A few weeks ago I published details of the Boundary Commission for England’s (BCE) preliminary proposals for its parliamentary boundary review scheduled for implementation in 2023 (please see post dated Tuesday 8 June 2021 for details: https://robcrute-blackhall.blogspot.com/2021/06/2023-boundary-commission-review-of.html).
I have submitted my own personal views on the BCE initial proposals this morning and I’ve published them in full below for information:
Parliamentary Boundary Review: Response to the Boundary Commission for England (BCE) proposals for the Easington Constituency
For brevity I have summarised below my response to the BCE proposals as they relate to the current Easington Constituency:
I do not support the proposal to extend the boundary of the current Easington Constituency northwards into Sunderland. As an alternative I support Labour’s Revised Area Plan to include the wards of Wingate (currently Sedgefield) and Sherburn (currently City of Durham) in the revised Easington Constituency. This proposal meets the BCE requirement to balance the numbers of electors in each constituency.
I believe the revised constituency boundaries should remain within the current County Durham local authority area, with the revised Easington constituency based wherever possible on the boundary of the former Easington District local authority area.
The two points above would retain historical, cultural and shared-identity links with the communities within both County Durham and East Durham.
I strongly reject the BCE proposal to rename the revised constituency the Peterlee and Seaham constituency. In the interests of ensuring an inclusive identity encompassing all the communities in the constituency I would suggest the new name of the East Durham constituency. This would be consistent with the geographical identities of the current North Durham and North-West Durham constituencies, and would also be better recognised as a geographical location within and beyond the North-East region
Cllr Rob Crute
Blackhalls Division
Durham County Council
August 2021
Full details of the BCE’s proposals, including the next phases of consultation, can be found at the following link: https://www.bcereviews.org.uk/node/6486?postcode=TS274LN
