The independent Boundary Commission for England (BCE) has today (Tuesday) begun a new review of all parliamentary constituencies in England.
The move follows a decision by Parliament to retain the number of constituencies in the UK at 650, and to ensure that there are roughly the same number of electors in each constituency.
Two constituencies for the Island
The Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011 specifically provides for two ‘protected’ constituencies to be allocated to the Isle of Wight.
In September 2018, the Boundary Commission published their proposals for two constituencies on the Isle of Wight (the link shows how the constituency could be split).
This hadn’t been approved in time for the 2019 General Election, but if approved before the next general election, it will mean the Island would have two MPs, one for East and another for West.
The final report and recommendations will go to the Speaker of the House of Commons by July 2023.
Number of electors
The BCE is tasked with making independent recommendations about where the boundaries of English constituencies should be.
The total UK electorate has been announced by the Office for National Statistics as 47,558,398, which means the number of electors in each recommended mainland English constituency must be no less than 69,724 and no more than 77,062.
England will have 543 constituencies, ten more than there are currently. The Commission has also decided how those constituencies will be distributed among the English regions.
Another consultation
The initial proposals for new boundaries are expected to be published in early summer 2021.
The publication of those proposals will begin an eight week consultation period, during which the BCE will invite comments on the proposals to capture the views and knowledge of local residents particularly.
In early 2022, the BCE will also be travelling across England to hear from people in person. All comments will help the Commission further refine the boundary proposals before views are sought on any revisions later in 2022.
Bowden: Likely to be a large degree of change across the country
Tim Bowden, Secretary to the Boundary Commission for England said:
“Today marks the start of our work to review the constituency boundaries in England. Parliament has set strict rules on greater equality of electorate size between the new constituencies – these rules and the increase in total number of constituencies in England mean that there is likely to be a large degree of change across the country.
“Once we publish our initial proposals in the summer, we will need the help of residents in all regions to ensure that our proposals take account of local ties and best reflect the geography on the ground. Everyone’s views will help us recommend a well considered and practical set of new constituency boundaries in England.”
More information will be published through the review period via the BCE’s Website and Twitter feed @BCEReviews.
News shared by Boundary Commission in their own words, with additional information added by OnTheWight. Ed
Image: Element5 Digital under CC BY 2.0
