Constituency boundaries: the Sixth General Review in England

The Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011 made provision for the number of constituencies to be reduced to 600.

The four Parliamentary Boundary Commissions announced the commencement of the sixth general review of Parliamentary constituencies (also known as the 2013 review) on 4 March 2011. The Boundary Commission for England announced on the same day that England would have 502 constituencies, a reduction of 31. Two constituencies are exempt from the new requirement for constituencies to be within 5% of the electoral quota. These are the two constituencies allocated to the Isle of Wight.

The Boundary Commission for England published its initial proposals on 13 September 2011. The Commission’s revised proposals were published on 16 October 2012. However, following the Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013 receiving Royal Assent on 31 January 2013, the date of the next boundary review has been postponed until 2018. The Boundary Commission for England has therefore ceased working on the 2013 Review.

This Note gives details of the 2013 review in England, its progress and the consultation process up to the point of cessation. It should be read in conjunction with Library Standard Note, Initial proposals for new constituency boundaries: England (SN 6068) which looks at the extent to which the proposed constituencies can be identified with existing seats and which existing constituencies will be most affected by the proposals. Library Standard Note, Revised proposals for new constituency boundaries (SN6445) looks at how the revised proposals from the Boundary Commissions differ from the initial proposals published last year and the extent to which proposed constituencies can be identified with existing seats.

For details of the review in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland see Standard Notes SN 6227 Constituency boundaries: the Sixth General Review in Scotland; SN 6226 Constituency boundaries: the Sixth General Review in Wales and SN 6225 Constituency boundaries: the Sixth General Review in Northern Ireland.