The seat unusually saw its second member, (Emma Nicholson), who attained the second absolute majority in its history, a Conservative, defect or "cross the floor" in 1995 to the Liberal Democrats.

He also was elevated to the peerage, and after standing down, the seat was gained by Geoffrey Cox of the Conservative Party who attained a majority of 3,236 votes in 2005.

The economy of the area is dominated by sectors such as agriculture, food processing, defence, hospitality, construction, maintenance and engineering and from Bideford and Northam a small amount of fishing; it also includes tourism, such as the island of Lundy, and sandy resort of Westward Ho!, to the small, centrally pedestrianised, cobbled, museum-dotted village of Clovelly.

Great Torrington and Buckland Monachorum are among the archetypal rural villages, in an area with tranquil retreats, relatively close to the edge of Dartmoor.

Workless claimants, registered jobseekers, were in November 2012 lower than the national average of 3.8%, at 2.5% of the population based on a statistical compilation by The Guardian.