The 2013 periodic review of Westminster constituencies, also known as the sixth review, was an ultimately unfruitful cycle of the process by which constituencies of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom are reviewed and redistributed. The four UK boundary commissions carried out their reviews between 2011 and 2013, but their recommendations were not taken up by the government and instead the 2018 periodic review of Westminster constituencies was carried out from 2016 to 2018. That review was also not implemented and its results were formally laid aside in 2020.
The boundary commissions were to take into account revised rules for the number and size (electoral quota) of constituencies. The proposed changes included having a total of 600 seats rather than 650, as agreed by Parliament in 2011 to meet a reformist aim of the 2010–2015 coalition agreement.
The process began in 2011 and was intended to be completed by 2013, but a January 2013 vote in the House of Commons stopped the process. The commissions commenced their map-drawing of entirely new boundaries in 2016, before they completed their work in September 2018.
Background The process was launched on 4 March 2011 by the Boundary Commission for England, Boundary Commission for Scotland, Boundary Commission for Northern IrelandCurrent Review Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland and Boundary Commission for Wales.2013 Review (English language) Boundary Commission for Wales The changes were to be implemented by virtue of the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011, which amended the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986. Part II of the Act (henceforth referred to as 'PVSaCA') deals with the amendments to the manner in which House of Commons constituencies are formed by the individual boundary commissions. Each commission was obliged to make a final report to the Secretary of State before 1 October 2013 (by virtue of Section 10, Clause 3, which amends Subsection 2 of Section 3 of the 1986 Act).
Following a debate in the House of Lords on 14 January 2013, the Opposition tabled and voted for an amendment to legislation to postpone the date by which the Review ends, which they passed and sent back to the Commons, on a relatively small 69-vote majority.Peers expected to block plan for fewer MPs The Daily Telegraph A Commons vote on 29 January 2013 in agreement meant the review instead began after May 2015 for completion in 2018.Conservatives lose boundary review vote BBC News The Review had been required for completion by October 2013 under the principles of Section 3 of the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986 (themselves loosening previous requirements by instead calling for periodic reviews every eight to twelve years) as left intact by Part 2 of the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011. The Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013 superseded these principles to make an exception for this Review, delaying it until 2018.
Changes to review process The original legislation made several significant changes to the way constituencies were to be reviewed.
Number of constituencies: PVSaCA required there to be exactly six hundred parliamentary constituencies (Schedule 2, clause 1) – a reduction of 50 from the total fought at the 2010 General Election. This is the first time a precise number has been included in legislation.
More equal constituencies: with a few specified exceptions for island areas (see below), the size (electorate) of all constituencies must have been within 5% above or below the target number.
Increased frequency of reviews: the first review was to be completed by 2013 so that a general election held in 2015 would have been contested on the new boundaries. The legislation required a review every five years after that date, rather than every twelve to fifteen years as previously. To ensure this timetable was achievable, the reviews would take place over the whole country simultaneously, rather than being phased over several years as in the past.
Protected constituencies Four island constituencies are 'protected' by PVSaCA. They are:
Orkney and Shetland (the Western Isles of Scotland) Two seats within the boundaries of the Isle of Wight (this is an enforced division of the single Isle of Wight constituency contested at previous elections)
Timetable The four commissions adopted consistent procedures for developing their boundary proposals, starting with simultaneous announcements in March 2011 which began the review process.
In each part of the UK, the relevant commission first published "Provisional Proposals", accessible on the Web and viewable at local council offices. There was a twelve-week period from the moment of publication during which the public could comment on the proposals, whether supporting, opposing or suggesting an alternative. During this period, public hearings held across the country allowed those representations to be made in public: all written comments received were made public after the end of the twelve-week period.
The commissions then considered all representations, and the resulting Revised Recommendations were to be published for further public consultation (8 weeks), though without a second public hearing. The commissions would then decide on their final proposals.
The Scottish commission gave the following expected timetable for the process which was temporarily halted; the timings in the three other countries were expected to be similar. The English commission began its public consultations on 11 October 2011 in Manchester, and concluded on 17/18 November in Darlington, and Exeter.Boundary Commission for England: Public hearing dates and locations Boundary Commission for England
Start of review: March 2011 Initial Proposals consultation (12 weeks): September/October 2011 – January 2012 Public Hearings: October/ November 2011 Scrutiny of representations: Spring 2012 Revised Proposals consultation (8 weeks): November 2012 – January 2013 Report submission: Summer 2013
The four commissions would have been required to present their reports by October 2013. The government had hoped that the reports would then be approved by Parliament and in place for the May 2015 general election. In January 2013, the Government lost a vote on this timetable, which effectively ended the entire process.MPs vote on boundary changes: Politics live blog The Guardian – Live Blog
Distribution of seats The total of 600 constituencies required by the Act were allocated between the four countries of the UK as shown in the table below. The English Boundary Commission then announced that the number of constituencies allocated to England would be sub-divided by region, with the aim of producing "initial proposals in which each constituency is wholly contained within a single region". The seats allocated to each region are also shown below.
