Bernard Jenkin, the Chairman of the Public Administration Committee, is calling on MPs “to decide at the earliest opportunity whether to cut the size of the Commons …”
A report on the BBC states that “many MPs do not now support [the boundary review] and could reject it in a vote this autumn” adding “the Public Administration Committee said there would then be no time to start again and the 2022 poll would be held on out-dated boundaries.”
An extract from the BBC report states the following:
In the meantime, the mood in Westminster has hardened against the idea of smaller Commons. The cross-party committee said it was “unlikely” that MPs would support the move later this year and that there had to be a Plan B for Parliament to consider.
“The time to decide this in principle is now,” said Bernard Jenkin, the Tory MP who chairs the committee.
“If the government waits until the autumn, Parliament will be faced with an invidious choice - either approve the new boundaries or hold the next election on boundaries that will be over 20 years out of date.
“But if we decide this now, it would be possible to change the law so new boundaries at 650 seats can be in place before the next election.”
The Boundary Commission for England, which completed its consultation on its revised proposals in December, said Mr Jenkin was correct there would not be enough time for them to restart their work should the existing review be rejected.
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