page_title: Bideford
section_title: Governance
hierarchical_section_title: Bideford / Governance
caption_attribution_description: English: Bideford Town Hall Bideford Town Hall is located at the junction of New Road and The Quay at the western end of Bideford Long Bridge.
context_page_description: Bideford is a historic port town on the estuary of the River Torridge in north Devon, south-west England. It is the main town of the Torridge local government district.
context_section_description: Bideford Town Council has 16 seats representing four unequal wards, North, South, East and South Outer. At the May 2011 local elections, seven Conservatives, three independents, two Liberal Democrats, two Labour and one Green were elected (there was one vacant seat). There is a mayor and Town Clerk. The town council received widespread attention in February 2012 when the High Court ruled that prayers as part of meetings were not lawful by the Local Government Act 1972.
  Torridge District Council is the next level of local government and most decisions are made by Devon County Council. Torridge District Council is responsible for maintaining Bideford Higher Cemetery.
  The local MP is the Conservative Geoffrey Cox and the MEP are Conservatives Ashley Fox and Julie Girling. The two Devon County Council councillors who represent the town are Anthony Inch and Linda Hellyer, they are both members of the Conservative Party.
caption: Bideford Town Hall (built 1850, extended 1906).
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