Devonport is, of course, the name given to the area of the dockyards in Plymouth, now almost 300 years old. Along with the docks there is also the naval base and great swathes of council housing built on the hills of Plymouth’s northern fringe, in wards like Budshead and Southway, all working-class territory.
Michael Foot was the Labour MP from 1945 to 1955, when he was ousted by Dame Joan Vickers who represented Devonport for the Conservatives until 1974 when she was beaten by a Labour candidate - Dr David Owen. He had been member for the neighbouring Sutton seat since 1966 and did very well to hold onto Devonport for Labour in 1979, by 1,001 votes against the national tide. Owen - a former Labour foreign secretary - then became a founding member then Leader of the Social Democratic Party and twice again held Devonport.
After the demise of the SDP, Owen retired rather than fight Devonport again. His departure after nearly 20 years led to another remarkable result in his old constituency - in 1992 Labour increased their share of the vote by no less than 20%, to win by over 7,000 votes from the Tories.