Why should we be paying close attention to the Parliamentary Constituencies Bill?
Jess Metheringham, Chair of Unlock Democracy
The Parliamentary Constituencies Bill doesn’t solve enough.
Right now, constituencies are based on the number of people registered to vote. But our electoral registers are full of holes – 9.4 million people are missing from the register. So why can’t we use the population data we have alongside the electoral registers? Use all of it together to give us a more accurate picture.
I’d like the Boundary Commission to be given more commissioners. And I’d like them to experiment with different ways of consulting with the public, whether workshops, conversations, citizens conventions.
Removing Parliament’s vote on the final recommendations does not make the Boundary Commission more independent, it just makes it less relevant.
Let’s have a proper conversation about what we want our democracy to look like.