Yesterday the Boundary Commission for England published its booklet explaining how it will be running the review process. The content does not contain any surprises, though it is worth noting the strength of its comments about (not) splitting wards:

In the absence of exceptional and compelling circumstances … it would not be appropriate to divide wards in cases where it ispossible to construct constituencies that meet thestatutory electorate range without dividing them.

The Lewis Baston / Guardian projected constituency boundaries which got a fair amount of news coverage recently divide wards in far more cases than is compatible with this sort of language, which is worth bearing in mind as another reason not to place too much weight on them.

I’ve posted up in the Members’ Forum details of the regional and state coordinators for the boundary review process. By all means post any questions there or pop me an email if you’d like to discuss issues about the review. (I’m helping with the central co-ordination of the boundary review work.)

Boundary Commission for England – Guide to the 2013 Constituency Boundaries Review