Dear Owl, 

Like the MP for Exmouth and Exeter East, I’m an “incomer” to East Devon, so am not fully aware of what has gone on in the area over the years. 

I enjoy reading your articles in East Devon Watch as they provide background information on the political scene in our area. I found your article with the headline ‘”BUILD, BUILD, BUILD” SKINNER BACK ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL’ dated 17th March very informative. 

From my understanding, Mr David George Reed stood as a Conservative councillor candidate for Cheltenham Borough Council – Park Ward in May 2022. So presumably he came to our constituency in 2023, as he was selected to be Conservative Parliamentary Party Candidate for Exmouth and Exeter East in the summer of 2023. 

My husband met Mr David George Reed in Brixington in April 2024 when he handed him a leaflet as he was campaigning for Mrs Aurora Bailey, the Conservative candidate in the by-election. Mr David George Reed told my husband that he’d been selected to be the parliamentary candidate for his political party. 

I have read the MP for Exmouth and Exeter East’s Facebook post dated 13th March, that you refer to in your article. I noticed that he was keen to blame the “Lib Dems-led East Devon District Council” for the “extra housing”. He stated the obvious: “Our current sewage network in #ExmouthandExeterEast cannot cope with this.” There are many reasons why the sewage network can’t cope with the present infrastructure. Mainly because the water companies have put profit and dividends before investment in replacing sewage pipes, updating pumping stations and sewage treatment works. It was the Conservative privatisaton that has been a contributory factor to the problems we have in East Devon and across the country. It was also the former Conservative government, including the former MP for East Devon, where Exmouth was the largest town in his constituency, who voted to relax legislation on water companies. 

East Devon District Council is led by the Democratic Alliance Group which consists of Liberal Democrats, Greens and Independent Councillors. Apparently, the Democratic Alliance Group was formed because although the Liberal Democrats had the most councillors elected in May 2023, there weren’t enough of them to form a majority. I have checked East Devon District Council’s website and whilst the Leader of the East Devon District Council is Liberal Democrats, not all of the Portfolio and Assistant Portfolio holders are members of the Liberal Democrats political party. I would have thought that having campaigned on behalf of candidates to be district councillors in Brixington and Exe Valley wards, our MP would know the political situation at East Devon District Council. 

I read the article with the headline “BUILD BABY BUILD” ANGELA RAYNER WANTS TO STRIP COUNCILLORS OF PLANNING POWERS’ in East Devon Watch, dated 10th March and found this very informative. From my understanding, it appears that the former Conservative government imposed housing targets, just like the present Labour government. Apparently, the government can take over council’s planning departments if the targets aren’t met.

I was under the impression that the MP for Exmouth and Exeter East was keen to have a cross party approach to solve problems in our constituency. I presumed that this was because he recognised that having gained a majority of only 121 votes, he realised the importance of good communication skills with others, who have different political opinions to his own. The outcome of the general election in July 2024, showed that this constituency is more of less a three-way split – Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrats. 

The day before the Exe Valley by-election, their MP stated in his Facebook post, dated 12th March. “It’s worth noticing that this by-election has come about because the former Lib Dems councillor failed to turn up and do the job he was elected to do. This unavoidable by-election is costing us all money.”

It seemed very coincidental that the MP for Exmouth and Exeter East decided to criticise the Liberal Democrats the day before the by-election and also on the same as the by-election for Exe Valley ward. Maybe after reading their Conservative MPs social media posts, voters in Exe Valley ward made up their mind not to vote Conservative in this by-election. Perhaps they decided to vote for the Reform UK candidate instead!

We don’t know what is going on in councillors’ personal lives. There were probably very good reasons why the former Conservative district councillor for Brixington ward and the former district councillor for Exe Valley ward didn’t attend meetings/stood down. I would have hoped that the MP for Exmouth and Exeter East would have been less judgmental and shown more empathy to the former councillors, who relinquished their position, irrespective of political affiliations. 

The former MP for East Devon used to criticise East Devon District Council and those in other political parties. That could have been a factor why he wasn’t elected to be the MP for Honiton and Sidmouth. 

Interestingly, in May 2024 the result of the by-election in Brixington was Conservative hold and the result of the by-election in Exe Valley ward last week was Liberal Democrats hold. 

Yours sincerely, 

An incomer like the MP for Exmouth and Exeter East