iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Richard Foord MP @richardfoordld.bsky.social · 2h

At Blackdown Farm Vets in Dalwood, I heard how bovine TB takes a heavy toll on farmers - on their mental health and their finances. A new TB control strategy deserves to be debated in Parliament in the coming months.

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Richard Foord MP @richardfoordld.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

A productive Metro Board meeting, which I co-chair with Gideon Amos MP, on the new stations at Cullompton and Wellington. Cullompton has waited since 1964 for its trains to return, and plans are progressing.

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Richard Foord MP @richardfoordld.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

A pleasure to speak to pupils at St John's School, Sidmouth about how Parliament works. They care deeply about their community, from cleaning up our polluted waterways to having more spaces locally to go and have fun. Thank you for having me.

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Richard Foord MP @richardfoordld.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Fracking should be subject to a complete ban in England and Wales. Richard Tice called fracked shale gas 'treasure', in a debate on banning fracking. He reminds me of a character from Stevenson's "Treasure Island".

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Richard Foord MP @richardfoordld.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

A farmer at the NFU's stakeholder day near Broadclyst missed out on SFI funding because they were at a family hospital appointment on the day it opened. The window shut in under six hours. I have added my name to Sarah Dyke MP's letter to the Environment Secretary. SFI should not be a lottery.

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Richard Foord MP @richardfoordld.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

On Monday I joined a Demos panel at Lib Dem conference on hostile states weaponising our information environment. The next day, the PM announced a National Centre for Information Defence, as the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee urged in March. My test: public-facing and answerable to Parliament.

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Richard Foord MP @richardfoordld.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Labour's Local Government Reorganisation would have placed Honiton, Cullompton, Colyton, Sidmouth, Ottery St Mary, Seaton and Axminster into one enormous rural council incorporating Salcombe and Ilfracombe. That decision has now been paused for a review. Read my thoughts in the Midweek Herald here:

midweekherald.co.uk

COLUMN: Are we nearly there yet?

In our car it usually came from the back seat before we'd even reached Tiverton.

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Richard Foord MP @richardfoordld.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Devon's council shake-up is paused, not stopped. In this video, I set out what the local government reorganisation plans for a new Devon Council would mean for Honiton, Sidmouth, Cullompton, Axminster, Seaton, Ottery St Mary - and the rest of the Honiton & Sidmouth constituency.

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Richard Foord MP @richardfoordld.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

The Government plans a visitor levy charged as a percentage of each overnight stay, with no national cap. Devon businesses tell me they fear fewer bookings. My message to Ministers: a tax created with city breaks in mind could reduce the number of visitors to Devon.

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Richard Foord MP @richardfoordld.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

The EU's ban on Russian LNG starts at the beginning of 2027. Pipeline gas is permitted until the autumn. That is another year of European money reaching Moscow. I asked the Defence Secretary what he is doing about it. Unity on Ukraine has to include switching off the gas imports.

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Richard Foord MP @richardfoordld.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

I joined ITV West Country to discuss NHS dentistry in the Honiton and Sidmouth constituency.

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Richard Foord MP @richardfoordld.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Axminster, Honiton and Feniton sit on the West of England line. Reduced timetable since late July - the second summer running that drought has shrunk the embankments beneath the track. My ask of the Leader of the House was simple: a railway built for the climate we have and that we will have.

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Richard Foord MP @richardfoordld.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

£32 million for cooling and ventilation in NHS hospitals was announced today. In time, the school estate will need the same. Seven children at Littletown Primary in Honiton wrote to me after their school closed for two days in June and I shared their sentiments with the Health Secretary.

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Richard Foord MP @richardfoordld.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

At the NFU's Back British Farming Day reception this morning with David Chugg, NFU South Regional Board Chair and NFU Devon County Chair. Devon has devastating bout of bluetongue, more than any other English county.

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Richard Foord MP @richardfoordld.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

On Thursday, MPs debated the intelligence assessment that treats global biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse as a threat to our national security. It is a framing that researchers at the University of Exeter - a few miles from where I live - have cautioned against.

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Richard Foord MP @richardfoordld.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Since this plan to carve-up Devon was announced, Liberal Democrats have fought it at every turn. I will not pretend we did it alone; the Govt's legal advice changed, and four counties took Ministers to court. Yet the argument they have paused to reconsider is ours.

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Richard Foord MP @richardfoordld.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Water company bosses were asked whether they would swim in the water their own firms discharge into. Not one said yes. If it isn't good enough for them, it isn't good enough for people who live in Sidmouth, Seaton, Beer and beyond. inews.co.uk/news/water-f...

inews.co.uk

We invited 9 water firm bosses to swim in their local bathing spot. Zero said yes

These CEOs earn seven-figure salaries and insist their water quality is 'excellent'. Yet they have suddenly become very hard to reach...

