The proposed boundaries, which will make constituencies equal in terms of the number of voters in each constituency, tear the Labour leader’s seat asunder into the new seats of Finsbury Park & Stoke Newington, notionally held by Diane Abbott, and Islington, held by Emily Thornberry.
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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 changes could mean a significant shift for Corbyn, who has represented his London constituency of Islington North since 1983.
Yvette Cooper may have to undergo a full-blown selection for the new seat of Normanton, Castleford and Outwood, while, in Wales, Owen Smith’s seat of Pontypridd is at risk.
Labour is unhappy that the review is based on electoral register data from December 2015, which does not take into account more than two million people who signed up between then and June’s European Union referendum.
But Jonathan Ashworth MP, Labour’s shadow cabinet office minister, said the changes are unfair.
“If the Tories were serious about improving our democracy they would not be using the outdated 2015 registers, but taking into account the almost two million extra electors who registered for the 2016 Brexit referendum, whose voices are not being heard in this process”.
Commons Speaker John Bercow sees minor changes to his Buckingham constituency in which he originally was elected as a Conservative.
“These changes are not about fairness to voters, they are about what is best for the Tory party and they must not go ahead”.
The commissions insist they have no discretion to use more recent electorate data, although Tom Hartley, Secretary of the England Boundary Commission, has said any evidence of an increase in electorate in a particular area will be taken into account, without going outside the allowed variation.
Theresa May’s Maidenhead seat remains as it is, while Chancellor Philip Hammond’s Runnymede and Weybridge is largely unchanged. “What’s more, the review is being undertaken on the basis of a register that’s almost a year out of date, excluding over 2 million people who signed up between December and June”.
The Conservatives have a policy of “no MP left behind”, with CCHQ pledging to ensure that all sitting MPs have a seat when the dust settles.
There are 760 members who are eligible to take part in the House of Lords which has the power to force changes in the legislation proposed by the government. However, the new seat of Harborough is a safe Liberal Democrat seat on paper. However, his predecessor Osborne will be forced to look for a new seat to stand in the 2020 general election. This compares with ten Tory and three Lib Dem seats, according to expert verdicts. “This process will still leave a plethora of safe seats across the country, and millions of votes which don’t count”.
The changes could see Labour MPs, as well as others, pitting against one another to hold on to a seat.
The initial proposals for England and Wales, announced on Tuesday, follow those for Northern Ireland which were disclosed last week. Detailed proposals for Scotland will be published next month.
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The number of MPs for the United Kingdom would be cut from 533 to 501 in England, from 40 to 29 in Wales, from 59 to 53 in Scotland and from 18 to 17 in Northern Ireland.
