2022 March 07

The Boundary Commission for England is responsible for reviewing Parliamentary constituency boundaries in England. The Commission is due to make recommendations for new constituency boundaries by 1 July 2023. On Monday 7 March 2022, the Commission held a Public Hearing for the West Midlands at the Guildhall, Worcester, and I spoke at the hearing. The Commission’s proposals would remove the wards of Bentley and Darlaston North and Darlaston South from the Walsall South constituency, and add the wards of Streetly and Aldridge Central and South. The constituency would then be renamed ‘Walsall’. The great swath of Green Belt land and Barr Beacon Ridge which separates Walsall’s urban core from Streetly and Aldridge Central and South is a significant barrier physically and to community ties. Local ties and community cohesion enable proper political representation and therefore political engagement.