If Tories like Bernard Jenkin were serious in their desire not to fight the next election on out-of-date electoral boundaries, why are they so reluctant to use the most up-to-date information?

The current boundary review is based on information from – if memory serves – 2015.

The arrival of Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader has seen a huge upsurge in voter registration since that date, meaning that the information – and any boundary review based on it – isn’t worth the paper used to write it.

It has just one advantage for Conservatives: It offers them an unfair electoral advantage.

So Labour opposes the data, but not the review.

And now, with the arithmetic of Parliament in such parlous condition – the Tories are hanging on only by the will of the DUP – there is no guarantee that the government will be able to insist on its choice of data being used.

What will they do?

Theresa May is facing a call for an early vote in the Commons on whether to press ahead with contentious plans to slash the number of MPs from 650 to 600.

The House is due to vote in the autumn on new parliamentary boundaries – based on rule changes introduced by the coalition government in 2011 – reducing the total number of MPs in the chamber by 9 per cent.

But MPs on the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee (PACAC) warn that if ministers wait to consult Parliament – and the legislation fails in the Commons – then it would be too late to carry out a fresh review before the next general election.

It would mean that in 2022 the election would be fought on the existing boundaries based on population data that the committee claims is more than 20 years out of date.

Source: Theresa May facing call for early vote on plans to cut number of MPs from 650 to 600

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