Worthing and Shoreham separated in Parliamentary boundary review proposals

Major changes to Worthing and Shoreham’s political boundaries have been proposed as part of a Parliamentary boundary review.
Worthing PierWorthing Pier
Worthing Pier

Sir Peter Bottomley represents Worthing West, while Tim Loughton is currently MP for East Worthing and Shoreham

Today the Boundary Commission for England (BCE) has released initial proposals for the public to have their say.

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A renamed Worthing seat would include most of the borough as well as the western edge of Adur such as Sompting.

Meanwhile a ‘Shoreham’ constituency would include the town, Lancing, as well as the South Downs settlements of Steyning, Henfield, Ashington, Washington, Storrington and Pulborough.

An Arundel and Littlehampton seat would incorporate Ferring, East Preston, Salvington, High Salvington, Findon and Findon Valley.

Giving his initial thoughts on the proposals, Sir Peter said he would listen to the views of residents and community groups before responding formally to the proposals.

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However he noted that around half of initial proposals are usually changed once the public have had their say.

He also felt that given Worthing West, East Worthing & Shoreham and Arundel & South Downs were all either within or very close to the population quota ‘there’s a great deal of shuffling around to achieve not very much and there may be a simpler way’.

Meanwhile Mr Loughton said: “This is a very major shake-up of constituency boundaries that I don’t think anyone was expecting and largely recreates the separate old Worthing and Shoreham seats that existed before Sir Peter Bottomley and I were first elected back in 1997.

“There will now be an extensive consultation before revised proposals are published which will then need to be passed in Parliament by 2023 so we have a long process to go through before then, and I am not making any assumptions.”

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Arundel and South Downs MP Andrew Griffith added: “At this stage these are simply proposals for consultation and would not take effect until the end of 2023 at the earliest.”

The Commission is required to ensure that the number of electors in each constituency is more equal; in doing so, the number of constituencies in England will increase from 533 to 543.

The Commission is undertaking an independent review of all constituency boundaries in England and will present its final recommendations to Parliament by July 2023.

Members of the public are encouraged to visit www.bcereviews.org.uk to view maps showing the proposed new boundaries and provide feedback before the consultation closes on August 2.

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People can comment on anything from where the proposed new boundary lines are to the names of the constituencies.

There will be a further two rounds of consultation in 2022.

Following the conclusion of all three consultation periods, the Commission will look at all the evidence received before forming its final recommendations.

Tim Bowden, secretary to the Boundary Commission for England, said: “Today’s proposals mark the first time people get to see what the new map of Parliamentary constituencies might look like.

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But they are just the Commission’s initial thoughts. Help us draw the line to make the number of electors in each Parliamentary constituency more equal. Each constituency we recommend is required by law to contain between 69,724 and 77,062 electors, meaning there will be significant change to current boundaries. We want to hear the views of the public to ensure that we get the new boundaries for Parliamentary constituencies right.”