New boundaries for parliamentary constituencies proposed
Proposals for a revised Bermondsey & Borough parliamentary constituency - with parts of Southwark joining a new Vauxhall & Camberwell seat - have been published by the Boundary Commission for England.
Under the proposals, the current Bermondsey & Old Southwark constituency would be re-drawn to include eight wards in North Southwark:
- Borough & Bankside
- Chaucer
- London Bridge & West Bermondsey
- North Bermondsey
- North Walworth
- Rotherhithe
- South Bermondsey
- Surrey Docks
St George's ward in Southwark would be attached to a revised Vauxhall & Camberwell constituency consisting of five Lambeth wards and three Southwark wards:
- Bishop's
- Camberwell Green
- Newington
- Oval
- Prince's
- St George's
- Stockwell
- Vassall
The Boundary Commission for England's proposals take no heed of the Lambeth ward shakeup currently being finalised by a separate body, the Local Government Boundary Commission for England, which will leave residents in that borough with differing boundaries for local government and parliamentary purposes.
If the proposals go ahead, some SE1 residents in the Old Kent Road ward will find themselves represented by the MP for Peckham as part of a new seat made up of eight Southwark wards:
- Champion Hill
- Faraday
- Nunhead & Queen's Road
- Old Kent Road
- Peckham
- Peckham Rye
- Rye Lane
- St Giles
Members of the public are encouraged to visit www.bcereviews.org.uk to view maps showing the proposed new boundaries and provide feedback before the consultation closes on 2 August 2021.
People can comment on anything from where the proposed new boundary lines are to the names of the constituencies. There will be a further two rounds of consultation in 2022. Following the conclusion of all three consultation periods, the dommission will look at all the evidence received and form its final recommendations.
Tim Bowden, secretary to the Boundary Commission for England, said: "Today's proposals mark the first time people get to see what the new map of Parliamentary constituencies might look like. But they are just the Commission's initial thoughts. Help us draw the line to make the number of electors in each Parliamentary constituency more equal.
"Each constituency we recommend is required by law to contain between 69,724 and 77,062 electors, meaning there will be significant change to current boundaries. We want to hear the views of the public to ensure that we get the new boundaries for Parliamentary constituencies right."
