FROME and Somerset residents have only a few weeks to give their final thoughts on proposals for how the county will be carved up at the next general election.
The Boundary Commission for England (BCE) has so far held two rounds of public consultation on its proposals to redraw the parliamentary constituency boundaries ahead of the next general election, which must be held by January 2025.
The previous round, which concluded in April, drew significant feedback from Somerset residents, as well as prompting disagreements between two of the county’s Conservative MPs. The BCE has now published its final proposals, which are out for a third round of public consultation until Monday 5th December before being presented to Parliament in the new year.
The area covered by Somerset County Council is currently divided into five constituencies – Bridgwater and West Somerset, Somerton and Frome, Taunton Deane, Wells and Yeovil. Four of these seats currently have Conservative MPs, with David Warburton representing Somerton and Frome as an independent, having had the whip withdrawn in April following allegations of sexual assault which he denies.
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 people.
FROME – expected constituents: 70,202 The existing Somerton and Frome seat – held by Mr Warburton since 2015 – is one of the largest seats in Somerset, covering around 900 square miles.
The new Frome constituency would take the eastern extreme of the current seat, including Frome and Bruton while losing some of the villages east of Shepton Mallet. It would also include Midsomer Norton and Radstock, which currently form part of the North East Somerset seat held by former business secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg since 2010.
This means the new Frome constituency would straddle two local authority areas – Bath and North East Somerset and the new Somerset unitary – which could lead to disagreements down the line. While Mr Warburton has enjoyed a large majority since being elected, pockets of Labour support near Radstock, coupled with strong showings by both the Lib Dems and Greens in Frome, could come into play.
The Lib Dems and Greens have both already selected their prospective parliamentary candidates for the next general election, in the form of current councillors Sarah Dyke and Martin Dimery respectively. The BCE will take any feedback on board when it writes its final report to the Speaker of the House of Commons (Lindsay Hoyle MP), which he will receive before July 1, 2023.
If a general election is called before this date, it will be staged on the existing constituency boundaries, with the new boundaries being adopted for any subsequent general election.
