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11
Jun 2021
Andrew Jones MP 'very sad' to lose villages in boundary shake-up plan
Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones says he will be “very sad” to lose just under 1,500 constituents under proposals for a major shake-up of parliamentary boundaries.
The Boundary Commission this week announced proposed changes to constituencies across the country as part of a review that aims to make Parliament fairer by giving each MP a roughly similar number of voters.
If approved, the changes could mean Harrogate and Knaresborough, which has been held by Conservative MP Andrew Jones since 2010, would lose 1,469 constituents with several villages north east of the towns falling under a new Wetherby and Easingwold parliamentary area.
Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Mr Jones said:
The Boundary Commission carries out a review every five years and has put its proposals out for public consultation with a formal report to government expected by June 2023.
Read more:
- MPs watch: Timid flowers, Eurovision and Knaresborough banks
- Harrogate and Knaresborough could be shrunk, under parliamentary boundary shake-up
If the proposed changes go through, they will only come into effect in late 2023, which could be too late for the next election if Prime Minister Boris Johnson decides to call it early.
Some MPs could find themselves with safer seats, while others will be more closely contested and some will disappear altogether.
To put the potential loss of 1,469 constituents in Harrogate and Knaresborough into some context, Mr Jones won the 2019 general election by a margin of 9,675 votes, beating his closest rival Liberal Democrat Judith Rogerson.
Mr Jones added:
Elsewhere, Conservative MP Julian Smith’s Skipton and Ripon constituency would engulf Ripley but lose other villages including Bishop Monkton and Burton Leonard under the initial proposals.
Selby and Ainsty, which is held by Conservative MP Nigel Adams and includes areas south of Harrogate, would also be reduced in size to only include Selby and its surrounding villages.
The initial proposals will now be subject to revisions and consultations, with the first set to run for eight weeks before closing on 2 August.
A second consultation with public hearings will then get under way in spring 2022, followed by a final four-week consultation on revised plans in autumn 2022.
Harrogate and Knaresborough constituency (proposed new electorate 72,850)
Council wards to be included:
- Harrogate Bilton Grange
- Harrogate Bilton Woodfield
- Harrogate Central
- Harrogate Coppice Valley
- Harrogate Duchy
- Harrogate Fairfax
- Harrogate Harlow
- High Harrogate
- Harrogate Hookstone
- Harrogate Kingsley
- Harrogate New Park
- Harrogate Oatlands
- Harrogate Old Bilton
- Harrogate Pannal
- Harrogate Saltergate
- Harrogate St Georges
- Starbeck
- Harrogate Stray
- Valley Gardens
- Killinghall and Hampsthwaite
- Knaresborough Aspin and Calcutt
- Knaresborough Castle
- Knaresborough Eastfield
- Knaresborough Scriven Park
Skipton and Ripon constituency (proposed new electorate 74,270)
Council wards to be included:
- Fountains and Ripley
- Masham and Kirkby Malzeard
- Nidd Valley
- Pateley Bridge and Nidderdale Moors
- Ripon Minster
- Ripon Moorside
- Ripon Spa
- Ripon Ure Bank
- Washburn
- Wathvale
- Wetherby and Easingwold constituency (proposed new electorate 74,405)
- Council wards to be included:
- Bishop Monkton and Newby
- Boroughbridge
- Claro
- Marston Moor Ward
- Ouseburn Ward
- Spofforth with Lower Wharfedale
To view the current and proposed constituency boundaries in full go to bcereviews.org.uk
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