Former county councillor and candidate in previous general elections Claire Wright has backed Liberal Democrat MP Richard Foord to take the new Honiton and Sidmouth constituency.

Standing as an independent, Wright secured 40.4 per cent of the vote in East Devon in the 2019 general election, losing to Conservative Simon Jupp's 50.8 per cent.

Liberal Democrat Richard Foord is currently the MP for Tiverton and Honiton. He won a by-election after Conservative MP Neil Parish resigned in 2022.

Claire Wright said: "I'm backing Liberal Democrat MP Richard Foord to take the new Honiton and Sidmouth constituency at the next general election.

"I've been talking with Richard over the last few months on how I can best support him in his campaign to win the soon-to-be-formed constituency, which includes my home town of Ottery St Mary.

"I remain as fascinated with politics as ever and have been following Richard's work since his election. What I have observed over the past year is a dedicated hard-working thoroughly decent man who cares very much about his constituents, so I contacted him to pledge my support.

"Richard's priorities are very similar to my own, which were established after surveying hundreds of people and listening to thousands of others during my role as a county councillor for many years.

"Richard has already demonstrated that he is a committed champion for our precious NHS, which has been eviscerated after years of deliberate neglect by a government that doesn't appear to believe in the welfare state.

"He also cares very much about, and is active on, environmental issues, including working to prevent sewage in our rivers and coastal waters and most recently speaking at a parliamentary debate to save our migratory birds from extinction, following the submission of a petition signed by over 100,000 people.

"He has also demonstrated that he cares very much about people who are desperately struggling in society, speaking out on local decisions to remove funding from the most vulnerable people, including those who are homeless.

"This is the man I want to be my MP."

Claire was the independent Devon County Councillor for Otter Valley before deciding not to stand for re-election in 2021.