I FEAR Robert Readman (Letters, Sept 15) has been fooled by the Tory propaganda surrounding their plans to redraw the country’s parliamentary constituencies. This reform is certainly not sweeping away any modern-day rotten boroughs.
Existing constituencies mostly have within 15% of the average electorate. The exceptions are because of known boundary considerations.
The revised boundaries proposed by this Tory government will make almost all constituencies within 5% of the average. This is a rather silly requirement. Not only will it distort boundaries to achieve the 5%, but with changing populations it cannot last. Perhaps a tenth of all seats will see voter numbers shift by more than 5% before even the next election. The Tory insistence on 5% is simple gerrymandering.
The reform was actually a part of the Lib Dem/Conservative coalition agreement. Both parties wanted to reduce MP numbers but the Tories reneged on reform of the House of Lords and did their damnedest to prevent reform of the first-past-the-post election system. That system has been the ruination of this country by preventing other parties from challenging the Labour/Conservative duopoly and maintains the cosy Westminster club.
Robert Readman welcomes a ‘more representative system’ but without a proportional voting system, reform is nought but pointless tinkering.
Dr Martin Rodger
Bloxworth Road, Poole
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