Thursday 26 March 2020

Tories plan to cut Welsh MPs but MPs in England.

Wales is still set to lose around eight of its MPs despite plans to make the House of Commons smaller being dropped
The total number of MPs was to fall from 650 to 600, with Wales having 31 rather than the current 40 MPs.
Now UK ministers say they want to keep the current number of MPs, due to "a greater workload" following Brexit. Though cynics may think it is due to the number of Tory MPs who would face loosing their seats especially ones gained in last years general election
The BBC report that
Ministers are pressing ahead with creating constituencies with a near-equal numbers of voters, leaving Wales with around 32 seats, it is estimated.
David Cameron had proposed the original idea to shrink the Commons in 2012, when he was prime minister, to reduce the cost of politics.
But there was considerable opposition to the plans, with one Welsh Conservative MP who has since left Parliament calling them "anti-democratic"Cabinet Office minister Chloe Smith said in a written statement that following the UK's departure from the EU Parliament will be taking on more work and, therefore, a reduction in the number of MPs was no longer needed.
Equalising the numbers of voters in constituencies will still lead to a significant redrawing of the electoral map and see some safe seats transformed into marginals, and vice versa, throughout the UK.
Ministers will also call for constituency boundary reviews to take place every eight years instead of every five.
The Boundary Commission will be asked to draw up a new map of constituencies in a review that is due to begin in early 2021.

Now there is a strong argument to reduce the number of Welsh MPs due to devolution, but since the introduction English votes for English laws (EVEL) , where only English MPs can vote on areas that have been devolved  it means that there are Grey areas where such votes have an indirect effect on  the devolved legislatures.

Also we still need a strong Welsh voice in Westminster something that was undermined at the last election by English Tories parachuted into Welsh seats, and although they may well  put their consistences first, it is unlikely they even understand the concept of a Welsh National Interest.

It may also be an attack on the concept of devolution , with those wishing to abolish it arguing that we are losing our voice .

Personally I do not want to send any MPs to Westminster  , but if we are to remain as part of the Union, we need to have our interests defended in Westminster not weakened.


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