First Sir Keir Starmer took Jeremy Corbyn’s job as leader of the Labour Party, then he suspended him from the party over his reaction to the anti-Semitism inquiry and now he is set to take a chunk out of Corbyn’s constituency.
Under the Boundary Commission of England’s proposals, published on Tuesday 8 June, Starmer’s Holborn and St Pancras constituency would gobble up Tufnell Park ward, which is currently part of Corbyn’s neighbouring Islington North constituency.
Looking at the Boundary Commission proposals, opposition MPs may as well join the Conservative Party.
— Alex Tiffin (@RespectIsVital) June 8, 2021
Nobody bar the Tories is going to get near Government if they go through.
No hope in gaining Proportional Representation with this either.
Absolutely grim
Islington North would in return get the Dalston ward from Hackney, the constituency of former Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott.
The changes are among a raft of pencil marks on the map which would affect who people vote for at the next general election in 2024.
But the bigger picture is that England will get an extra 10 MPs at the expense of Wales, which would lose eight, and Scotland which would lose two.
Initial Boundary Commission proposals for England - mapped: https://t.co/jUKwvGwAhr pic.twitter.com/uJZDaNym19
— Britain Elects (@BritainElects) June 8, 2021
The idea is to make the size of each constituency across the United Kingdom roughly the same size - with each having around 70,000 voters.
At the moment the Isle of Wight, off the south coast of England, has 108,000 voters while Britain’s smallest constituency - Na h-Eileanan an Iar in Scotland - has only 21,000.
In 2019 GE, 71.2% of votes cast had no impact whatsoever on the final result. The Boundary Commission will do nothing to correct this fundamental crookedness in our rigged electoral system.
— GET PR DONE! ⭕️⚫️🟣🟢🔴🟠 (@getprdone) June 8, 2021
Let’s stop fiddling whilst Rome burns. #GetPRDone pic.twitter.com/tvXty1KWP5
The Boundary Commissions for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are expected to submit their reviews next month.
After getting elected Prime Minister in 2010, David Cameron promised to reduce the number of MPs in total from 650 to 600, a move which was expected to damage Labour’s prospects of winning a majority in future.
The Boundary Commission and its gerrymandering means we will finally become a one party state. Welcome to North Korea! pic.twitter.com/i9Y8o2qf8m
— JackJazz (@JayJay08752584) June 8, 2021
But after Theresa May lost her majority in 2017, that idea was dropped, and Boris Johnson is now pressing ahead on the basis that the 650 seats will be divided as such - England will have 543 (up from 533), Scotland will have 57 (down by two), Wales will get 32 (down by 40) and Northern Ireland will stay on 18.
The Boundary Commission’s proposals involve giving more seats to London and the south-east, where the population has gone up, and slightly less in the North of England and in the East Midlands, where it has gone down.
Tim Bowden, Secretary to the Boundary Commission for England, said: “Each constituency we recommend is required by law to contain between 69,724 and 77,062 electors, meaning there will be significant change to current boundaries. We want to hear the views of the public to ensure that we get the new boundaries for Parliamentary constituencies right.”
Some Island constituencies, such as the #IsleofWight and the Isle of Anglesey, have been granted special dispensation to be outside the population remit. #iwnews #IOW Story: https://t.co/KnZwQOngQ3 pic.twitter.com/TgBeS52SVF
— Isle of Wight County Press (@iwcponline) June 8, 2021
