David Reed is the Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Exmouth & Exeter East, having been selected for the position in July 2023.

Full statement

David lives in and has a deep connection to Exmouth & Exeter East, and he is fighting to bring about positive change for the long-term for everyone in the constituency. With multiple previous generations of his family hailing from East Budleigh, David feels a sense of duty to help preserve what’s best about our home, and to enhance and improve it wherever it’s needed.

David is entering the political environment with 15 years of relevant professional and academic experience. David started his career in the Royal Marines and the Special Forces Support Group and served in multiple conflict zones around the world over a seven-year career. Alongside frontline service, David was a parachutist on the Royal Navy Parachute Display Team, and he won a place on the Team GB Wingsuit Skydiving Squad.

Since leaving the Royal Marines, David has been awarded a First-Class Bachelor’s degree in Business, and a Master’s degree in International Security. He has also worked in Parliament and held volunteer campaign officer positions within the Conservative Party.

For the past four years, David has led large teams and budgets at the cutting edge of cyberspace development in the public and private sector, as well as running his own company. Most recently, David held a senior managerial position in the defence firm, BAE Systems Digital Intelligence.

Since being selected as a Parliamentary Candidate, David has thrown himself into local life and politics. He has campaigned on several local issues, has spoken with thousands of people across the constituency, and attended many local events. He has also visited several local businesses and organisations to better understand how he can support them.

David and his team are working hard day in, day out to demonstrate to everyone in Exmouth & Exeter East why their vote is safe with the Conservative Party at the general election and beyond.