Honiton: The date has been set for Honiton and Tiverton by-election

The UK government have announced that the by-election for Honiton and Tiverton will take place on June 23.

Last month the member of Parliament for Honiton and Tiverton was forced to resign. He had been seen by two female MPs watching pornography in the House of Commons.

His resignation has triggered a by-election.

The constituency of Honiton and Tiverton was created in 1997 and since its incarnation it has always returned a Conservative MP.

Neil Parish has been the MP since 2010, and prior to him it was Angela Browning. In the latest election in 2019 Parish secured 60% of the vote. Labour came second with 20% of the vote and the Liberal Democrats came in third position with 15% of the votes.

However, the Liberal Democrats believe they are in a strong position to take the seat . Cllr Jamie Kemp told Nub News: "The Lib Dems have already shown we can take rural seats off the Conservatives following our shock win in North Shropshire last year.

"Voters in Devon have a long tradition of supporting the Liberal Democrats as strong local champions and the main opposition to the Conservatives. It is time we gave the constituents of Tiverton and Honiton and those in East Devon, an MP who will represent them in the manner they deserve.

"People in rural communities here, including many lifelong Conservative voters, are fed up with being taken for granted by Boris Johnson."

This week Neil Parish announced that he might stand as an independent candidate and that he is taking 'soundings' of support.

Read more:

Honiton: Neil Parish praised for his swift resignation

Cllr Jake Bonetta says Labour stands ready to represent Honiton