Electoral boundaries may not be fair - so take part in review (From Swindon Advertiser)

Electoral boundaries may not be fair - so take part in review

12:00pm Friday 6th August 2010 in

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PEOPLE in Swindon are being called upon to help make the town’s electoral voting system fairer.

The independent Local Government Boundary Commission for England, which is responsible for ensuring that local elections are as fair as possible by making sure everyone’s vote is worth roughly the same as their neighbour’s, is carrying out an electoral review of Swindon Council.

Max Caller, who chairs the commission, said: “There are currently 65 per cent more voters in Abbey Meads ward than the average across in Swindon.

“By contrast, Penhill ward has 15 per cent fewer voters than the average.

“Put simply, the natural movement of people in Swindon has skewed the electoral map.

“It’s our job to iron out those imbalances by re-drawing ward boundaries so that elections are as fair as possible and that wards genuinely reflect the communities who live there.

“We will be asking for your views at every step of the way.”

The whole review will take just over a year and final proposals are expected to be published in September next year.

The first stage of the review is to determine how many councillors should sit on the council.

Once the commission has established the right council size, it will invite proposals on new ward boundaries and where they should lie.

Mr Caller said: “Based on what we hear, we will then publish a set of draft recommendations for public consultation next March.

"Again, we will be asking you whether we have the ward boundaries right and we pledge to take seriously each and every representation we receive.

“Councils also tend to work up their own proposals for ward boundaries.

“In the end, though, our work is driven not by bureaucracy, but by the principle of delivering fair democratic representation for the people of Swindon.”

You can have your say by emailing reviews@lgbce.org.uk or by writing to the Review Officer (Swindon), Local Government Boundary Commission for England, Laydon House, 76-86 Turnmill Street, London EC1M 5LG.

You can also keep track of the review by visiting the website www.lgbce.org.uk.