Who made these changes?

The boundary reviews were conducted in each nation by the boundary commissions for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The 2023 review began with the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 2020. In England, the boundary commission’s initial proposals were published in 2021, followed by revised proposals in 2022. Three rounds of public consultation were held, the last of which closed in December 2022. More than 60,000 public responses were received. ⁴⁷ //boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/2023-06-28-BCE-final-recommendations-press-release.pdf

Can the government influence the proposals?

No. The four boundary commissions are independent and non-partisan arms-length bodies. The Boundary Commission for England is sponsored by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, while the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish commissions are sponsored by their respective territorial offices.

All of the boundary commissions are chaired by the Speaker of the Commons – though he is not able to influence their recommendations – and are composed of a High Court judge and two publicly-appointed commissioners. The sponsoring government departments provide funding, staff and resources for the commissions. ⁴⁸ //boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk/about-us/

Does the government have to accept the proposals?

The government is not permitted to modify the recommendations unless requested to do so by one of the commissions. Under the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 2023, the government was obliged to submit the recommendations to the Privy Council as a draft Order in Council within four months of the proposals being received. ⁴⁹ //boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/2021-04-20-Guide-to-the-2023-Review.pdf  The Privy Council is expected to approve this draft Order in November 2023.

Implementing the boundary changes without a vote in parliament avoids the possibility that MPs will block the reforms, as has happened in the past. In 2013, the Liberal Democrats voted with Labour to block the coalition government’s boundary reforms in retaliation for the Conservatives’ failure to support the party’s House of Lords reforms. In 2020, the government announced that MPs would not be given a vote on future boundary reforms. ⁵⁰ Proctor, K. ‘MPs no longer to get automatic vote on constituency plans’, The Guardian, 26 March 2020, retrieved 7 June 2023, www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/mar/26/mps-no-longer-to-get-automatic-vote-on-constituency-boundary-plans  Instead, reviews will occur automatically every eight years (rather than every five years, as previously occurred).

When have boundaries been changed before?

Constituency boundaries last changed at the 2010 general election. Regular reviews of parliamentary constituencies have been held since the House of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) Act 1944. ⁵¹ //researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN05929/SN05929.pdf

Previous boundary reviews were held in 2013 and 2018, following the passage of the 2011 Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act. If implemented, these reviews would have reduced the number of seats in parliament from 650 to 600. However, neither review was implemented. The 2013 reforms were blocked by MPs and the 2018 boundary review was scrapped in 2020 after the government argued that Brexit would increase MPs’ workloads. ⁵² Proctor, K. ‘MPs no longer to get automatic vote on constituency plans’, The Guardian, 26 March 2020, retrieved 7 June 2023, www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/mar/26/mps-no-longer-to-get-automatic-vote-on-constituency-boundary-plans