A spokesman for Corbyn’s leadership campaign said of Smith: “He has made a second referendum on the European Union a core part of his campaign and today one of his chief backers has rejected the policy”. Women have been amongst the hardest hit by this, as with all the Tories’ austerity policies.
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But the government said they would “ensure an equal say for each voter”.
Publication of the Boundary Commission proposals will be followed by three consultation periods before the end of next year, with final recommendations due to be made the parliament in September 2018.
The possible impact on Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn’s political career comes as part of wider plans to redraw the maps of political constituencies. The seat is reportedly set to be split up and added to two new seats named Finsbury Park and Stoke Newington, and Hackney Central.
However the Conservatives could also lose up to 17 seats which would in itself put in peril its majority and put key Conservative ministers at risk, including Education Secretary Justine Greening.
Corbyn’s leadership rival Owen Smith, meanwhile, sees his Pontypridd seat merged with the neighbouring Cynon Valley constituency of veteran backbencher Ann Clwyd.
Labour trail the Tories by an average of 11 points. Corbyn refused to step down after an overwhelming vote of no-confidence following so-called Brexit, and some 50 members of his shadow cabinet resigned in protest.
One Labour source told the Guardian it was known how many two-way battles for new seats could emerge: “It’s far too early to say”.
Darren Williams, on Labour’s ruling body, said the boundary changes “present an opportunity” for Labour to select parliamentary candidates who support Mr Corbyn.
Where there was substantial change he said he would welcome a “full open selection”.
“The rule of law is being ignored because of intimidation by Corbyn, backed by Momentum, his Praetorian Guard”, Mr Foster said.
“The courts decided that the rules as they stand allowed it”. In the last election, Foster and his family contributed more than $500,000 to the party. The Electoral Reform Society criticized the plans, saying they were based on out-of-date electoral data that missed out many voters who registered for this year’s Brexit referendum.
With four exceptions, every seat in the United Kingdom will have no fewer than 71,031 and no more than 78,507 electors.
Labour has said it will fight the proposed boundary changes, complaining the proposals unfairly favour the ruling Conservative Party.
“These changes are not about fairness to voters, they are about what is best for the Tory Party and they must not go ahead”.
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. “This process will still leave a plethora of safe seats across the country, and millions of votes which don’t count”.
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Constitution Minister Chris Skidmore explained the changes in a Daily Telegraph column today.
