Concern over UK Government plan to cut Welsh MPs
UK GOVERNMENT plans to reduce the number of Welsh MPs raise serious questions about Welsh representation in Westminster, say democracy campaigners.
The proposals come despite the government’s decision to scrap a cut in numbers in the Commons overall, shelving long-held plans to reduce the number of MPs from 650 to 600.
The decision to scrap proposed cuts was announced yesterday, yet re-drawn parliamentary boundaries could still see Wales lose 10 of its 40 current constituencies.
Jess Blair, director of Electoral Reform Society Cymru, said: “We need clarity on what exactly this means for Wales. Boundaries must be based on a proper set of principles such as those registered in the area and the number of people represented by an MP and not just be drawn on a whim.
“Any cut in the number of Welsh MPs puts additional pressure on the Senedd, which we already know is severely overstretched at just 60 Members. A reduction of this number, which would see Wales lose almost a quarter of its parliamentary representation, provides further impetus to increase the number of Members of the Senedd.
“If the UK Government genuinely cares about ensuring all votes count equally, reducing Wales’ voice in Westminster is not the solution. Instead, we need a fair, modern and proportional voting system – ending the travesty of super-safe seats v the handful of swing constituencies.”
Any exercise to redraw constituencies in Wales would be carried out by the Local Democracy and Boundary Commission for Wales.
In 2017, plans later abandoned because of the then-hung Parliament would have seen the number of MPs elected from Wales go down from 40 to 29.
The number of constituencies in Cardiff would have reduced from four to three, while the three seats in the Swansea local authority area would have gone down to two.
Newport would have had one seat instead of the present two. An expanded Torfaen constituency would have taken in parts of the current Monmouth and Newport West seats. A new Monmouthshire seat would have taken in most of the current Monmouth seat and part of Newport East.
In the Valleys, Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney would have taken in a significant part of the Rhymney Valley currently in the Caerphilly seat, while Caerphilly would have absorbed parts of Islwyn and Newport West.
Blaenau Gwent would have increased in size to include part of the current Islwyn constituency.
There would have been new seats of Cynon Valley and Pontypridd, Rhondda and Llantrisant, and Ogmore and Aberavon. Neath would have expanded with some wards from the current Aberavon seat.
The western part of Vale of Glamorgan would have joined with Bridgend, while the eastern part would have had a seat of its own together with Penarth.
Llanelli would have grown by absorbing part of the existing Gower seat, while Carmarthen would have become a constituency on its own.
Mid and South Pembrokeshire would have formed another new seat, while Ceredigion would have expanded to include North Pembrokeshire.