Pushing the boundaries

THE Boundary Commission has announced its proposals for the English parliamentary boundaries on which the next General Election will be fought.

The number of MPs will fall from 650 to 600 and the number of electors in each constituency will be roughly equalised. Although 90% of Central Devon's current electors will stay in the constituency, Okehampton and Lew Valley are proposed to be moved into a new seat.

While the proposals are now the subject of a public consultation this may well be the final position. If it is, then while I will be very disappointed to see the removal of Okehampton and Lew Valley from Central Devon I can assure everyone in these parts of the constituency that I will, of course, still continue to be there for them right through this Parliament and will continue to fight for us.

The logic behind roughly equalizing the number of electors per constituency is compelling – the removal of the anomaly whereby some MPs are elected by significantly more electors than others will make our elections more democratic.

The logic behind reducing the number of seats from 650 to 600 is more mixed. While these changes will reduce the cost of politics (saving around £12 million per year) they will also have the effect of weakening the ability of government party Backbenchers to hold the government to account – this follows from the fact that there will, all else being equal, be less of them going forward relative to the number government ministers and members of the cabinet.

I am very keen to hear from constituents with their thoughts. So please get in touch to let me know what you think.