Some of Britain’s most deprived communities could find it harder to get parliamentary representation based on how UK constituencies have been redrawn, according to research backed by anti-poverty campaigners. The latest boundary review was meant to equalise constituencies, redrawing the outline of MPs’ seats on the basis of the electoral roll, but did not take the actual populations into account. The result is that some new MPs will be supporting as many as 50% more constituents than others, with tens of thousands of additional people meaning larger caseloads. Poorer places such as Peterborough, whose MP will be representing nearly 130,000 people, compare badly in comparison with wealthier areas such as New Forest West, which has 85,006 people living there. Constituencies with the largest resident populations are also more likely to be in inner-city areas, according to research carried out as part of a major new voter registration drive, with lower levels of registration and often higher levels of deprivation. They included Birmingham Ladywood (which had 76,585 on the electoral roll but 151,867 living there), West Ham and Beckton (which had 70,590 on the electoral roll but 137,226 living there) as well as Barking, Brent East and Tottenham. Seven in 10 of England’s smallest constituencies by population size are in more affluent areas including New Forest West, Mid Derbyshire and Christchurch.
A new tool launched by a national campaign to improve voter registration, Just Register, ranks Britain’s 650 constituencies in terms of what charities and community campaign groups say is the unfair and unequal approach to parliamentary registration. The site, which is backed by migrant justice and youth democracy organisations including Citizens UK, Migrant Democracy Project and The Politics Project, draws on census data from 2021 on the number of people living in areas rather than the electoral roll. Areas with higher levels of deprivation correlate with larger constituency populations. Based on the 2023 boundaries, the least represented constituency is Birmingham Ladywood with 151,867 residents and just 76,585 registered voters (50%). In contrast, Macclesfield, just 70 miles away, has 95,571 residents and 75,881 registered voters (79%). This is a difference of more than 55,000 people in one area. Saidul Saeed, a Citizens UK organiser for Birmingham, said: “People in my community were shocked to see these figures. Our residents are losing out on fair representation in parliament compared to wealthier areas in the country. “There is a massively unequal situation in places like Birmingham Ladywood, for example, which with 150,000 residents is an enormously diverse and vibrant community but also suffers from serious pockets of deprivation and challenges with housing and jobs.” The site is being launched as voter registration activity starts on Monday with about 50 charities and community organisations embarking on a National Voter Registration week. Electoral boundaries changed after a review recommended constituencies should be more equal. The number of registered voters in each constituency must now be within 5% of the “electoral quota” of 73,393, except for five protected island seats.
Sixty-five seats – one in 10 – have no change to their boundaries. Of the 585 seats to have at least some change, 40 will have only small changes to their boundaries. Seventy-six seats, including for example Clacton, have been extended beyond their current boundaries to ensure they meet the minimum electoral threshold. Seventy-three seats, including Sheffield Central, have been reduced in size, giving up areas to other constituencies in order to balance the number of electors in each seat. Lara Parizotto, the founder of the Migrant Democracy Project, which seeks to address the participation gap in politics among the UK’s migrant population, said: “I’ve worked in the past for a member of parliament and seen the size of the constituency post bag from people who could not vote but had so many problems, often with immigration, with Home Office delays or questionable decisions. “I would speak to friends who worked for MPs in other areas of the country that didn’t have these sorts of issues at anywhere near the same number and complexity. With millions of people without a vote or a voice because of where they were born, our unequal-sized constituencies are penalising people from migrant and ethnic minority backgrounds further, it is vital those who can register to vote, do so.”