Tag Archives: constituency boundaries

Lord Paul Tyler writes…An early general election

By Paul Tyler | Fri 1st July 2016 - 8:40 am

All the runners in the Conservative Leadership steeplechase may be denying that they would seek a General Election before 2020, but I suggest that you should examine their track record in terms of broken promises. If the Labour Party is still suicidal, and if the dishonest Brexit commitments are beginning to unravel with devastating effect on people’s expectations, what Prime Minister could resist the temptation to go to the country?

In any case, there will be a strong reaction to the imposition of a new PM and Government on the whim of a 130,000 electorate. Where is our much vaunted “Sovereign Parliament”, and the demand that our democracy must “take back control”, in that process? When Cameron was elected there were 253,689 eligible members of the Tory Party, down from 328,000 when they selected Iain Duncan Smith.

In such circumstances, the new Leader could justifiably claim a moral duty to seek a new mandate from the whole country.

I have challenged Ministers to confirm that an early General Election – this year or next – would be contested in the current constituencies, with no boundary changes or reduction in the number of MPs. Not for the first time, they seem clueless – you can see our exchanges here:

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged general election | 23 Comments

Lord Paul Tyler writes…A fairer way of redrawing constituency boundaries

By Paul Tyler | Wed 2nd July 2014 - 11:59 am

In those heady 5 Days in May back in 2010, our negotiators agreed with the Conservative Party that there should be “fewer, more equal” constituencies returning MPs to the House of Commons. It formed part of a package, coupled with the referendum on Alternative Vote, and placed alongside fixed-term Parliaments (delivered), greater localism (partially delivered), and House of Lords reform (not delivered).

Whatever your views on whether there should be fewer MPs, more, or just the same as now, the principle that parliamentary constituencies should contain …