Top MPs at risk in shake-up / Gerrymander of English constituencies

[T_i_B]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-14882741

Some of the most high-profile MPs in Parliament face seeing their seats disappear as part of a far-reaching shake-up of the Commons map in 2015.

Ken Clarke, Chris Huhne and Tessa Jowell are among those affected by Boundary Commission plans for England and Northern Ireland.

The proposals are part of a move to cut the number of MPs by 50 to 600 by the next general election.

Details for Wales and Scotland will be published at a later date.

[non sociopath skin]

1. Northumberland gerrymandered ...

... from 1 Lib/Tory marginal (Alan Beith's Berwick), 1 safe Tory and 2 safe Labour to 2 safe Tory and 1 safe Labour.

No surprise there.

The Skin

[T_i_B]

2. Whilst where I am now escapes pretty much unscathed....

...Sheffield however is getting lots of changes, with new constituenciies taking in bits of Rotherham and Barnsley, and 1 safe Lib Dem seat being turned into 2 Lib Dem/Labour marginals. The new constituencies in South Yorkshire really are a bit of a dog's dinner.

Another thing to look out for is blatant carpetbagging from senior MP's affected.

[LeftishBrit]

4. Is the formerly safe LibDem seat you-know-whose?

If so, it would DEFINITELY serve him right to be replaced by 2 Labour MPs!

[T_i_B]

5. Hmmm

The proposed Sheffield South-West seat would be very losable for Clegg which leaves the proposed Sheffield West & Penistone seat, taking in affluent parts of Sheffield such as Ecclesall & Fulwoood in the South and Penistone West in the North

Penistone West being a rural part of Barnsley district is an odd choice for a seat like this as it has very little in common with most of the other parts of the proposed seat. It actually leans Tory with virtually no Lib Dem presence so you could end with with this seat as a three way bunfight, although you'd expect Clegg to scrape through with a few wildly misleading barcharts.

To be perfectly honest a lot of the proposed new constituencies look like a right dog's breakfast, drawn up with no consideration of natural or community boundaries. The proposed Rotherham and Sheffield East constituency is a prime example of this. Rotherham town centre is in a terrible state but an MP for this area would have to look out for the Meadowhall Shopping Centre more, which is what's killed off the centre of Rotherham in the first place. And that's just one example of how this gerrymandering will do nothing for anyone other then the top brass of the Conservative Party.

[non sociopath skin]

3. Well, at least one person's happy with it ...

Downing Street sources said the prime minister, whose Witney constituency remains unchanged, was adamant that the changes will go ahead. The Tories and Lib Dems both pledged in their manifestos to cut the size of the Commons.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/sep/13/boundary-review-angers-tory-mps

The Skin

[Name removed]

6. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[tjwmason]

7. Welcome to Democratic Underground.

Glad to see you're so interested in British affairs. Feel free the join the conversation.

[non sociopath skin]

8. Hmm. Maybe not.

I tuned in too late to catch that one. It wouldn't have been an old friend in yet another new garb, would it?

The Skin

[tjwmason]

9. I doubt it.

Looked to me like a simple disruptor posting non-messages in quieter parts of the forum to build up post-count. There were identical posts which just said "nm" in three threads posted within a couple of minutes of each other.

[non sociopath skin]

10. That's a relief!

The Skin

[LeftishBrit]

11. I checked the profile and it said they were from Boston

I would guess that they are in (Tombstone) Arizona by now.