boundary changes

Tritram Hunt’s brilliant book: “Building Jerusalem” is one of the most accessible and thought provoking expositions of the roots of modern local government. It should be essential reading for all those interested in our origins as a movement. Irrespective of his political inclinations as an MP I always therefore have a good listen to what he has to say on issues. I don’t think I’ve noticed  (notwithstanding this issue is to do with his political future) him being so angry about anything as he is in this article. Whilst it seems on a first reading that most of the constituencies to go are urban these changes will clearly affect rural England in a number of indirect ways.

It has not been a great start to the term for Labour MPs. Last week, the government decided to close down the Palace of Westminster for future repairs; today it is abolishing our constituencies.

In an act of grotesque gerrymandering, some 23 Labour seats will be liquidated, hundreds of other seats affected and 2 million voters disenfranchised. On an out-of-date electoral register, hundreds of thousands of young people who registered to vote in the EU referendum are being denied a voice in the new constituencies. Wales will lose a quarter of its representatives as no account is taken of the asymmetric needs of the Union. While the Tories pack the Lords, they are thinning out the Commons beginning, with their usual gift for power, with Jeremy Corbyn’s own Islington North seat that is set to be discontinued.

Driving these changes is not a considered idea about the nature of representation and accountability in the 21st century, but David Cameron’s arbitrary desire to reduce the number of MPs from 650 to 600. So it was perhaps only fitting that he chose to quit on the day the Boundary Commission announced its conclusions.