Overview

This bill amends the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986, changing the number and size of parliamentary constituencies in the UK. It aims to redistribute parliamentary seats more evenly across the UK, based on updated electorate figures.

Description

The bill makes several key changes:

• Number of Constituencies: Reduces the number of constituencies in Great Britain to 632 and maintains 18 in Northern Ireland.
• Electorate per Constituency: Sets new limits on the size of constituencies. In Great Britain, the electorate of a constituency must be between 92.5% and 107.5% of the Great Britain electoral quota. Similarly, in Northern Ireland, it must be between 92.5% and 107.5% of the Northern Ireland electoral quota. The quota is calculated based on the total electorate of the respective region.
• Boundary Commission Reports: Requires Boundary Commissions to submit reports before October 1st, 2020, and every ten years thereafter. Reports submitted before October 1st, 2020, will use data from the 2017 general election; subsequent reports will use the most recent general election data.
• Consequential Amendments: The bill makes several minor amendments to the 1986 Act, primarily replacing references to "the United Kingdom" with "Great Britain" where appropriate.

Government Spending

The bill mandates that any expenditure incurred due to its implementation, and any increase in sums payable under other acts as a result of this bill, will be covered by funds provided by Parliament. No specific figures are provided in the bill text.

Groups Affected

The bill will affect:

• The Electoral Commission: Responsible for implementing the changes to constituency boundaries.
• Political Parties: The redistribution of seats could affect party representation in Parliament.
• Voters: Changes to constituency boundaries may result in voters being assigned to a different constituency.
• Members of Parliament (MPs): The changes could lead to alterations in their constituencies and electoral challenges.
• Boundary Commissions: Responsible for redrawing constituency boundaries according to the new rules.

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