Labour MP backed changes to boundaries… but only for her

A LABOUR frontbencher has been accused of hypocrisy after she backed the Government’s boundary reforms locally a month after attacking them nationally at the party’s annual conference.

Cat Smith, shadow minister for voter engagement, told the Boundary Commission for England in October last year that she supported changes that would merge her Lancaster and Fleetwood seat with a neighbouring constituency. Under the final plans, to be published in September, Ms Smith would have a notional majority of 8,299, up from 6,661.

But a month earlier she had accused the Tories of “gerrymandering” constituencies and a year before that said the plans were “undemocratic” and urged the Government to drop them.

Last night a Labour source said Ms Smith had dropped her support for the local changes two months ago.

Labour is opposing changes that would equalise constituencies. Most larger constituencies are in Conservative areas, leading to claims that the present system favours Labour.

Chris Skidmore, minister for the constitution, said: “It is the height of hypocrisy for Labour to oppose the review nationally, but back it locally when they think it’s in their interest.”

Last year, Ms Smith rejected the national process “because there are two million electors missing from the numbers being used by the Boundary Commission.” She later said she approved of the proposals for her own constituency as they “reflect community ties”, but is understood to have reversed on that.