Agenda item

Report attached.

Members considered a report of Councillor Miles Parkinson OBE, Leader of the Council, providing the Council with an update on the Parliamentary Boundary Review 2023, notifying Members of the initial proposals from the Boundary Commission for England (the Commission) concerning the Hyndburn constituency and seeking the Council’s support for the Commission’s initial recommendations after considering the responses to the first consultation.

 

The Leader gave a brief introduction to the report as follows.  Maintaining the status quo was not an option.  The Commission’s various proposals had been discussed at length.  Broadly there was support for the latest proposals across the Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat political groups within Lancashire local authorities, although some disagreement remained over the proposed division of Whalley.  Various proposals had been discussed over time, which included differing options affecting both the Ribble Valley and Padiham.  However, as the current proposals for Lancashire would see only the Wyre and Preston North constituency abolished, there was a need to make all of the remaining pieces fit together.  Further attempts at rearrangement could potentially put other constituencies as risk.

 

Some respondents had put forward arguments for constituency boundaries based on the historical connections between certain areas, but the reality was the residents now lived in the digital age with less emphasis on traditional on geographical considerations.  Appropriate representation was the most important factor.  Historical connections could be made between Hyndburn and other many communities.  For example, in earlier times, both St James; Church, Altham and St James’ Church, Church Kirk, had links with Whalley Abbey.  Links with other urban areas had developed later as a result of the industrial revolution.

 

Members were reminded that earlier proposals by the Boundary Commission had sought to divide Hyndburn, across two new constituencies.   However, the current proposals retained Hyndburn within a single constituency.  There was general agreement for this model, notwithstanding the question about the Whalley wards.

 

The main report included the following information.  The Boundary Commission for England (the Commission) was an independent and impartial non?departmental public body, which was responsible for reviewing Parliamentary constituency boundaries in England.

 

On the 8^th June 2021 the Commission had published a report on their initial proposals to ensure that the number of electors in each constituency was more equal (electorate equality), which included a boundary change to the Hyndburn constituency and again proposed the name Hyndburn CC (County Constituency) which the Commission proposed in the final review back in 2018. 

 

The Commission’s latest proposals for the Hyndburn constituency included the loss of the Haslingden area to the West Pennine Moors constituency and the gain of three additional wards (Billington & Langho; East Whalley, Read & Simonstone; Whalley & Painter Wood) from the Ribble Valley constituency, whilst keeping Hyndburn coterminous with the district council’s boundary.

 

Following the passing of the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 2020 in December 2020, and the publication of the relevant Parliamentary electorate data in January 2021, the Commission had begun a new review of all Parliamentary constituencies in England.  They referred to this as the ‘2023 Review’, as they were required to report with their final recommendations by 1^st July 2023.

 

The 2023 Review of Parliamentary constituencies had been formally launched in January 2021.  The Commission was required to ensure that the number of electors in each constituency was more equal; in doing so, the number of constituencies in England would increase from 533 to 543 (ten more than there were currently).  The Commission was undertaking an independent review of all constituency boundaries in England and would present their final recommendations to Parliament by July 2023.  Each constituency that the Commission recommended must contain no fewer than 69,724 Parliamentary electors, and no more than 77,062 (except two ‘protected’ constituencies for the Isle of Wight).  By law, these electorate figures related to the electorates as they were on 2 March 2020.

 

Applying the statutory formula to the electorate figures meant the total 650 constituencies was distributed during the review to the four parts of the UK, with England receiving 543 seats, Scotland with 57, Wales with 32 and Northern Ireland with 18 seats.  This Commission had applied the same distribution formula to the English allocation, which resulted in the following redistribution of constituencies among the nine English regions for the 2023 Review with the North West losing two seats from 75 to 73.

 

• East Midlands = 47 (increase of one)
• Eastern = 61 (increase of three)
• London = 75 (increase of two)
• North East = 27 (decrease of two)
• North West = 73 (decrease of two)
• South East = 91 (increase of seven)
• South West = 58 (increase of three)
• West Midlands = 57 (decrease of two)
• Yorkshire and the Humber = 54 (no change)

 

The Commission’s proposals left ten of the existing 75 (going down to 73) North West constituencies unchanged.  A further three constituencies were unchanged, except to realign with new local government ward boundaries.  Across Cumbria and Lancashire it was proposed to reduce the number of existing constituency areas from 22 to 20, whilst Greater Manchester, Cheshire & Merseyside had kept the same number.  This was down to the number of constituencies allocated to each sub-region and was determined by the combined electorate of the local authorities they contained.

 

In 2018, the Council had been united in keeping Hyndburn coterminous with 100% of the district area within the parliamentary seat of Hyndburn whilst keeping its name.  The Council was pleased that the Commission had followed the previous submission and kept Hyndburn coterminous and would like to thank the Commission for retaining the Hyndburn area.

 

The previous 2018 Review had recommended that the Padiham wards were included in the Hyndburn constituency proposals, whereas the latest 2023 proposals included the three wards of Billington & Langho; East Whalley, Read & Simonstone; Whalley & Painter Wood from the Ribble Valley constituency area.

