Plans to Scrap Chelsea and Fulham Constituency Ditched
Boundary Commission abandons plans for two Chelsea seats in latest proposal
New proposed boundary of Chelsea and Fulham constituency
The latest proposals issued by the Boundary Commission for England have ditched a previous plan to create two constituencies for the Chelsea area.
Instead, it is now planned to keep the existing Chelsea and Fulham constituency, which has existed since 2010, with some changes to its boundaries.
The news is being celebrated by the sitting MP Greg Hands who had lobbied against the original scheme for West Chelsea and East Chelsea seats. Over 1,200 representations were made in response to the earlier proposals by individual residents, resident associations and other local stakeholders,
Mr Hands said, “As the local Member of Parliament, I made a substantial written submission to the Boundary Commission, which was quoted multiple times, and spoke at the public hearing, too. Together with my constituency neighbour Felicity Buchan, MP for Kensington, and the local Conservative Party, I put forward a detailed counter-proposal.
“In their report, the Boundary Commission noted that they had recognised the strength of opposition to their initial proposal and that they recommend that our counter-proposal should be adopted in full.”
The latest arrangement will see Fulham Reach and West Kensington wards added to the Chelsea and Fulham constituency to make up a total estimated electorate of 76,481.
A final consultation is now being held into the proposals with a view to them being adopted in the 2023 Boundary Review for submission to Parliament by 1 July 2023. If confirmed, these would be the seats contested at any general election contested in 2024.
This month-long consultation, is the last opportunity for residents to send in their views.
The commission says it has taken into consideration over 45,000 comments sent in by the public across the country during the previous two stages of public consultation and has changed nearly half of its initial proposals based on this feedback. This third and final consultation on the new map of revised constituency proposals is open now until 5 December. The public are invited to view and comment on the new map at bcereviews.org.uk.
The commission is undertaking an independent review of all constituencies in England as requested by Parliament. The number of electors within each constituency currently varies widely due to population changes since the last boundary review. The 2023 Boundary Review will rebalance the number of electors each MP represents, resulting in significant change to the existing constituency map. As part of the review, the number of constituencies in England will increase from 533 to 543 with the number in London rising from 73 to 75.
Tim Bowden, Secretary to the Boundary Commission for England, said when the proposals were announced, “Last year we published our initial proposals for new constituency boundaries – our first go at what the map should look like. We are delighted with the huge number of comments from members of the public on our initial proposals, many which included valuable evidence about local communities.
“Today’s publication is the culmination of months of analysis, and we have revised nearly half of our initial proposals based on what people have told us. We now believe we are close to the best map of constituencies that can be achieved under the rules we are working to.
“However, we still want people to tell us what they think of this latest map before we submit our final recommendations to Parliament next year. This is our final consultation and I encourage you to participate in the 2023 Boundary Review.”
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November 14, 2022