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Richard Foord MP @richardfoordld.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Every recess I take to the road across east and mid Devon, from the smallest villages to the market towns. The feedback I come away with is honest and specific, and it tells me what people here care about. Now Parliament is back, those conversations come with me.

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Reposted by Richard Foord MP

We Own It @weownit.org.uk · 03/09/2026

Almost £1 out of every £5 we spend in children's social care is taken out as profit This is wrong. No one should be profiting from children's care Thank you, @richardfoordld.bsky.social, for speaking up Add your name to our petition: vist.ly/5h7pk

"“20 of the largest independent children’s social care providers in England took in about £1.6 billion in fees in 2021-22. Roughly 19% of that—about £310 million—was recorded as profit. Plainly, there is too much money leaving this sector and not doing the right thing for children.” - Richard Foord MP

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Reposted by Richard Foord MP

Liberal Democrats @libdems.org.uk · 03/09/2026

Farage has always behaved as though the rules apply to everyone but him. These allegations against Reform look like the latest example. Lib Dem Cabinet Office spokesperson @lisasmartmp.bsky.social has written to the police and the electoral commission asking them to investigate.

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Richard Foord MP @richardfoordld.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

On Wednesday I intervened in a Westminster Hall debate on the funding of rural county councils. I asked the question reorganisation has never answered: how is a rural Devon council supposed to pay for the growth Ministers keep talking about, once the city has been cut away from it?

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Richard Foord MP @richardfoordld.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Lloyds is the last bank left on Honiton High Street, and it closes next March. A banking hub is due to open in the town a month earlier, which is welcome, but a hub is only as useful as the help a person can actually get inside it.

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Richard Foord MP @richardfoordld.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Bluetongue is hitting Devon harder than any other county in England. I have added my name to a letter to the Environment Secretary, led by Danny Chambers, a vet: more labs testing samples, vaccine in from Europe fast, reporting obstacles cleared, and a meeting with MPs from the worst-hit areas.

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Richard Foord MP @richardfoordld.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Up at Jacob's Ladder with Cllr Denise Bickley and Cllr Geoff Jung, looking out over the seafront we are working to protect. The sea has come over the wall at least 14 times since 1981, now every two or three years. The Environment Agency's £17.5 million is what gets the new defences built.

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Richard Foord MP @richardfoordld.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

The Padel Unit opened its doors in Axminster today, built by a local man with eighteen or nineteen local businesses behind him. Business rates tax the building, so investment gets punished. Liberal Democrats would scrap them for a commercial landowner levy.

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Richard Foord MP @richardfoordld.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

I’m calling for urgent Government investment in the West of England railway line, which serves communities across Honiton & Sidmouth, including Axminster, Honiton and Feniton. Read my full statement here: www.richardfoord.org.uk/news/article...

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Richard Foord MP @richardfoordld.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

South West Water lost over 107 million litres a day to leaks last year - 43 Olympic swimming pools of treated water, every day. My constituents now face £1,000 fines for using a hosepipe. The priority should be obvious: fix the pipes before punishing the people paying the bills.

midweekherald.co.uk

Richard Foord: South West Water losing million litres of water a day

The leaky infrastructure led to the loss of more than 107 million litres daily between 2024 and 2025, according to Honiton and Sidmouth MP Richard…

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Richard Foord MP @richardfoordld.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

We’re in a drought. Reservoirs are lower than normal, so it is right that we cut back our water use. We should also expect South West Water to fix its leaks, after years of flat-lining rates of repair. Water companies are telling us to save every drop. They must be made to save every drop too.

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Richard Foord MP @richardfoordld.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

I had the honour of attending a showing of "How NOT to Flee a War" at the Arts Centre - Sidmouth, part of this year's Folk Festival. Maria and Jez escaped Kyiv in February 2022. We discuss war in casualty figures and refugee totals. An hour with them is a reminder of the stories those numbers hide.

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Richard Foord MP @richardfoordld.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

The 135th Honiton Show. Thank you to the organisers and volunteers. In the NFU tent I heard about bluetongue, planning delays, and increased input costs. I'm grateful, and look forward to taking these perspectives to Westminster.

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Richard Foord MP @richardfoordld.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Drinking water flowing across our roads while we sit under a hosepipe ban. Trains through Honiton, Feniton and Axminster halve in frequency because the ground has dried out. Britain's infrastructure buckles at weather that could become the new normal. www.midweekherald.co.uk/news/2643061...

midweekherald.co.uk

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Richard Foord MP @richardfoordld.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

I joined Axminster Town Council's screening of the People's Emergency Briefing at the Guildhall yesterday. More than 1,600 communities have now seen this film. I have called for a national broadcast.

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Richard Foord MP @richardfoordld.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

Visited Stockland Victory Hall this week and chatted with the contractors repairing the water main. My grievances with South West Water are about how the firm is run, never the workers. The people carrying out these repairs in the sweltering heat have my fullest admiration.

