East Riding residents urged to have say on redrawing parliamentary map
Boundary Commission England (BCE) has launched the second round of its consultation on a review into constituency boundaries
People in Hull and the East Riding can now have their say on plans to redraw the local parliamentary map.
Boundary Commission England (BCE) has launched the second round of its consultation on a review into constituency boundaries.
Proposals unveiled by BCE include expanding Hull West and Hessle and Hull East, the seats of Labour’s Emma Hardy and Karl Turner respectively, further into the East Riding.
Tim Bowden, secretary to BCE, said the review aimed to equalise constituencies by population as much as possible while reflecting local communities.
It comes as BCE first unveiled proposals in June to redraw parliamentary seats in England by 2023, in time for the next general election due by the following year.
BCE is proposing to up the number of parliamentary seats in England by one, from the current 533 to 543.
But it is aiming to redraw boundaries to ensure their number of votes is no fewer than 69,724 and no more than 77,062.
Yorkshire and the Humber would have 54 constituencies under BCE’s current proposals.
Ms Hardy’s Hull West and Hessle seat would be expanded further into the East Riding under the proposals, taking in the ward of South Hunsley.
It would see Melton, Swanland and North Ferriby absorbed into her seat.
Conservative East Riding councillors Julie Abraham and the late Vanessa Walker won the ward in the 2019 local election with a combined vote share of 68.1 per cent.
The current BCE proposals are less drastic than those from BCE’s boundary review in 2018, eventually shelved due to the 2019 election.
Those draft boundaries would have seen Ms Hardy’s constituency cover Kirk Ella and Willerby.
The proposals would also see Mr Turner’s Hull East seat extended into South West Holderness ward, taking in the villages of Hedon, Paull and Thorngumbald.
South West Holderness was held for the Conservatives by newcomer Cllr David Winter with 39.9 per cent of the total vote.
Hull North, the seat of Labour’s Diana Johnson, remains largely untouched by the proposals.
In the East Riding, the seats of the area’s four Conservative MPs will be redrawn and would see the number of constituenices cut by one.
In the east, Greg Knight’s current East Yorkshire seat would be renamed Bridlington and Holderness and would run north to south from the border with North Yorkshire to Spurn Point.
Graham Stuart’s Beverley and Holderness seat would be rechristened Beverley and the Wolds and cover the area west of the propsed Bridlington and Holderness seat to the North Yorkshire border.
Haltemprice and Howden, currently held by David Davis, would become Goole and Haltemprice, taking a chunk out of Brigg and Goole currently held by Andrew Percy.
Mr Percy’s seat would no longer extend into the East Riding and the area covered by it would instead become part of a new look Scunthorpe constituency.
BCE is proposing to hold several rounds of consultations before the final boundary proposals are tabled, due before 2023.
The proposed boundaries are subject to change and counter proposals can be made, such as one which has been lodged for Kirklees in West Yorkshire.
BCE’s consultations have so far received more than 34,000 responses.
Secretary to the BCE Mr Bowden said public hearings would be held so people could contribute to the redrawing process, with the bod’y’s website also open for comments.
He said: “The 2023 Boundary Review will rebalance the number of electors represented by each MP.
“It’s important that the constituencies we shape reflect your local community as best as possible.
“We received over 34,000 responses during our first consultation last year, and we’re inviting more people to have their say in our current secondary consultation, which is now open.
“Help us to get our proposals right for your area by telling us your views via our website, or at a public hearing in your region.
“We’re looking forward to hearing your feedback, and we take every response into account during our review of constituency boundaries.”
The current consultation is open until Monday, April 4.
More information and the consultation are available on BCE’s website here: https://boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk/.