Four of East Devon District Council's cabinet members have announced that they will stand as Liberal Democrat candidates in May's local elections.

Cllr Paul Arnott (Coly Valley) is leader of the council; Cllr Nick Hookway (Exmouth Littleham) is cabinet member for tourism, sport, leisure and culture; Cllr Geoff Jung (Woodbury & Lympstone) is cabinet member for coast, country and the environment, and Cllr Marianne Rixson (Sidmouth Sidford) is cabinet member for climate action.

All four have been members of the Independent East Devon Alliance on the council.

A spokesman for them said: “For the last three years, we have been proud to be part of the Democratic Alliance leading the council as Independent, Lib Dem and Green councillors. Under this administration, East Devon is the only district council in Devon to balance its books without major borrowing from reserves.

“Together we led the district through Covid-19, supporting thousands of individuals and businesses. We kept our leisure centres open. We made huge strides in environmental protection, from new projects to sea defences, and created new economic strategies around tourism and culture.

"We have invested sustainably in the economic powerhouse in the West End of the district which will lead to more than a thousand new jobs. We dealt with toilet and car park legacy issues which were ignored by the Tories for more than a decade.

"We believe that this 'Democratic Alliance' of the last three years is the sustainable future for East Devon. The historic election victory of Richard Foord MP last summer was a watershed moment. In order to grow a progressive, centrist East Devon - with homes, the environment and economic growth at its heart - we believe that by standing as Lib Dems we can help guarantee this for the future.”

The local elections will take place on Thursday, May 4, and all the seats on East Devon District Council will be up for grabs. Following a Boundary Commission review, for this election the district is divided into 30 electoral wards and there are 60 district councillors representing the wards.