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Richard Foord MP @richardfoordld.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

There was a good crowd assembled this morning for the Honiton Business Network breakfast at Club 102. Entrepreneurs and community organisations shared ideas about how to make the best out of the local economy. Thanks to everyone who came along.

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Richard Foord MP @richardfoordld.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

My Midweek Herald column this week is on local government reorganisation. From next May, the Government is merging Devon's councils into four giant authorities - good news for the cities, a worse deal for the countryside. In September, I'll speak up for rural and coastal Devon on day one.

midweekherald.co.uk

OPINION: My thoughts on Local Government reorganisation

"Rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic."

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Richard Foord MP @richardfoordld.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

Lloyds Bank agreed to retain the ability for people to pay in cheques at Post Offices and banking hubs until 2030. After I joined with 120 MPs on a cross-party basis they thought again. Honiton loses its last bank branch next March, this matters for older residents here who still rely on cheques.

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Richard Foord MP @richardfoordld.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

Lovely to see familiar faces in Gittisham for the seventh stop on my summer tour. Broadband, South West Water, planning, and the future of our local councils topped the agenda. Thank you for the warm welcome, the frank exchange of views, and the cup of tea.

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Richard Foord MP @richardfoordld.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

Last week I joined MPs from across the South West to expose the hidden deprivation behind our region's prosperous image. Too many families here are overlooked by national funding, while disadvantaged young people face some of England's worst education outcomes.

exmouthjournal.co.uk

MPs warn beautiful coastlines are hiding deep poverty across the South West

South West MPs have united in Parliament to demand greater recognition of the hidden deprivation affecting coastal communities, warning that…

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Richard Foord MP @richardfoordld.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

It was a pleasure to meet the passionate volunteers of the River Lim Action Group yesterday, to do some water testing. Built for 6,500 residents in Lyme, the Sewage Treatment Works at Uplyme isn't built to cope with tens of thousands in the summer, given seasonal visitors.

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Richard Foord MP @richardfoordld.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

A productive morning in Newton Poppleford - the latest stop on my summer tour. It was wonderful to see faces familiar and new. We covered the Northmostown road closure; traffic through the village; local government reorganisation; South West Water; and SEND. Thank you for a warm and honest welcome.

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Richard Foord MP @richardfoordld.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

I am wholly opposed to a reorganisation of local government that produces 'Devon Coast and Countryside' as an outcome next year. Separating the more expensive-to-run rural and coastal areas from the urban economy of Exeter makes no sense. 1/2 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

bbc.co.uk

What does local council shake-up mean for Devon?

The changes are the biggest made to local government in more than 50 years.

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Richard Foord MP @richardfoordld.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

In just a year, the risk to water supplies has gone from “low” to “catastrophic”, with risks to the supply of drinking water. What a damning indictment of the way water companies have been run, and proof of the need to overhaul the industry. inews.co.uk/news/politic...

inews.co.uk

Millions in UK at risk of drinking water 'catastrophe' - official warning

Water supply jumps to top of most likely and most disruptive risk facing UK in latest government assessment

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Richard Foord MP @richardfoordld.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

Last Wednesday, the Commons debated how Britain takes carbon back out of the atmosphere: Tree planting? New technology? Carbon capture, usage and storage? My question started in the sea...

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Richard Foord MP @richardfoordld.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

Campaigners warn Dartmoor could lose up to 90% of its pony herds under new grazing contracts. Tens of thousands have signed the petition to save them. Then a second appeared, from the Conservative Party. I asked the Environment Secretary: who is that one for?

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Richard Foord MP @richardfoordld.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

On Wednesday, the Prime Minister was at the NATO summit in Ankara. Last Monday, MPs questioned the Defence Secretary on "readiness" and UK defence. I asked him what being 'ready' might mean, in relation to misinformation from foreign adversaries.

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Richard Foord MP @richardfoordld.bsky.social · 11/07/2026

On ITV West Country last Wednesday, giving my view on the Government's defence investment plan, and what it means for the South West.

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Richard Foord MP @richardfoordld.bsky.social · 11/07/2026

Illicit vape and tobacco shops are spreading on high streets across the country, undercutting legitimate businesses. We have seen it in Honiton too. I spoke in a Commons debate on shutting these shops for good. Healthy high streets are built on honest trade.

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Richard Foord MP @richardfoordld.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

Cullompton and Wellington have spent years campaigning for railway stations. It is a year since the Government announced funding for the two stations - and the work has only accelerated since then.

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Richard Foord MP @richardfoordld.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

Nine years: that’s how long Northleigh fought to get connected. Full fibre reaches 68% of Honiton and Sidmouth, against 85% nationally. Over 2,000 local homes can’t get even 10 Mbps. Help me get rural Devon online: richardfoord.org.uk/new/campaigns/broadband

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Richard Foord MP @richardfoordld.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

On BBC Politics South West last weekend, making the case for Devon on the question of devolution - and what a mayoral deal would mean for our region.

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