United Kingdom Nation2010/15/17/19 seats2013 review2018 reviewElectorateAllocationChangeAverage sizeElectorateAllocationChangeAverage sizeEngland *53238,332,557 500 −3276,66537,294,494 499 −3374,738(Isle of Wight)1110,9242+155,462105,4482+152,724Northern Ireland181,190,63516 −274,4151,243,36917 −173,139Scotland *573,873,38750−777,4683,842,73651−675,348(Orkney and Shetland)133,7551—33,75533,2291—33,229()121,8371—21,83720,8871—20,887Wales402,281,59630−1076,0532,181,84129−1175,236Total65045,844,691600−5076,40844,562,440600−5074,270
* Excluding the protected island areas
Regions of England Region2010/15/17/19 seats2013 review2018 reviewElectorateAllocationChangeAverage sizeElectorateAllocationChangeAverage sizeEastern58 4,280,707 56 −2 76,4414,242,266 57 −1 74,426East Midlands46 3,361,08944−2 76,3883,275,04644−2 74,433London73 5,266,904 68−5 77,4545,118,884 68−5 75,278North East29 1,971,24926−3 75,8171,874,39625−4 74,976North West75 5,253,01968−7 77,2505,074,30268−7 74,622South East *83 6,192,50481−2 76,4506,067,47581−2 74,907South West55 4,042,475 53 −2 76,2733,930,770 53 −2 74,165West Midlands 59 4,115,668 54−5 76,2163,989,320 53−6 75,270Yorkshire and the Humber 54 3,848,942 50 −4 76,9793,722,035 50 −4 74,441Total532*38,332,557 500 −3276,66537,294,494499–3374,738
* Excluding the protected Isle of Wight
Practical considerations The four commissions published descriptions of how they would carry out their work, and held meetings with representatives of political parties to explain their approach in the light of the more restrictive rules to which they have to work.
For example, the Boundary Commission for England stated in its 2011 newsletter: "The Commission wishes to make very clear that those with an interest in the review process should understand that the defined number of constituencies and the 5% electoral parity target are statutory requirements that it must apply and that it has absolutely no discretion in respect of either matter."
Size of constituencies In Great Britain, in this review constituencies could have no less an electorate than 72,810 and no more than 80,473.Drawing up of new parliamentary constituencies in England begins SouthamNews The quota in Northern Ireland is slightly different, with a fixed minimum of 70,583 and a fixed maximum of 80,473.FAQs Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland
The quota does not apply if the area of a constituency is larger than (new Schedule 2, Rule 4(2)). No constituency can be larger than (new Schedule 2, Rule 4(1)).
Composition of constituencies Westminster constituencies are usually created by combining entire electoral wards. For the 2013 Review, the Boundary Commission for England said in its newsletter that whilst it had used entire electoral wards in the past, the new legislation and fixed electorate quota made that harder. Therefore, it aimed to use polling districts in circumstances where using entire wards was not possible, and said "it is prepared to take into account as appropriate any new ward boundaries that have been introduced after 6 May 2010".Newsletter 3 Boundary Commission for England The English Commission outlined that it was "focused on getting all constituencies within the statutory range, rather than as close as possible to the electoral quota figure itself".
Provisional recommendations
England The Boundary Commission for England released its "Initial Proposals" to the public on 13 September 2011.Current Review Boundary Commission for England Their provisional recommendations did not require division of any electoral ward.
Amongst the proposals, Prime Minister David Cameron (Witney) and Leader of the Opposition Ed Miliband (Doncaster North) would have seen their seats remain intact with no changes. Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg's seat of Sheffield Hallam would have been altered into the proposed "Sheffield West and Penistone".
The Isle of Wight was to be divided into two almost equal halves. The so-called Devonwall constituency, sharing wards between neighbouring Devon and Cornwall, was suggested as "Bideford and Bude".
Scotland The Initial Proposal from the Boundary Commission for Scotland was released at midnight on 13 October 2011. Amongst their proposals were six prefixed by the word "Glasgow", a reduction of one across the city. Former Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy's seat of Ross, Skye and Lochaber was to be divided between three other seats covering the Highlands, and Argyll and Bute. Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown's seat, Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath, would also have been redrawn into a newly configured "Kirkcaldy and Glenrothes". Public consultation closed in January 2012.
Northern Ireland