Let the great boundary rejig commence

[Gary J]

What kind of animal? How about a sea horse?

[afleitch]

Anthony Wells thinks at first glance these boundaries would have given the Conservatives a majority.

[minionofmidas]

What kind of animal? How about a sea horse?

A seaminotaur.

[doktorb]

"Leeds Metropolitan and Ossett" is a masterstroke of a name. Bring back the University seats!!!

Oh, an as for animals, can I present the Lancashire Rabbit?

[minionofmidas]

Cute. May I pet it - ouch! It nibbled my hand clean off!

[afleitch]

England. Based on Anthony Wells notionals.

[minionofmidas]

I've just read the East Midlands report...

After reading the other southern reports first.

Um.

Um.

Have a look at this ... thing.

[doktorb]

Revised Welsh proposals announced

The Official names are predominately English with some Welsh:

Aberavon and Ogmore
Alyn and Deeside
Blaenau Gwent
Brecon, Radnor and Montgomery
Bridgend
Caerfyrddin
Caerphilly
Cardiff Central
Cardiff North and South West Gwent
Cardiff South and Penarth
Cardiff West
Ceredigion and North Pembrokeshire
Conwy and Colwyn
Denbigh and North Montgomeryshire
Flint and North Denbighshire
Gower and Swansea West
Gwynedd
Llanelli
Merthyr Tydfil, Rhymney and Lower Cynon
Monmouthshire
Neath and the Swansea Valley
Newport
Pontypridd
Rhondda and Aberdare
South Pembrokeshire
Swansea East
The Vale of Glamorgan
Torfaen
Wrexham Maelor
Ynys Môn a Bangor


There is also an explicit mention of alternative names, predominately Welsh with some English

Aberafan ac Ogwr
Aberhonddu, Maesyfed a Threfaldwyn
Alun a Glannau Dyfrdwy
Blaenau Gwent
Bro Morgannwg
Caerffili
Canol Caerdydd
Carmarthen
Casnewydd
Castell‐nedd a Chwm Tawe
Ceredigion a Gogledd Sir Benfro
Conwy a Cholwyn
De Caerdydd a Phenarth
De Sir Benfro
Dinbych a Gogledd Sir Drefaldwyn
Dwyrain Abertawe
Fflint a Gogledd Sir Ddinbych
Gogledd Caerdydd a De Orllewin Gwent
Gorllewin Caerdydd
Gwynedd
Gŵyr a Gorllewin Abertawe
Isle of Anglesey and Bangor
Llanelli
Merthyr Tudful, Rhymni a Chynon
Isaf
Pen‐y‐Bont
Pontypridd
Rhondda ac Aberdâr
Sir Fynwy
Tor‐faen
Wrecsam Maelor

[minionofmidas]

I think I score just two wins on my recommendations (of changes that is, not counting stuff they proposed that was uncontroversial).

The name of the cross-Menai constituency. And more importantly getting Ruabon into what, sadly, will not be named after Owain Glyndwr. Maybe something I'm forgetting. Oh yeah, the name of Conwy & Colwyn for the "North Coast" thingy, but that was a no-brainer.
Of course, I spent much time on developping an alternative to their messed-up and indefensible Valleys and Cardiff proposals ... and those were duly redrawn ... just not in the way I envisaged. (They are better than the original proposals now... but I still prefer my version. I think. Would need to look it up again.) They also did not split the core slate district as in the original proposals... by moving it all to Gwynedd.

Cardiff N & SW Gwent (for which read "Cardiff N, Newport W & Risca") though... and I notice it or something similar was actually proposed by Labour and the Tories... it reminds me of the Middlesbrough S & Cleveland E of yore. 

[afleitch]

Cardiff N & SW Gwent (for which read "Cardiff N, Newport W & Risca") though... and I notice it or something similar was actually proposed by Labour and the Tories... it reminds me of the Middlesbrough S & Cleveland E of yore. 

It's the best of a bad situation for the Tories in Cardiff. Back of a napkin calculations suggest it probably has a majority of about 1,700 for Labour over the Tories. It's the inclusion of Risca that gives which get's Labour over the top. There's no other satisfactory arragement due to rather large wards in the centre of Cardiff.

[doktorb]

Yeah I score 'wins'  in the names of South Pembrokeshire, and Conwy and Colwyn. Minor kudos with Powys, as I recommended the seats should have Montgomery(shire) in there somewhere

Not so good with "Dee Estuary", which I thought should be "Flint and West Flintshire"

[minionofmidas]

Yeah I score 'wins'  in the names of South Pembrokeshire, and Conwy and Colwyn. Minor kudos with Powys, as I recommended the seats should have Montgomery(shire) in there somewhere

Not so good with "Dee Estuary", which I thought should be "Flint and West Flintshire"

I think I proposed "Flint & Rhyl".


