Paignton - Governance

Governance

As Paignton's population grew, it merged with the coastal villages of Goodrington and Preston. The town was governed by an urban district council until 1968, when the creation of Torbay Council led to a single body covering Torquay, Paignton and Brixham. The unitary authority formed in 1998 now handles all local government for Torbay, which has a directly elected mayor and 36 councillors. They are elected every four years. The Mayor chooses nine councillors to form the Cabinet. The Chairman of Torbay Council wears the chain of office. The first elected mayor was Nick Bye, elected in 2005. In 2011 Gordon Oliver became the second. Most of Paignton is in the Torbay constituency, with Adrian Sanders the incumbent Liberal Democrat MP. Some areas in the southern and western parts of the town are in the Totnes constituency represented by Sarah Wollaston. In the 2009 European elections, the United Kingdom Independence Party topped the poll in Torbay with 34.4% of the vote.