Derek Gadd on boundary reform

If we are not to have fair constituency boundaries and not allow the return of the "rotten boroughs" which made a nonsense of British democracy before the great reform bill of the 1830s, we need to ahve impartial boundary reviews on a regular basis, and implement the results.

Unfortunately the events of the last decade show how easy it is for unscrupulous politicians who might lose out from an update of the boundaries to oppose whatever changes are on the table claiming to be fighting against "gerrymandering" when in fact what they are doing is implementing it.

The present parliamentary boundaries, first used in 2010, are based on demographic data which is nearly 20 years old. It is high time they were updated.

Derek Gadd has a good piece on "The Article here about the measures on the way though parliament which will give the impartial boundary commission the power to carry out regular reviews without further reference to politicians now and in the future.

This is a good thing. MPs are interested parties in parliamentary boundary reviews and should not have a vote on them.

As Derek Gadd writes  of the Parliamentary Constituencies Bill 2019-21 which is nearing the end of its passage through parliament, 

"It fixes the number of electors in each constituency, except for four island seats, to be within five per cent of a quota calculated by even distribution of electorates. But most important, it removes the need for Parliament to approve them. Once agreed by the commissions, they take force. They are final. Parliament has eventually faced up to its inability to resist the temptation to interfere. It has done the right thing and relinquished control. Parliamentary turkeys no longer have to vote for Christmas." 


   

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