Boundary Review – well-placed after months of preparation

/libdem/en/article/mailto:At midday tomorrow the Boundary Commission for England will publish their first draft proposals for the 499 constituencies in England. The Welsh Commission will do the same for their 29 seats. The Scottish Commission is expected to announce their plans in the near future.

Their proposals are being released under embargo today to political parties and MPs. When this happened in 2011, various political blogs had been leaked copies of the plans by close of play the same day, so whilst the Liberal Democrats will be respecting the embargo, don't be surprised if others don't and there's a lot of online chatter about it later today.

A well prepared boundary review team

Months of preparation leave us better prepared to respond to this review than ever before - and our dry run in 2011/12 gave us extensive insight into how the process will unfold.

Simon Drage has been appointed to lead the UK-wide Liberal Democrat response to the review. Simon is an excellent campaigner with history in Sutton and York Lib Dems; he also ran the campaign that saw us win Norwich South in 2010. Simon should be the first port of call for anyone with any queries about the boundary review, and he can be contacted at Simon.Drage@libdems.org.uk.

In each region of England and in Wales, a volunteer review coordinator was appointed at the start of 2016. They have been working within regions to draw up plans that local areas feel best fit their local communities. So we start with a clear, bottom-up and locally driven, view on what would work best.

Just the beginning of consultation - not the final plan

The announcement of the draft plans is just the start of a 12-week consultation period which includes public hearings across the country. This itself is just the start of a process which will last two years with a final result in 2018. In 2011/12 the locally-based, well-argued Liberal Democrat and community-led arguments to change those first drafts were often successful.

For example, the 2011 draft proposals saw Lewes constituency abolished, but a strong campaign from local residents in the area won the day and the seat was re-created in the final draft.

So look out for the draft plans in the next day or two. If you think they don't work for your area, make contact with your regional coordinator, and help us respond. But please work through that coordinator - not directly with the Boundary Commission or by comments in the press.

One strong, united Lib Dem submission will be stronger than fragmented or contradictory submissions from different parts of the party. That's why it's important that everyone engages with and works through their regional coordinator in England, and the coordinators for Scotland and Wales. To contact your state or regional co-ordinator, email simon.drage@libdems.org.uk.

Thanks in advance for everything party members across the UK will do to help shape the Liberal Democrat response to the review. Your time and input will make a big difference.

* Dave McCobb is Deputy Director of Campaigns & Elections for the Liberal Democrats and is also a councillor in Kingston Upon-Hull.