New plans to merge two constituencies
TWO parliamentary constituencies serving Carmarthenshire could be merged into one under changes proposed by UK Government.
Earlier this month, initial proposals for a new UK Parliamentary map of Wales were revealed with the number of MPS set to be cut by 20% from 40 to 32.
The new plans published by the Boundary Commission could pave the way for major changes to the Welsh political landscape, splitting some constituencies that have been in place for decades – while other constituencies will be scrapped completely and integrated with neighbouring areas.
In Carmarthenshire it would see the scrapping of Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire and also Carmarthen East and Dinefwr. They will be replaced with a single Caerfyrddin (Carmarthen) constituency.
It potentially means, come the next general election, the two longstanding MPS serving the constituencies will be battling it out for one seat.
Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire MP Simon Hart – current secretary of state for Wales – and independent MP Jonathan Edwards for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr have both sat for 11 years, Mr Edwards as a Plaid MP for 10 of those years.
If the new Caerfyrddin constituency goes ahead it would border Powys near the Sugar Loaf in the north and Laugharne to the west. While in the town of Carmarthen itself, the border would run along the River Towy, placing the community of Llangunnor – a stone’s throw away from Carmarthen – in the Llanelli constituency – along with Carmarthen
train station which sits in Pensarn. It is all being done to get constituencies containing between 69,724 and 77,062 voters, 5% either way of the UK average – however Anglesey is exempt from this rule.
Proposals estimate a registered voter total of 70,606 for the new Carmarthen constituency.
Jonathan Edwards MP said: “It’s bad news for Welsh MPS at Westminster under the proposed changes, effectively there are less with a voice for the country in Parliament.
“The proposals have been drawn up with the aim of more balance in constituency numbers across the UK and England will actually gain 10 seats in the restructure.
“On paper and if you are doing this in London, yes you can divide things up equally and easily, but in rural Wales it’s not so easy in getting the balance because of the population and where it is concentrated in areas.
“So for example Llanelli extending west under the plans and taking Llangunnor out of a Carmarthen constituency doesn’t make a lot of sense and I don’t think the public are that aware of the proposals yet.
“We have a consultation period now and I will be looking to lobby certain things about the proposals such as the Llangunnor matter and of course Carmarthen train station coming under the remit of a Llanelli MP.
“I would be pushing to change that. “I would want to see certain areas such as Gorslas remain within the Caerfyrddin constituency and not moved into Llanelli as proposed, because they are key areas and have been over the years.”
Turning to the county as a whole as part of the changes Mr Edwards said: “It is a large area with lots of different issues in differing communities from one end to the other.”
“One thing that is key is the Welsh language and that will remain a focus for myself going forward.”
Turning to the battle grounds laid out by the proposals Mr Edwards said: “I really think it will be a Plaid
versus Conservative fight with Labour voters in the county having to choose tactically who they want representing them out of those two.”
Commenting briefly on the proposals, Simon Hart said: “The proposed changes take a long-standing manifesto commitment to the next stage.
“Votes in every part of Wales should carry the same value and ensuring that constituencies are of a similar size is crucial to achieving that.”
While Llanelli MP Nia Griffith, who has held her Llanelli constituency seat since 2005, said: “I appreciate the professionalism of the officers in the Boundary Commission who have an extremely difficult jigsaw to do, in order to create new constituencies, each one of which must have around 70,000 voters, whereas currently almost all Welsh constituencies are smaller than this.
“From the point of view of Llanelli, it is very pleasing to see that they have kept the whole of the Llanelli constituency together, along with some neighbouring areas.”
Turning to the other shake-up in the planned new look political map of Wales, Ceredigion could be combined with most of Preseli Pembrokeshire to form Ceredigion Preseli.
That would leave a separate mid and south Pembrokeshire constituency.
At present Ceredigion has a constituency of 56,634 registered voters and Preseli Pembrokeshire has 60,025.
Under the new proposals the new Ceredigion Preseli constituency would see a total of 76,269 registered voters being served by one MP. While a new Mid and South Pembrokeshire would have 74,614 voters making up the constituency.
Cerediigon’s Plaid MP Ben Lake, who has represented the constituency since 2017, said it was inevitable that there would be significant changes to the size and shape of Welsh constituencies following the passage of the Parliamentary Constituencies Act, as its confirmation of a single, Uk-wide electoral quota, reducing the number of constituencies in Wales from 40 to 32.
He added: “The consequences of this reduction are exemplified by the proposed new constituency of Ceredigion Preseli, which would bring communities in Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire together in a seat that is not too dissimilar to the old constituency of Ceredigion and Pembroke North, which was represented by Plaid Cymru’s Cynog Dafis before its dissolution in 1997.
“The geographical extent of the proposed new seat is impressive, to say the least, and will present challenges to those wishing to represent its many communities.
“However, I am confident that whoever has the honour of representing the new seat will find a way of overcoming them.”
The reduction represents the “most significant change to Wales’s constituencies in a century”, the Boundary Commission said.
Tory peer and polling expert Lord Hayward predicted they could result in two or three Tory losses, three or four Labour losses, and Plaid Cymru losing either one or two seats.
The Commission said that, if adopted, they would “result in a Parliamentary
map of Wales very different from the one we are familiar with”. But it warned it could not consider arguments over the number of constituencies as it has no power to set the number of MPS, which was decided by Parliament.
The Commission said it had taken into account geographical features, such as lakes, rivers and mountains, when shaping its proposals, and also considered “local ties”, such as “shared history and culture”. Voters as well as the MPS that represent them have a say in the shake-up being tabled.
Secretary to the Boundary Commission for Wales, Shereen Williams, said: “We’re confident that our proposals are a strong first attempt to create a workable map of 32 Welsh constituencies.
“The purpose of our initial proposals, however, is to start the conversation about how the new map will look.
“Nobody will know your local area as well as you do, so get involved in the consultation and let us know your views.
“As we proceed with the review, we’re highly likely to make some changes to our proposals, so your responses to the consultation could make a significant difference.”
The new proposals and consultation portal are available on the Boundary Commission for Wales website, www.bcw-reviews.org.uk, until the consultation period closes on November 3.