Torbay - Governance

Governance

The area is represented nationally at the House of Commons by two MPs. Torquay (along with part of Paignton) is in the Torbay parliamentary constituency which was created in 1974 and has been held by Adrian Sanders of the Liberal Democrats since 1997. Brixham and part of Paignton fall within the Totnes constituency, with Conservative Sarah Wollaston elected. Torbay is in the South West England constituency of the European Parliament, together with the rest of South West England and Gibraltar.

Torbay Council is headed by the first directly elected mayor in the South West region. Conservative candidate Nicholas Bye became the first mayor elected under this system in October 2005, under an electoral system which was later described as "a total failure" with Bye receiving votes from fewer than 7% of the electorate. He beat Liberal Democrat Nicholas Pannell in the second round of counting with a total of 7,096 votes to Pannell's 5,197. After the election, Bye noted the general apathy towards the concept displayed during the election, stating: "it is quite clear from canvassing that a lot of people did not want an elected mayor." The most recent mayoral election took place on 5 May 2011, in which Bye lost to Gordon Oliver.

For local elections the district is divided into 15 wards. The Council elects 36 councillors in elections held every four years. Since the Torbay Council election, 2011, the council has a Conservative majority. The composition as of 28 June 2012 was: