Shrewsbury and Atcham to split under proposed Westminster constituency shakeup

Three new constituencies, Newport and Wellington, Ludlow and Bridgenorth and Shrewsbury, will replace their older counterparts under initial proposals for a shakeup of Parliamentary constituencies.

Under the Boundary Commission for England’s (BCE) initial proposals for its 2023 Review of Parliamentary constituencies, the new Newport and Wellington constituency would consist of the area currently covered by The Wrekin constituency, plus an area further north – almost to Market Drayton.

Meanwhile, Ludlow and Bridgenorth would effectively cover the same area as the current Ludlow constituency, but stretch as far north as the A5, notably taking Atcham from the current Shrewsbury and Atcham constituency.

This would leave a third new constituency simply known as Shrewsbury, as there had been for hundreds of years before the 1983 general election. Famous former Shrewsbury MPs include Robert Clive (also known as ‘Clive of India’), who made the news last year over a controversial statue of him in Shrewsbury, and Benjamin Disraeli, for a short period before he became Prime Minister.

But under the initial proposals, Shropshire will still keep its five Parliamentary constituencies in total. Since 2015, all five of Shropshire’s current constituencies have been represented by Conservative MPs and Ben Walker of Britain Elects estimates that if the proposed constituencies had been in place in the 2019 general election, then all five would have also returned Conservative MPs.

Additionally, Professor Philip Cowley has said that, if introduced, the proposed constituency names would be, on average, the longest since in 1950.

The 2023 Review of Parliamentary constituencies

The independent and impartial BCE, which is responsible for reviewing Parliamentary constituency boundaries in England, has said that it is required to ensure that the number of voters in each constituency is more equal. By law, all of its proposed constituencies (bar two on the Isle of Wight) must have between 69,724 and 77,062 Parliamentary electors.

Reviews of this kind generally take place every ten years, but the current Parliamentary constituencies have been in place since the 2010 general election. Subsequent reviews over the past decade, which would have reduced the number of Parliamentary constituencies from 650 to 600, were not implemented.

As part of the review, the number of constituencies is remaining at 650, but England is gaining ten, Scotland is losing two and Wales eight. The number of constituencies in Northern Ireland is remaining the same. And under the initial proposals, the West Midlands as a whole is to lose two constituencies, bringing it down to 57.

Consider all feedback

The BCE is now inviting feedback on anything from names to boundaries at www.bcereviews.org.uk until 2 August 2021.

BCE Secretary Tim Bowden has said: “We consider all feedback received during the consultation process, and it is your local knowledge that helps us to shape constituencies that best reflect your local area.”

But these initial proposals are apparently just the first step. The BCE says that, after this, there will be a second and third consultation, before a final report in 2023. It says that its recommendations will (unlike before) not need the approval of Parliament, but the Privy Council (a largely formal body, which suggests that any recommendations will become law), before being used at the next general election after that, currently scheduled for 2024.