Parliamentary constituency boundary changes - some thoughts

 I have contributed to a few reviews in the past and have the satisfaction of seeing one of my proposals (to create a Beeston and South West Nottingham constituency) adopted in part. In the years since the numbers of electors has changed and this impacts on the arithmetic. Given this I looked at what the Boundary Commission proposed and looked at ways of clawing back some of the old Broxtowe constituency from Nottingham North, but this would have meant losing another part of Broxtowe instead. 

I am one those who believes that the Boundary Commission are not party political. However, they have never had much sense of place and I understand why — because their brief is all about numbers. I posted the map below to Beeston Updated on Facebook over a month ago, but the County Council election left me close to exhausted, thanks to my pulmonary fibrosis (which is why I describe myself as a 'half-day person').

Click on the map to enlarge:

Amazingly, there is now talk that Broxtowe's Conservative MP wants to transfer the Beeston Central and Ryland wards to Nottingham South so he can claim back the Nuthall and Kimberly Broxtowe wards from Nottingham North. Such a move would only make sense if ALL four Beeston wards were transferred.

I have been of a mind to leave well alone, but our Conservative MP may have opened a door through which, better, alternative, proposals my pass, so I have decided to revisit the topic. I will post more tomorrow.