Exciting, fascinating, exhausting, challenging and fun.

30th June 2025 Zoe Clough

Caroline Voaden’s first year as South Devon MP has been all that and more.

It’s been a year since she was elected for the Liberal Democrats and mixed with the victories for individual constituents , and the joy of waltzing for Rowcroft Hospice’s Strictly ,are the frustrations and failures.

Government Climb Down

We spoke on the day the Government announced its welfare budget saving reforms would not be as extensive as it had hoped. Caroline welcomes the change of heart. “It shows the power of the back benchers. It shows the policy was wrong. It was handled badly. We do agree that the welfare bill can not continue to grow at this rate but PIP is not where we would start.”

Personal Independence Payments are paid to people who have problems with daily care – like washing and cooking – and also mobility difficulties. They can be at work or unemployed and are assessed on a points system. It is proposed that cuts will now apply only to future claimants. “It should not have taken a major rebellion for the Government to realise that these cuts were going to cause huge damage to some of the most vulnerable people and also risk creating a false economy by forcing some people out of work.” Also, she explained, if a disabled person has a carer getting
carers’ allowance, if they lost PIP the carer would lose that allowance – yet often they can’t work because they are carers so they need some income. “What I do think is worrying is that it looks like we might have a two tier system because someone who applies in a year’s time might not be eligible.”

Slow Progress

Closer to home, Caroline is still wanting answers from South West Water – and has so far “got nowhere”. More than 100 of her Brixham constituents were made ill when contaminated water got into the drinking water supply. Hundreds of families had to boil water for weeks while the system was flushed and repaired. “We have been asking for a year for a proper infrastructure plan as to how they are going to repair the sewer overflow system and when, with some specific details around places like Capton that flood.”
“And what I wanted to see for Brixham was an effort to engage properly with people who are still unwell and some random testing of water in people’s homes, and this is something they have consistently refused to do. Susan Davey [chief executive of Pennon Group, which owns SWW] is really not engaging publicly.”

The Lack of Pharmacies

Closer still, and health matters are, as always, never off the agenda. She is supporting the campaign for a third pharmacy in Totnes, which since Boots left Leatside surgery has seen huge stresses
placed on Well and Morrisons. (see Pulse articles) “It is evident – from my own trip to Morrisons today – that the town has not enough capacity and we need another pharmacy. It is appalling that one pharmacy in a town can override an NHS decision so that another pharmacy can’t open. But it is not just about that, it is about the ability to pick up prescriptions at the doctors’ surgery, it’s about people accessing health care and the number of appointments it would save and the amount of money that would save, because all GP’s surgeries are struggling financially.”
She said that Devon county council has quite soon to make a decision about pharmacy provision.
[The council has a public health remit and at the time of its last assessment , in 2022, it judged there was enough provision in the South Hams – but that was before Boots at Leatside closed. The
next assessment is due this year.] “We have put in quite a strong letter to them saying Totnes needs to have three pharmacies. I don’t know if they can override NHS Resolution but we are going to carry on the campaign. “And if Well pharmacy is ever closed, then everyone is relying on Morrisons, which is shut at lunchtime.”

Totnes MIU

I asked about the speculation about the future of Totnes Hospital and the minor injuries unit. Caroline told me it is not closing – but it may be used differently. “That is about two things – the needs of the population, and also about the viability of staffing.”
It seems that there is a problem finding staff for the MIU partly because of lack of public transport and also the high cost of housing.

With such a large Labour majority, does Caroline think MPs not in Government are able to actually achieve things? She quickly points to some recent wins.
“We campaigned hard on the winter fuel allowance and are campaigning on the farm inheritance tax. We got the Government to commit to getting solar panels on all new homes.We got them to give court transcripts to victims of crime and changed the law so a domestic abuse crime is recorded as such by the police, and not just as an assault. The Government didn’t know how many domestic abusers there were in prison so (as assault prisoners) they were eligible for early release. Now they will be recorded and not let out early.”

HAVE A BREAK….. HAVE A KIT KAT

And what about some frivolity when she’s not querying ministers and badgering businesspeople?
Well, she confesses she had always wanted to go on Strictly Come Dancing. So being asked to perform for Rowcroft Hospice’s fundraising dance-a-thon was not to be ignored.
“It was terrifying but it was a moment in my week for a few months when I did a dance lessor or two . The whole thing was incredible and Rowcroft raised tens of thousands of pounds. It was just a brilliant event.”
Caroline learned the cha cha cha and a waltz. “The cha cha cha was more fun but I loved learning how to waltz.” She didn’t get a glitter ball but she did win a Kit Kat… a new Lib Dem tradition.
She groaned a little when I asked her about this chocolate prize but explained it had only been going a few weeks.
“We nominate someone who we think has done really good work that week ,and I got one for showing the team that it was good to get out of your comfort zone and do something brave!”