Blackdown Hills Conservatives

21/05/2026

We were out in Upottery yesterday knocking on doors sharing our petition to improve local bus routes.

https://www.honitonandsidmouthconservatives.org.uk/campaigns/get-rural-devon-moving-again

19/05/2026

Around 8,000 residents across the Blackdown Hills now have no usable daily bus service. Some parishes have no scheduled bus at all. Others get just one or two buses a week.

That means elderly residents struggling to reach GP appointments, young people cut off from jobs and social life, and workers unable to take shifts unless they own a car.

Meanwhile Devon County Council received £10.3 million in Government bus funding.

The Blackdown Hills got nothing.

The Liberal Democrat and Green administration at County Hall talks constantly about rural communities and climate change, yet their first full budget delivered no headline funding uplift for rural buses.

Their Lib Dem MP Richard Foord has also been missing in action on the issue.

We are calling for a fair deal for Rural Devon, including protection for Service 20, evening and Sunday buses, daily weekday services for every parish, and proper long-term rural transport funding.

Rural Devon pays its share of council tax. It deserves a fair share of transport spending.

Sign the petition below:

Back our campaign for better buses in the Blackdown HillsThousands of residents across the Blackdown Hills are left without a reliable public transport service.In many villages:

28/04/2026

Weak!

Keir Starmer sneaks one behind Richard Foord…

Today, Conservative MPs tabled a motion to refer Keir Starmer to the Privileges Committee over the Peter Mandelson affair.
But what did our Lib Dem MP Richard Foord do?

He ABSTAINED.

Missing in Action – AGAIN! Foord has built a worrying habit of ducking the votes that actually matter to people in East & Mid Devon: from the grooming gangs inquiry to the devastating new family farms tax.

Too weak to scrutinise Starmer.

Too spineless to stand up for local families.

Honiton & Sidmouth deserves an MP who turns up and fights — not this Lib Dem no-show.

21/04/2026

Today’s evidence from sacked Foreign Office chief Sir Olly Robbins to the Foreign Affairs Committee has been utterly devastating for Keir Starmer.

19/04/2026

Let us know what's going on in Awliscombe, Broadhembury, Chardstock, Combe Raleigh, Cotleigh, Dalwood, Dunkeswell, Kilmington, Luppitt, Membury, Monkton, Payhembury, Plymtree, Sheldon, Shute, Stockland, Talaton, Upottery, Yarcombe.

Frustrated about the state of the roads? Council tax? Poor public transport? - Let us know!

Fill out our quick 5 minute East & Mid Devon local issues survey: https://www.honitonandsidmouthconservatives.org.uk/EDDC-survey

13/04/2026

Britain Votes Now (one of the most widely trusted political projection sites in the UK) makes it clear:
A vote for Reform in Honiton & Sidmouth is a vote for the Lib Dems.

*Data as of 13/04/26
https://britain.votes.now/uk-parl/votesnowcast/honiton-and-sidmouth

23/03/2026

The Government has approved plans allowing local authorities to introduce a tax on visitors staying in the UK.

In East and Mid Devon, tourism is central to the local economy. Many residents work in hospitality, and local pubs, cafés, and restaurants depend on visitor spending to remain viable.

Domestic holidays are already becoming significantly more expensive due to rising costs across the economy. Introducing an additional local tax risks deterring visitors, with potential negative consequences for jobs, businesses, and the wider community.

If you believe this policy risks undermining our local economy, consider supporting the petition below.

Sign the petition: https://bit.ly/stoptheholidaytax

17/03/2026

Safer roads for Monkton and Rawridge

Residents in Monkton, Rawridge and nearby villages are dealing with ongoing problems on the A303/A30, including heavy traffic, narrow roads, potholes, poor drainage and serious safety concerns.

We are calling for action, including a long-term bypass solution alongside practical improvements to make local roads safer and more reliable.

Please support the campaign by signing the petition and completing the short survey. Your response will help build the case for change.

Sign here: https://www.honitonandsidmouthconservatives.org.uk/campaigns/bypass

16/03/2026

Rather than investing in ‘green-buses’, residents across the Blackdown Hills would rather Devon buses actually cover many of our parishes- where bus routes are either infrequent or don’t exist at all.

Local Conservatives are campaigning for better public transport infrastructure for rural Devon.

Around 90 new zero-emission buses are to be delivered with £7.53 million of funding awarded to Devon County Council.