Jeremy Corbyn tonight told trade union leaders that by working together the labour movement will defeat Tory plans for new grammar schools.
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According to the Standard, Diane Abbott – whose current seat is Hackney North and Stoke Newington – would be in contention with Mr Corbyn for the two rejigged seats. The number of MPs will be cut from 533 to 501 in England, from 59 to 53 in Scotland, from 40 to 29 in Wales, and from 18 to 17 in Northern Ireland, with claims that a majority of the 43 seats from England and Wales are now in Labour-held constituencies.
“Nearly 60% of the new Finsbury Park and Stoke Newington constituency is in Islington North”.
Former Chancellor George Osborne’s seat is said to also be under threat.
But a source close to the Labour leader denied there was an issue.
Other well-known MPs facing the abolition of their seats include Labour moderates Alison McGovern (Wirral South), Chuka Umunna (Streatham) and Tristram Hunt (Stoke on Trent Central).
And even if the proposals are approved in the Commons, they face an uphill battle in the Lords, where the Conservatives do not have a majority.
The Boundary Commission released proposals for England and Wales on Tuesday, following Northern Ireland last week.
The proposed changes in Scotland are set to be published next month. At the moment, seats range in size from around 21,000 to 110,000 voters.
Under Labour rules, an MP whose seat is being abolished has an automatic right to contest any new constituency which will contain at least 40% of the old one.
It is also the second-worst polling level for any major British opposition party since World War II, behind the 25-point deficit suffered by William Hague’s Conservatives in 1998, when Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair was riding high.
Labour’s response to the commission was to criticise the cut-off date for electoral data, arguing that two millions newly signed-up voters for the European Union referendum were being excluded. They are based on an out-of-date version of the electoral register with almost two million voters missing.
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But the Commission’s proposals have been mooted by some as a means to make sweeping changes to the make-up of the parliamentary Labour party.