There's something I understood about the way the legislation works, and indeed the previous legislation worked as well. There is nothing in there about drawing logical constituencies (although esp. in the past it was usually tried anyways). There is only something in there about avoiding unlogical boundaries at the micro level. It is perfectly within the spirit of the legislation to pair two self-contained areas that border each other but have no ties and nothing in common a la Darwen & Bolton North or Corby & East Northamptonshire - apart from the exclusion of Lower Darwen and the splitting of Rushden from Irthlingborough, both of which are violations of the principles. (Of course there is literally nowhere logical to combine Darwen with, so in that case the whole point is sort of moot). My South Wales proposals might actually have looked different if I had understood that better.

[Chancellor of the Duchy of Little Lever and Darcy Lever]

The thing I don't understand about Lower Darwen is - yes, alright it was historically part of Darwen, but about fifteen years ago they went and built a motorway between Darwen and Lower Darwen.  When they set up Darwen Town Council about a decade ago they stopped the boundary at the motorway, so Lower Darwen isn't actually covered by the town council.

I'm aware of the argument that sometimes you can have communities divided by a motorway working pretty well as a unit nonetheless (see the Dickie Bird estate in Bury for an example), but I'm not sure that works here.  I think Lower Darreners just don't want to be associated with Blackburrn in the same way I didn't want Bolton associated with Darreners.

[dadge]

What's with the Cuyahoga thing?

[dadge]

Four hours to go. I've had my final penultimate say: http://ukelect.wordpress.com/2012/12/10/response-to-revised-proposals/

I wonder what, if anything, will be salvaged from the whole expensive process?

[YL]

I wonder what, if anything, will be salvaged from the whole expensive process?

Do you think there's anything worth salvaging?

I made a fairly brief comment saying that they should have split wards in Yorkshire.  They won't take any notice.

Is Spelthorne really that bad (compared with Mersey Banks & Weaver, Leeds Metropolitan & Ossett, etc.)?

[doktorb]

"From Preston to Fylde: Ingol

From Lancaster to Preston: Greyfriars

From Lancaster to Fylde: Preston Rural North, Preston Rural East

From Blackpool North to Lancaster: Carleton

From Fylde to Lancaster: Tithebarn, High Cross, Breck, Hardhorn, Singleton, Elswick"


Oh, Dadge!  What have you done to my beautiful west Lancashire

Ingol is very much part of Preston, more so than it is "Fylde", and compounding the problem is the decision to stretch Fylde up and over the city in a way I think reflects how the seat looked in the 80s and 90s. A lot has changed since, and faced with the need to keep communities together despite the larger electoral quota, I'd rather see the rural bits of Preston attached to Lancaster and bits inbetween, than St Annes and bits inbetween. It's "farms verses beaches", I suppose, and Goosnargh, Grimsargh, Woodplumpton - these are farmlands, not beaches.

(However, if your alternative was put forward, I'd suggest a new name, as "Fylde" really is only regarded as that which stops just after Kirkham. "Fylde and Preston North" or "Fylde and Rural Preston" would be fine)

"From Blackpool North to Lancaster: Carleton

From Fylde to Lancaster: Tithebarn, High Cross, Breck, Hardhorn, Singleton, Elswick"

This is a bit better. I like trying to keep Wyre together, as it is somewhat fractured. It does make for a very big seat though and there is still a scrappy boundary around the Wyre estuary or whatever you want to call "The Fleetwood bit".

[Chancellor of the Duchy of Little Lever and Darcy Lever]

I also suggested a change in the Accrington area, although more radical; swap Baxenden and Spring Hill for Altham and Clayton-le-Moors.  This doesn't resolve the split of Accrington but does make the Rossendale and Oswaltwistle seat much more sensibly shaped.

Bury South and Crumpsall makes an awful lot of sense, much more so than it looks.  There are good community links between Crumpsall and Prestwich.

Spelthorne: Poyle (part of the Colnbrook with Poyle ward transferred into Spelthorne) was part of Spelthorne district until 1995, and before then part of Staines UD.  You can't really describe moving Poyle back into Spelthorne as ridiculous.

[You kip if you want to...]

Was "Leeds Metropolitan & Osset" really the best name they could think of?

[Filuwaúrdjan]

The idea of naming a constituency after Leeds Met is f[inks]ing hilarious.

[YL]

Was "Leeds Metropolitan & Osset" really the best name they could think of?

I think a ridiculous name is entirely appropriate for such a constituency.

[doktorb]

Proposed constituency names which have never been used

(with the caveat that I'm using the great god Wikipedia)

Northern Ireland
*Belfast South East
*Belfast South West
*Coleraine and North Antrim
*Glenshane

Scotland
*Airdrie and Coatbridge South
*Angus East and Kincardine
*Angus West and East Perthshire
*Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber
*Ayr North, Troon and Cumnock
*Ayrshire Central and Arran
*Caithness, Sutherland, Ross and Cromarty
*Clackmannanshire and Dunfermline West
*Clydesdale and Larkhall
*Cumbernauld and Coatbridge North
*Deeside and Gordon
*East Dunbartonshire and Kilsyth
*East Kilbride and Rutherglen
*East Renfrewshire and Hairmyres
*Edinburgh Central and Leith
*Edinburgh South East
*Galloway, Ayr South and Carrick
*Inverclyde and Renfrewshire West
*Inverness and Skye
*Kirkcaldy and Glenrothes
*Midlothian and Tweeddale
*Motherwell, Wishaw and Bellshill
*Paisley and Renfrew
*Perth and Kintoss-shire
*Renfrewshire South and Ayrshire North
*Stirling and Crieff
*West Dunbartonshire and Bearsden North

