Proposed Parliamentary constituency boundary changes

FEATURE by Daniel Mumby, Local Democracy Reporter.

The Boundary Commission for England (BCE) held three rounds of public consultation on proposals to redraw the parliamentary constituency boundaries ahead of the next general election, which must be held by January 2025.

Following the third round last December, the final proposals have been presented to the Speaker of the House of Commons, Lindsay Hoyle.

Parliament now has four months to formally approve the changes.

The area covered by Somerset Council is currently divided into five constituencies – Bridgwater and West Somerset, Somerton and Frome, Taunton Deane, Wells and Yeovil.

Four of those seats currently have Conservative MPs, with a by-election for the Somerton and Frome constituency taking place on July 20 following David Warburton's resignation.

Under the proposals, the total number of seats in the House of Commons will remain at 650 – but the number of constituencies in England will increase from 533 to 543.

The new boundaries are designed to make representation more equal, with each of the new seats having a population of between 69,724 and 77,062.

Here’s how the new Somerset seats will look – and what it could mean for the county’s representation in Westminster.

Bridgwater (electorate: 71,418).

The new boundary essentially follows the western boundaries of the Sedgemoor district, with eastern settlements such as Axbridge and Cheddar moving into the neighbouring Wells and Mendip Hills seat.

The new boundaries also mean Bridgwater’s MP will no longer have the Hinkley Point C power station in their constituency as it will transfer to Tiverton and Minehead.

Bridgwater and West Somerset MP Ian Liddell-Grainger has enjoyed a large majority since his seat was created in 2010, having previously represented the Bridgwater constituency since 2001.

This new seat is more likely to be a three-way marginal constituency, with Labour traditionally polling well in Bridgwater, the LibDems recently making gains in North Petherton and Burnham-on-Sea, and the Conservatives expecting to do well in the more rural areas.

Frome and East Somerset (electorate: 70,177).

The existing Somerton and Frome seat, held by Mr Warburton since 2015, is one of the largest in Somerset, covering around 900 square miles.

The new seat takes the eastern elements of the former Mendip district, keeping Frome and the villages east of Shepton Mallet.

It also includes Midsomer Norton and Radstock, which currently form part of the North East Somerset seat held by Jacob Rees-Mogg since 2010.

The biggest change from the initial proposals is that Bruton has moved into the Glastonbury and Somerton seat following feedback from residents.

The LibDems will be confident of doing well here following the Somerset Council election elections in May 2022, but Frome has a strong Green following, which may split the progressive vote.

Glastonbury & Somerton (electorate: 70,015).

The new Glastonbury and Somerton seat is being created out of the majority of the existing Somerton and Frome seat, including Bruton, Castle Cary, Langport, Somerton and Wincanton.

It will also includes Glastonbury, Street, and Ham Hill.

On the basis of the unitary election results in May, the seat could be another potential battleground, with the Conservatives retaining support in Wincanton while losing ground to the LibDems in the western half of the proposed constituency.

But with the Green party still retaining strong pockets of support, especially in Glastonbury2, it may end up being a constituency where many of the more left-leaning parties end up competing for the same votes.

Taunton & Wellington (electorate: 76,049).

The existing Taunton Deane constituency has been held by Conservative Rebecca Pow since 2015, though her majority did fall slightly at the last election.

The proposed Taunton and Wellington seat will retain the county town and surrounding villages, including Norton Fitzwarren and Staplegrove, where significant new housing is proposed.

It will lose Wiveliscombe and Bishops Lydeard to the Tiverton and Minehead seat.

The LibDems have traditionally polled well in local elections in this area, winning most of the Taunton seats at the local elections in May and doing well in the rural areas.

With the new boundaries depriving the Conservatives of several rural parishes, the LibDems may see this as a viable target and have re-selected Gideon Amos, who contested the seat in 2017 and 2019, as their prospective candidate.

Tiverton & Minehead (electorate: 70,829).

This is the single biggest redrawing of the map, with Somerset and Devon joining up together.

The constituency combines the western, more rural end of the current Bridgwater and West Somerset seat, including Minehead, Watchet and Williton, and most of the Exmoor National Park and the entirety of the Quantock Hills AONB.

It also includes Tiverton and the surrounding villages, currently part of the Tiverton and Honiton constituency, which the LibDems captured in a by-election in June following the resignation of Neil Parish.

Mr Liddell-Grainger has already been selected as the Conservatives’ candidate.

Wells & Mendip Hills (electorate: 69,843).

James Heappey has held the Wells seat since 2015, but the new Wells constituency will bear little resemblance to the current one.

While it still includes Axbridge, Cheddar, Shepton Mallet and Wells, the new constituency loses Burnham-on-Sea and Highbridge to Bridgwater.

The new constituency includes Yatton and other settlements currently part of the Weston-super-Mare seat.

The LibDems won heavily here in the 2022 local elections and former MP Tessa Munt will be relishing the prospect of another battle with Mr Heappey.

The seat remains largely rural with an ageing population, characteristics that traditionally point towards a Tory victory.

Yeovil (electorate: 76,056).

For the most part, the boundaries of the new Yeovil seat are the same as the current Yeovil constituency, represented by Marcus Fysh since 2015.

However, the new Yeovil constituency will not include the villages between Podimore and the northern edge of Yeovil, which will become part of the new Glastonbury and Somerton seat.

The Yeovil seat will include the largest population areas within the current South Somerset district, including Yeovil, Chard, Crewkerne and Ilminster, though Castle Cary and Wincanton do not feature.

Mr Fysh increased his majority in 2019 and has been reselected to stand.

However, the LibDems have strong support within the former district on the new unitary, so their candidate, Adam Dance, may fancy his chances.

BCE secretary Tim Bowden said: “The recommendations we have published...mark the end of a thorough and consultative process to build the new map of parliamentary constituencies.

“We have taken into account more than 60,000 public comments, travelled the country, and heard many passionate views about how best to reflect local community ties in our recommendations.

“We are confident that our final recommendations are the best reflection of the statutory rules parliament has set us.

"We are incredibly grateful to everyone who has participated in the 2023 boundary review.”