Parliamentary candidates, on their nomination form, must supply a home address to the Returning Officer. It doesn’t have to be within the constituency. Candidates have an option to ask for this not to be disclosed publicly.

Simon Jupp, unusually, chose not to have his address during the campaign disclosed as can be seen below. None of the other candidates withheld their addresses and Owl cannot recall seeing another example.

Simon Jupp was parachuted into the constituency as the Conservative candidate in the December 2019 general election, following Hugo Swire’s decision not to stand again.

Plymouth born and educated, Simon Jupp, in 2019, was a Special Advisor (SPAD) to Dominc Raab at the time which would have meant needing to live within striking distance of the “Westminster Bubble”.

With Claire Wright tipped to win the constituency as an Independent, having come close second in the previous two elections, one can understand that he mightn’t want to commit to permanent residence whilst campaigning.

The SPAD in him must have thought a “Westminster” address had the wrong look, especially for one with little experience and none as an elected representative.Though not having an East Devon address didn’t seem to hamper his predecessor, Hugo Swire, who had decamped to his manor in mid-Devon years ago.

So, what did he do to gain local residence credibility? Rent a property, an Airbnb perhaps? Or  was he offered the use of the house of one of the many Conservative activists as a “pied-à-terre”?

Whatever it was, either his or his constituency advisors’ political antennae thought it best to keep this East Devon address “secret”.