcel of land west of Okehampton will go to another new constituency Torridge and Tavistock. Central Devon will gain a small slice of Newton Abbot, however. 

An election has not yet been called but must be held no later than January 28.