If anything is certain to raise political hackles, it is the subject of electoral turf. No other issue can cause such outbursts of un-parliamentary language than the prospect of boundary changes that affect one’s majority – regardless of size or safety margin. So you can imagine the reaction of MPs, AMs and councillors to the recommendations within a recently published document from the Electoral Reform Society.
Reduce and Equalise: and the Governance of Wales is claimed by its authors to “analyse the effect that the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition’s proposals to cut the number of MPs in Westminster would have in Wales, and in particular on the National Assembly”. This relates to government plans to equalise parliamentary constituencies, at around 75,000 electors each, and thereby reduce the number of MPs from 650 to 600.
The thoughtfully produced 56 page document - complete with tables, maps and projections – predicts an overall reduction in MPs from 40 to 30. However, they also point out that the present arrangements which link Westminster and Cardiff Bay in terms of representation would mean a similar cull of AMs from 60 to around 45. (Parliamentary Reform Bill notwithstanding).
Helpfully, in recognising the outcome would “threaten the ability of the Assembly to govern effectively”, the Society recommend a number of measures to head off the possibility.
It’s an intriguing read and regardless of whether it mirrors actual or eventual government thinking, the paper certainly offers up a blueprint for discussion that will run for some time – especially as it spells the end of a quite a few constituencies along with several political careers.
Update: How the changes affect Jaxxland
2 Comments:
So the net effect is that Wales gets a 25% reduction in MPs while Parliament only sees an 8% drop in numbers from 650 to 600. Does the Barnett formula work the same way?
No offence to your blog, but you appear to be the only people taking these suggested changes seriously.
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