Claire Wright[1] is a British politician. She was a Devon county councillor from 2013 to 2021 and stood as an independent for East Devon in the 2015, 2017, and 2019 United Kingdom general elections, coming second each time.[2]
Claire Wright | |
|---|---|
| Devon County Councillor for Otter Valley Ottery St. Mary Rural (2013–2017) | |
| In office 2 May 2013 – 6 May 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Roger Giles |
| Succeeded by | Jess Bailey |
| Personal details | |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Independent |
| Residence | Ottery St Mary |
| Website | claire-wright |
Career edit
Wright started working in the National Health Service in a public relations role in 2001, served on the Ottery St Mary Town Council and was elected to Devon County Council in 2013 with 74 percent of the vote.[3][4] She stood as a parliamentary candidate in the 2015, 2017, and 2019 elections, receiving increasing shares of the vote.[5] Wright's main policy interests are the NHS, social care and preserving the environment,[3][6] with her manifesto based on a community survey.[7]
The East Devon constituency has only ever been held by the Conservative Party and used to be considered a safe seat. With growing support in the 2017 general election for Wright, polling indicated that the seat had become marginal.[3][8] Queen guitarist Brian May endorsed Wright in 2017,[7] while actor Hugh Grant and reporter Martin Bell endorsed Wright at the 2019 election.[5][9] However, in the December 2019 election, Wright lost to the Conservative Simon Jupp by nearly 7,000 votes.[10] Asked by local radio if she would run again, Wright was unsure.[11] In 2021, she announced she would not stand in the 2021 County Council elections.[12]
In Diary of an MP's Wife (2020), the memoirs of Sasha Swire, Wright is frequently referred to by the name "Claire Wrong".[13]
For the next UK general election in the seats of Exmouth and Exeter East and Honiton and Sidmouth, Wright has endorsed the campaigns of the prospective Liberal Democrat candidates.[14][15]
Personal life edit
Wright lives in Ottery St Mary in East Devon.[3]
Electoral record edit
2019 general election edit
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Simon Jupp | 32,577 | 50.8 |  2.3
| |
| Independent | Claire Wright | 25,869 | 40.4 | 5.1
| |
| Labour | Dan Wilson | 2,870 | 4.5 |  6.9
| |
| Liberal Democrats | Eleanor Rylance | 1,771 | 2.8 | 0.3
| |
| Green | Henry Gent | 711 | 1.1 | New | |
| Independent | Peter Faithfull | 275 | 0.4 | 0.2
| |
| Majority | 6,708 | 10.4 | 2.9
| ||
| Turnout | 64,073 | 73.8 | 0.5
| ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
2017 general election edit
[18]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Hugo Swire | 29,306 | 48.5 | 2.1
| |
| Independent | Claire Wright | 21,270 | 35.2 | 11.2
| |
| Labour | Jan Ross | 6,857 | 11.4 | 1.1
| |
| Liberal Democrats | Alison Eden | 1,468 | 2.4 | 4.4
| |
| UKIP | Brigitte Graham | 1,203 | 2.0 | 10.6
| |
| Independent | Peter Faithfull | 150 | 0.2 | New | |
| Independent | Michael Davies | 128 | 0.2 | New | |
| Majority | 8,036 | 13.3 | -9.1 | ||
| Turnout | 60,382 | 73.3 | -0.4 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
2015 general election edit
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Hugo Swire | 25,401 | 46.4 | −1.9 | |
| Independent | Claire Wright | 13,140 | 24.0 | New | |
| UKIP | Andrew Chapman | 6,870 | 12.5 | +4.4 | |
| Labour | Steve Race[20] | 5,591 | 10.2 | −0.6 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Stuart Mole | 3,715 | 6.8 | −24.4 | |
| Majority | 12,261 | 22.4 | +5.2 | ||
| Turnout | 54,717 | 73.7 | +1.1 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | +5.4 | |||
References edit
- ^ "13 December 2019 - Conservative elected as MP for East Devon". East Devon. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
- ^ Clark, Daniel (2 November 2019). "Independent who hopes to end 150 years of Conservatives in East Devon". Express & Echo. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
- ^ a b c d Chakelian, Anoosh (29 November 2019). "Rural revolt: The independent rebellion threatening Tory Devon". New Statesman. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
- ^ Bennett, Asa (4 May 2015). "Meet the Ottery independent candidate who could take one of the Tories' safest seats". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
- ^ a b Parsley, David (29 November 2019). "Disgruntled Tories may not vote in Devon, giving independent candidate a chance". inews.co.uk. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
- ^ Capurro, Daniel (23 November 2019). "Hot seat: East Devon - Can Independent take Tory seat after 150 years?". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
- ^ a b Smith, Colleen (13 September 2019). "All eyes on Devon's Claire Wright ahead of General Election". Devon Live. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
- ^ "Poll suggests Liberal Democrat defectors set to lose in General Election". Evening Express. Press Association. 28 November 2019. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
- ^ "Martin Bell OBE backs Independent Claire Wright to be East Devon MP". East Devon News. 3 November 2019. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
- ^ "East Devon parliamentary constituency". BBC News. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
- ^ "Independent Wright 'incredibly sad' after defeat". Radio Exe. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
- ^ "Claire Wright quits politics". Sidmouth Herald. 9 April 2021. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
- ^ Semple, Sandra (28 September 2020). "Sasha Swire's 'Diary of an MP's Wife' : superiority, sex and sneering". West Country Voices.
- ^ https://twitter.com/ClaireWrightInd/status/1761416515042062563?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet
- ^ https://twitter.com/ClaireWrightInd/status/1685724708040237057
- ^ "Statement of Persons Nominated" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 November 2019.
- ^ "Statement of persons nominated, notice of poll and situation of polling stations: East Devon" (PDF). East Devon District Council. 11 May 2017. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
- ^ "Devon East parliamentary constituency - Election 2017" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
- ^ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
- ^ Labour, East Devon (16 February 2015). "East Devon unanimously and warmly selected Steve Race as their PPC.. Agent Ray Davison said: ' Steve is in every way an MP to be.'".