In 2011, the coalition government passed the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act. Almost all new seats (with four exceptions) were to have electorates within +/-5% of the national quota (the average electorate). And the House of Commons was to be reduced in size from 650 to 600 MPs. Boundary reviews were to take place every five years.[1]The Constitution Unit Blog
In 2015, the new government confirmed that the 2018 review would go ahead under these rules.
BCE had to to respect ward boundaries which, in our case, were already obsolete. The final proposals of the 2018 review[2]2018 Constituency Boundary final recommendations – this website would have moved Compton & Shawford, with Otterbourne and Hursley, into a new Test Valley Constituency.
Many MPs objected to the 2018 proposals (perhaps because 50 of them would lose their jobs?). In 2020 the government formally dropped the proposals to reduce the number of MPs, and increased the interval between reviews to eight years.[3]Politics Home: Government ditches plan to cut number of MPs from 650 to 600 because ‘Brexit will increase their workload’[4]New Law Passed Will Make Voting in UK General Election Fairer – Cabinet Office Press Release
The number of MPs remains at 650. The requirement that all constituencies (with four exceptions) should have an electorate within +/-5% of the national average remains. That is, between 69,724 and 77,062 electors.
Our parish, with our whole District Ward of Badger Farm and Oliver’s Battery, would remain in a revised Winchester County Constituency. [5]2023 Parliamentary boundaries – proposals Winchester expands to the south east to include part of the now-defunct Meon Valley constituency. Winchester loses Hiltingbury which moves into Eastleigh constituency.
The electorate of the revised Winchester County Constituency will be 76,577, only just under the maximum allowable size of 77,062.
If Winchester grows faster than the overall population, the constituency would need to split at the next boundary review.
After the current final consultation period which ends on Monday 5 December 2023, BCE prepares its final recommendations.
The Boundary Commissions (for England and the other nations) must submit their recommendations for a new set of 650 constituencies by 1 July 2023.
After receiving the final reports, the government must submit to the Privy Council an order giving effect to the recommendations. No parliamentary vote is needed.
The Boundary Commission does take into account comments made during the consultation periods. They say
..if you support our proposals, please tell us so. Past experience suggests that too often people who are happy with our proposals do not respond in support, while those who object to them do respond to make their points.
and
What we do not yet have is sufficient evidence of how our proposals reflect or break local community ties, although we have drawn on evidence of such ties provided in previous reviews.
So your comments should if possible include evidence of local ties that would be preserved by staying in Winchester.
However, if you commented during the first phase of consultation and your view have not changed, there is probably no need to comment again.
Use the BCE consultation website
Monday 5 December 2022 is the last day for comments in the eight-week consultation period.
The Parish Council submitted a response supporting the initial proposal in 2021. They encouraged the various residents’ associations to do the same.
References[+]
| ↑1 | The Constitution Unit Blog |
|---|---|
| ↑2 | 2018 Constituency Boundary final recommendations – this website |
| ↑3 | Politics Home: Government ditches plan to cut number of MPs from 650 to 600 because ‘Brexit will increase their workload’ |
| ↑4 | New Law Passed Will Make Voting in UK General Election Fairer – Cabinet Office Press Release |
| ↑5 | 2023 Parliamentary boundaries – proposals |