Commission rejects seat name change

CALLS to rename the Newton Abbot parliamentary seat have been rejected by the Boundary Commission.

As part of a shake-up of England’s constituency map for general elections, which aims to give each MP roughly the same number of voters, the commission has released updated proposals following consultation earlier in the year.

Newton Abbot’s seat is only being slightly altered to realign with changes in local government ward boundaries, but there were calls for the constituency to be renamed ‘Teignbridge’ – a former parliamentary seat in the area.

The commission says this was backed by “a number of representations, including that of the Conservative Party.”

Teignbridge was a Westminster seat from 1983 until 2010, when it was abolished after a previous review by the independent body. The southern part, including Dawlish, Newton Abbot and Teignmouth, formed the Newton Abbot seat, while the northern part joined Central Devon.

A report by the Boundary Commission “did not consider there was any compelling evidence” for the name change.