MPs attack constituency changes to shrink Commons to 600 seats

Cameron warned of long fight against ‘arbitrary, unworkable, brutal’ proposals David Cameron is being warned by his whips he faces two years of trench warfare as Tory MPs harden their opposition to proposals to shrink the House of Commons from 650 to 600 seats. As Vince Cable became the first cabinet member to voice concerns about the changes, which will radically alter his Twickenham constituency, Tories warned the party leadership they may not be able to support the changes which will have to be approved by parliament in 2013. “These changes are much more radical than anyone had expected,” one loyalist MP said of the proposals published on Tuesday by the Boundary Commission for England. England is to lose 31 seats. Another Tory said: “Unease about the recommendations is spreading.” Cable echoed those concerns. The business secretary, who could face a battle with the Tory MP Zac Goldsmith in the new seat of Richmond and Twickenham, told the London Evening Standard: “In order to get the right size of constituency, no account has been taken not just of borough boundaries, but any sense of identity.” The deep unease among Lib Dems prompted senior Tories to tell their coalition partners they are bound by the coalition agreement to support the changes. Francis Maude, the Cabinet Office minister, said: “What do I say to those within the coalition parties who don’t like it? Well, this is what we agreed to do. “It would be unprecedented for the orders changing the boundaries to be voted down. The legislation was voted through by parliament and it would be eccentric indeed to reject the results.” But Tory whips are warning ministers of similar anger among their own MPs. One Tory MP said: “You get the feeling that the Boundary Commission thought the government’s idea to equalise the size of constituencies was poo and so it has drawn up ideas that are completely unworkable. The central flaw is that many of the new constituencies have no central focus.” The unease is shared by Labour MPs. One member of the shadow cabinet said: “This is like the partition of India. Somebody has sat down in a room in London and drawn arbitrary lines through communities they know nothing about.” The changes to the Leigh constituency of the shadow health secretary, Andy Burnham, are being held up as an example of the main flaw. The name of the constituency survives but it does not include Leigh civic centre, the town’s library or its parish church. The old constituency has been hived off into three new constituencies – a redrawn Leigh, Makerfield and Westhoughton. Burnham, who is launching a Keep Leigh in Leigh campaign, said: “It is utterly random. Leigh has been paired with places that have nothing to do with it. This shows the sheer brutal process. We talk a great deal about restoring trust in parliament. But how can we do that if we have constituencies that have no linking heart?” Chris Bryant, the shadow constitutional reform minister, said: “Many of the initial proposals for new constituencies reflect the flawed legislation which brought them into being. There has been pointless disruption in some regions, leading to the unnecessary division of traditional communities and making MPs more remote from the communities they serve, not closer. The task now is to inject some common sense back into many of these recommendations.” Andy Sawford, chief executive of the Local Government Information Unit said: “The proposed changes will mean that parliamentary constituencies cross more council boundaries and this will make democratic representation more complicated and confusing in some areas, not just for elected representatives, but also for the voters. “There is often a strong sense of identity, arising from history and logical geographic boundaries in many constituencies, and voters might well be confused by some of the proposed new arrangements, which stretch local links. Factor in other new developments such as elected police commissioners and it makes it even harder for citizens to know who represents them, where and for what purpose.” Under the changes, which the government said would save £12m, a constituency must have an electorate no smaller than 72,810 and no larger than 80,473. There will be a few exemptions, including splitting the Isle of Wight into two constituencies of around 50,000 voters. Boundary changes Electoral reform Liberal-Conservative coalition Nicholas Watt Allegra Stratton guardian.co.uk

Posted by on September 13, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.