England (excluding London)
*Aldridge, Brownhills and Bloxwich
*Ashton-under-Lyne and Denton
*Barnsley North and Hemsworth
*Barnsley South
*Basildon and Thurrock East
*Berwick, Alnwick and Morpeth
*Bideford, Bude and Launceston
*Billericay and Great Dunmow
*Birmingham Erdington and Castle Bromwich
*Birmingham Harborne
*Blyth and Ashington
*Bodmin and St Austell
*Bolton North and Darwen
*Bootle and North Liverpool
*Bournemouth West and Bourne Valley
*Bradford East and Horsforth
*Braintree and Witham
*Bridgnorth, Wellington and The Wrekin
*Brighton East and Seahaven
*Bromsgrove and Droitwich
*Burnham and Glastonbury
*Burnley and Accrington East
*Canterbury and Faversham
*Chatham and Malling
*Coalville and Keyworth
*Colne Valley and Denby Dale
*Crosby and Maghull
*Daventry and Lutterworth
*Derby East
*Derby West
*Didcot and Wantage
*Dudley East and Oldbury
*Gateshead East and Jarrow
*Goole and Howden
*Grimsby North and Barton
*Grimsby South and Cleethorpes
*Harwich and Clacton
*Hazel Grove and Poynton
*Henley and Thame
*Herne Bay
*Isle of Wight East
*Isle of Wight West
*Kenilworth and Dorridge
*Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice
*Kingswood and Keynsham
*Leeds Metropolitan and Ossett
*Leeds South East and Castleford
*Leeds West, Pudsey and Tong
*Lewes and Uckfield
*Liverpool Riverside and Walton
*Ludlow and Leominster
*Luton North and Dunstable
*Malvern and Ledbury
*Manchester Gorton and Reddish North
*Mersey Banks and Weaver
*Mid Bedfordshire and Harpenden
*Mid Dorset
*Newcastle upon Tyne North and Cramlington
*Norfolk Coastal
*North East Essex
*Nottingham North and Hucknall
*Nottingham South and West Bridgford
*Penrith and Solway
*Rossendale and Oswaldtwistle
*Rotherham and Sheffield East
*Rotherham North
*Sheffield Hallam and Penistone
*Sheffield North and Dodworth
*South East Hertfordshire
*South Gloucestershire East
*South Gloucestershire West
*Southend East and Rochford
*St Neots and Huntingdon
*Stockton North and Aycliffe
*Stourbridge and Dudley
*Tavistock and Plympton
*The Cities of London and Westminster
*The Weald
*Truro and Newquay
*Walsall West
*Warminster and Shaftesbury
*Washington
*Wells and North East Somerset
*West Cumbria
*West Wiltshire
*Wirral Deeside
*Wisbech and Downham Market


London
*Bexleyheath and Erith
*Sidcup and Welling
*Thamesmead and Plumstead
*Wembley
*Greenford and Northolt
*Willesden
*Islington South and Holborn
*Camden Town and Regent's Park
*Carshalton and Coulsdon
*Ealing Central
*Hammersmith and Acton
*Southall and Heston
*Edmonton and Tottenham Hale
*Eltham and Charlton
*Greenwich and Lewisham Central
*Stamford Hill and South Tottenham
*Bethnal Green and Shoreditch
*Hayes and Feltham
*Brentworth and Isleworth
*Hampton
*Wimbledon and Coombe
*Clapham and Streatham
*Battersea and Vauxhall
*Bermondsey and South Bank
*Deptford and Rotherhithe
*East Ham and Loxford
*Bow and Stratford
*Richmond and Twickenham
*Dulwich and Peckham
*Poplar and Stepney

Wales
*Conwy and Colwyn
*Denbigh and North Montgomeryshire
*Brecon, Radnor and Montgomery
*Flint and North Denbighshire
*Gwynedd
*Wrexham Maelor
*Ynys Môn a Bangor
*Caerfyrddin
*Ceredigion and North Pembrokeshire
*South Pembrokeshire
*Cardiff North and South West Gwent
*The Vale of Glamorgan
*Aberavon and Ogmore
*Merthyr Tydfil, Rhymney and Lower Cynon
*Rhondda and Aberdare
*Gower and Swansea West
*Neath and the Swansea Valley

[You kip if you want to...]

The idea of naming a constituency after Leeds Met is f[inks]ing hilarious.

That's the source of the hilarity.

[YL]

The House of Lords has voted to delay the review until 2018.  Given the parliamentary arithmetic, the Commons is likely to follow.  If it does, then presumably this review is dead: if the legislation isn't amended, then there'll be another review on these rules after the next election with December 2015 electorate figures.

[minionofmidas]

I'll not sleep soundly until it's official.