People living in Pudsey and Leeds West Constituencies have just one week left to have their say on a shake-up of England’s electoral map.
Proposals by The Boundary Commission for England (BCE) could see Labour Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Leeds West constituency disappear completely, with its wards absorbed into other constituencies.
As previously reported, a new-look Pudsey Borough constituency would include Bramley, Calverley, Pudsey and Farnley & Wortley wards.
The Pudsey seat would also keep Pudsey and Farsley & Calverley ward, but lose the communities of Horsforth, Guiseley and Rawdon, which would move into a revised Leeds North West County Constituency.
A new Headingley Borough constituency would include Armley, Kirkstall, Headingley and Weetwood.
The Boundary Commission is nearing the end of its eight-week consultation allowing members of the public to comment on the initial proposals.
Nationally, it has received over 14,000 representations so far, and is encouraging members of the public to send in their feedback before the consultation closes at midnight on 2 August.
The commission says the aim is to make Parliament fairer by giving each MP a roughly similar number of voters – between 69,724 and 77,062 electors – which means redrawing and renaming some seats. It will publish its final recommendations in two years’ time.
Tim Bowden, Secretary to the Boundary Commission for England, said:
“In June, we published our proposals for what the new map of constituencies across England could look like. We asked for your feedback, and it’s fantastic that we have had over 14,000 responses nationally so far. However, we want to hear from as many people as possible to help us get the boundaries we have proposed right.
“Your feedback matters. I encourage all members of the public to visit
bcereviews.org.uk and tell us whether your local area is best represented in the boundary lines and constituency names we have suggested. Every response will be taken into account during the development of our revised proposals. During the previous review we changed over half of our initial proposals based on the feedback
we received.”
Should the proposals become reality, it’s understood that under Labour rules Ms Reeves would be automatically eligible for shortlisting for either the Pudsey or Headingley seats as both contain her former wards.
Ms Reeves has been Leeds West MP since 2010. In Pudsey, the MP is Conservative Stuart Andrew, who was also elected in 2010.
New-look Pudsey Borough constituency
New Headingley Constituency
Following the end of the public consultation on the initial proposals for new constituencies on 2 August, there will be two further opportunities for the public to have their say. The Commission will hold its secondary consultation in early Spring 2022, including holding a number of public hearings across the country, and will publish its revised proposals later in 2022.
At the end of the consultation process, the Commission will present its final
recommendations to Parliament by 1 July 2023.
How to have your say
The Boundary Commission is consulting on its initial proposals for an eight-week period to 2 August 2021.
Commission bosses are encouraging everyone to use this opportunity to help them shape the new constituencies – and say the more responses they receive, the more informed their decisions will be when considering whether to revise proposals.
The consultation portal has more information about the proposals and how to give your views on them. More detailed maps are also available there.