It is desirable to review the basis on which constituency size is assessed.
⨳As far back as 1885, Parliament decided to equalise the size of MPs’ constituencies on the basis of relevant population size. However, for many years, successive Boundary Commissions have based their decisions not on population size but on the number of registered electors.
⨳The Electoral Reform Society currently argues that: “To ensure all citizens are counted, we recommend basing constituencies on population figures, not the electoral roll. Until we move towards automatic voter registration in the UK – which is vital – we will simply end up with rows over ‘out of date’ electoral registers forming the basis of our Parliamentary representation. MPs have to represent everyone in the area – not just registered voters” – see https://www.electoral-reform.org.uk/campaigns/upgrading-our-democracy/fair-boundaries/.
⨳Moreover, recent analysis by the respected political commentator and pollster, Peter Kellner (see https://bit.ly/3PnEFAB), has highlighted the extent to which this seemingly arcane distinction can make a significant difference to party-political representation under today’s FPTP electoral system.
⨳We recommend that two, related issues should be considered by Parliament at the same time it decides on the optimal system of Proportional Representation to introduce for all future General Elections in the UK (see above), namely: Whether to base constituency boundaries on population size or numbers on the electoral register.
⨳We recommend that, at the same time it decides on the optimal system of Proportional Representation to introduce for all future General Elections in the UK, Parliament should consider whether to base constituency boundaries on population size or numbers on the electoral register.
We are aware, however, that using population size presents a few practical problems. For example:
- How is population size known? The national census is only every 10 years.
- At what age do citizens qualify? At birth, at Bar/Bat Mitzvah, on 18th birthday?
- Do you exclude people without citizenship and/or residency status?
- Do you include second-home owners and suchlike?
Perhaps the only reliable way of doing it while avoiding all those problems would be to collect postcodes and dates of birth from the patient registers of all GP surgeries. Is that open to consideration?