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| SHAKE-UP: The new constituency would group North Solihull with Sheldon, Elmdon and Lyndon, as well as a few villages such as Hampton-in-Arden. |
DRAMATIC changes unveiled this week could see the creation of a new parliamentary constituency called Chelmsley Wood and Solihull North.
The Government has set out plans to making sweeping alterations to the electoral boundaries as part of efforts to reduce the total number of MPs and ensure that each seat has a similar number of voters.
Under the proposals, all five wards which cover the north of the borough (Castle Bromwich, Chelmsley Wood, Smith's Wood, Kingshurst & Fordbridge and Bickenhill) would form the bedrock of a brand-new constituency.
They would be grouped together with the Elmdon and Lyndon areas and the Sheldon district of Birmingham (under the new system, MPs' seats may include neighbourhoods from more than one council area.)
The changes to boundaries will mean a shift in the balance of power and potentially a new MP.
Under the current system, North Solihull is part of the Meriden constituency - a Conservative stronghold by virtue of the fact that it also includes villages such as Knowle, Dorridge and Balsall Common.
These more affluent areas will for the most part be divided up between two other seats (Shirley and Solihull South and Coventry West and Meriden).
This poses an interesting dilemma for Meriden's current MP Caroline Spelman, should she stand for re-election in 2020.
While the larger part of her existing seat will form part of the Chelmsley Wood and Solihull North constituency, the loss of the more rural communities would make things much more difficult for a Tory candidate.
Mrs Spelman has described the changes as "problematic" and has raised concerns about the fact that - as part of the proposals - parliamentary seats can now absorb wards from different council areas. She fears that this will damage ties between local communities.
A public consultation has been launched, with the plans for the new boundaries set to be finalised in 2018. It is intended that the new seats will be in place in time for the General Election two years later.
Completely ridiculous and unnecessary; Knowle and Dorridge have been part of Solihull constituency since the days of the Urban District Council - and furthermore have NO connection of ANY sort with Coventry. Meriden *might* be termed closer to Coventry than to Solihull in a geographical sense, but there would be little if any tie-up between local communities and local infrastructures - the proposals are a 'worst-case' scanario.
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