 

It could be argued that both 2018 and 2023 proposals had natural linkages and community ties from schools, shops and employment.  The Padiham wards had similar social economic profiles and good infrastructure links.  Whilst, prior to 1983 Great Harwood was in the Clitheroe constituency, before it had been changed to the Ribble Valley constituency, whereupon Great Harwood had moved into Hyndburn.

 

Whilst there might be differing opinions regarding preferences of which additional wards should make up electorate numbers within the parliamentary seat, the Council followed and supported the Commission’s impartiality and understood that the seat required a certain number of electorates to represent voter equality and required the tolerance level to be within the Commission’s recommendations.

 

In the 2018 Review, the Ribble Valley Borough Council had made a representation that their preferred parliamentary constituency was to include the whole of the Ribble Valley, together with parts of West Hyndburn (Baxenden, Church, Immanuel, Netherton, Overton, Rishton, St Andrew’s and St Oswald’s).  That would bring the new constituency within the right tolerance level at 77,634 and that authority had suggested it should be known as Ribble Valley and Hyndburn West.

 

However, the latest proposals had suggested the Ribble Valley district would only lose three wards to the Hyndburn seat.  The Burnley constituency would lose Briercliffe, and gain Bacup and the Whitworth area.  Pendle was 100% coterminous and would gain Briercliffe, while Rossendale district had been split between the seat of Burnley and the new seat of West Pennine Moors.

 

There were concerns that, if the Council considered proposing alternative recommendations, such as preferences over certain wards, the detrimental impact on Hyndburn could be the seat being split into another parliamentary area.  The risk would then be a possibility that Hyndburn would no longer be coterminous if alternative proposals were suggested, with perhaps the Commission redrawing boundaries across the North West.

 

The Council’s main objective was to support the proposal for keeping Hyndburn in one parliamentary constituency area.  Any further proposals to change the name and not keep Hyndburn in one parliamentary seat would not receive the Council’s support.

 

On 8^th June 2021 the Commission published their initial proposals for how the 543 constituencies for England could be drawn up within the legal parameters mentioned. This commenced a statutory consultation period of eight weeks (closing on 2^nd August 2021,- where anyone could give their views on those proposals.  There would be two further rounds of public consultation.

 

Early this year the Commission had published responses to initial proposals and were now conducting a six-week ‘secondary consultation’, including between two and five public hearings in each region.  This secondary consultation would end on 4^th April 2022.

 

The Commission had received numerous comments from members of the public, elected members and businesses relating to the proposals for Hyndburn, which could be viewed on the Commission’s website.

 

In addition, three political parties (Conservatives, Labour and Liberal Democrats) had submitted full counter proposals for the North West Region. In summary, the parties were supportive of the proposals affecting Hyndburn, with just one highlighting alternatives in the way Whalley was to be split.  These counter proposals were also available to view on the Boundary Commission’s website.

 

In late 2022 the Commission would publish revised proposals and conduct a four-week written consultation and following the conclusion of all three consultation periods, the Commission would look at all the evidence received before forming its final recommendations.  The Commission would then have to submit its final report and recommendations to the Speaker of the House of Commons by 1^st July 2023.

 

It was MOVED and SECONDED:

 

“That the Council:

 

• Notes the contents of the report.

 

• Supports the proposal for keeping Hyndburn in one parliamentary constituency area and Hyndburn CC (County Constituency) for the name of the constituency.

 

• Understands that there may be differing views regarding preferences about which additional wards make up electorate numbers within the parliamentary seat.  But, any further proposals to change the constituency name and not keep Hyndburn coterminous in one parliamentary seat would not receive the Council’s full support.”

 

Councillor Marlene Howarth thanked the Leader for articulating the issue regarding Whalley, and she indicted that its residents did not want the town divided between two constituencies.  She outlined a form of words which would capture this proposal.  Councillor Judith Addison also expressed the view that it would be useful to add the name Whalley to the constituency name, so as to make its residents feel more included.  The Leader noted that this might be unnecessary as, regardless of any official name, MPs often mentioned other townships when referring to their constituency.  For example, ‘Hynbdburn and Haslingden’ was often referred to.

 

The following AMENDMENT was moved and seconded:

 

The insertion of the following words, after the second bullet point.

 

“Requests that the Boundary Commission for England includes Whalley as a whole in the new Hyndburn constituency, with consideration being given to the constituency being renamed Hyndburn and Whalley CC.”

 

and consequential amendments to the other bullet points:

 

On being put to the vote the AMENDMENT was CARRIED.  The substantive MOTION was then put to the VOTE and it was:-

 

Resolved                                    -    That the Council:

 

(1)    Notes the contents of the report.

 

(2)   Supports the proposal for keeping Hyndburn in one parliamentary constituency area and Hyndburn CC (County Constituency) for the name of the constituency (subject to 3 below).

 

(3)   Requests that the Boundary Commission for England includes Whalley as a whole in the new Hyndburn constituency, with consideration being given to the constituency being renamed Hyndburn and Whalley CC.

 

(4)   Understands that there may be differing views regarding preferences about which additional wards make up electorate numbers within the parliamentary seat.  But, any further proposals to change the constituency name (unless for the purposes described at 3 above) and not keep Hyndburn coterminous in one parliamentary seat would not receive the Council’s full support.