Barnstaple Barnstaple has been a civil parish governed by a town council. From 1295 the Borough of Barnstaple was represented in the House of Commons by two Members of Parliament until 1885, when its representation was reduced to one member. The constituency was abolished for the 1950 general election and was consolidated into the large modern constituency of North Devon, which was held by Nick Harvey, MP, of the Liberal Democrats from 1992 until 2015. In the United Kingdom general election, 2015, Peter Heaton-Jones of the Conservative Party was elected and re-elected again in 2017 with an increased vote share of
Barnstaple railway station centre of Barnstaple is reached by crossing the Long Bridge over the River Taw from the station. A footpath from the station leads onto the cycleway along the abandoned railway line to Bideford which forms part of the South West Coast Path. Engineers sidings remain just before the terminus, with a run around loop accessed from a ground frame. The connection to the second platform also remains however the platform itself is no longer in use. Barnstaple is served by fourteen trains each weekday (approximately once each hour), fifteen on Saturdays (due to a 00:05 service) and seven on Sundays