DUP may yet back electoral changes that favour Tories
CONTROVERSIAL boundary changes that could secure a future Conservative Commons majority have moved a step closer after the Democratic Unionist Party signalled support for the reforms for the first time.
Nigel Dodds MP, the DUP leader in Westminster, had urged the Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland to consider a “radical change” to its original proposals which would see the DUP lose almost a third of its MPS.
However, his party has been buoyed by a leading electoral expert siding with its view that it does not need to lose any of its MPS in the boundary reforms.
The DUP’S view is vital because Theresa May’s Government needs its 10 MPS to back the changes in a Commons vote set for November 2018.
The Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland’s recommendations have been delayed until January by the Northern Ireland elections.
The commission’s review for England, Scotland and Wales, which was published yesterday, recommended changes to constituency boundaries which would see the Conservatives win up to 20 more seats at the next election. An analysis of the proposals – which cut MP numbers from 650 to 600 – found that if the changes had come before the June election the Tories would have won a majority.
Under the plans the number of MPS will be cut from 533 to 501 in England, 59 to 53 in Scotland, 40 to 29 in Wales and 18 to 17 in Northern Ireland.
Until now, the DUP had been firmly against the commission’s proposals which would cut its likely number of MPS after the election from 10 to seven.
However, the DUP was cheered by a submission to the commission from Nick Whyte, a well-respected independent elections expert in the province two weeks ago. He has said the DUP does not need to lose any MPS.
One source with knowledge of the DUP’S thinking said the findings of Mr Whyte – who headlined his submission with a blog on Oct 2 entitled “Whyte backs DUP shock” – were “very significant”. In a statement yesterday, Mr Dodds held out hope that the commission’s plans might be scaled back.
He said: “We are very pleased to see that other parties and leading commentators are coming to the same view as ourselves regarding the need to see a thorough, radical change in the Boundary Commission’s initial proposals.”