Corbyn ‘trying to rig election’

Minister calls attempt to block electoral boundary reforms an affront to democracy

By Christopher Hope,

Gordon Rayner and Ashley Kirk

A MINISTER has accused Jeremy Corbyn of gerrymandering by blocking reforms to an electoral system that is biased in favour of Labour and has become “an affront to democracy”.

New analysis shows that 27million voters are being under-represented by their MPS because they live in constituencies where the MP has a higher than average number of constituents, making it harder for each voter to get their voice heard.

Constituency boundaries are more out of date than at any time since the Second World War, but Labour is opposing changes that would rebalance constituencies in a slimmed-down Parliament of 600 MPS, 50 fewer than at present.

The majority of the larger constituencies are in Conservative voting areas, which has led to claims that the system is biased against the Tories.

Chris Skidmore, the minister for the constitution, accused Mr Corbyn of “political opportunism” in trying to block reforms, saying that any general election result would be “tainted” without the changes being made.

Writing in today’s Daily Telegraph, Mr Skidmore says that with mainland constituencies varying from 41,000 to 93,000 electors, some MPS are effectively “twice the value” of others.

As Parliament prepares to celebrate the centenary of women’s suffrage in 2018, Mr Skidmore says it is time to ensure “fair and equal representation” for all voters for the first time since the Chartists proposed it in the 1830s.

In September the independent Boundary Commissions for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will bring forward proposals to Parliament to update constituency boundaries for the next general election.

The changes would reform a system under which the average Tory MP has 74,500 constituents, compared with the average Labour MP’S 70,500 voters. After the changes the average electorate for a Tory seat in a 600-seat Parliament would be 74,600 and for a Labour seat 74,900.

Analysis by The Telegraph found that the average electorate in a constituency is 72,055, based on the 650 seats in June’s general election. Some 347 constituencies have an electorate larger than this, affecting 27.1 million people.

Mr Skidmore said the analysis showed why the boundary reforms were needed. He said: “It is an affront to democracy that 27 million people are under-represented, and it is disappointing that the Labour party are trying to disenfranchise them yet further.

“Without a boundary review, the constituencies at the next election would be based on electorate data from 2000, making these the most out-of-date boundaries since the modern system was established by Herbert Morrison during the Second World War.”

A number of experts have said reform is long overdue.

Labour is expected to oppose the changes next year when they are put to a vote. Mr Corbyn’s Islington North constituency is among those that may be scrapped, meaning he would have to fight for a new seat at the next election.

A Labour Party spokesman said: “Everyone agrees that a boundary review is needed, and Labour stands ready to work with other parties to ensure it goes ahead in a way that benefits our democracy and not just the Conservative Party.”