Craig Williams has welcomed today’s revised proposals by the Boundary Commission for Wales for the extension of Montgomeryshire to create the ‘Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr’ constituency.
The Boundary Commission has been reviewing the number of Parliamentary constituencies within the UK, so that they better reflect the current population levels within cities, towns and rural communities. Although the overall number of MPs across the UK is to remain the same at 650, the number in Wales will be reduced from 40 to 32. This is due to the mandate that constituencies must be within 5% of the permitted population range of 69,724 to 77,062 voters (excluding the protected constituency of Ynys Mon).
Following initial constituency proposals set out in 2021 and a further consultation period earlier this year, the Boundary Commission for Wales have today announced their revised proposal for a Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr constituency. This will see Montgomeryshire retained and enlarged to include several electoral wards currently within the Clwyd South constituency. These are:
(County Borough of Wrexham)
- Cefn
- Dyffryn Ceiriog / Ceiriog Valley
- Chirk North
- Chirk South
- Esclusham
- Johnstown
- Pant
- Penycae
- Penycae and Ruabon South
- Plas Madoc
- Ponciau
- Ruabon
(County of Denbighshire)
- Corwen
- Llandrillo
The new boundaries would see Montgomeryshire’s number of electors rise from 49,961 to 76,953.
Welcoming the Boundary Commission’s revised proposal, Craig Williams MP:
“I welcome today’s announcement by the Boundary Commission for Wales of their revised proposal for the Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr constituency. I believe this proposal is a very good one given that it ensures the historic county and constituency of Montgomeryshire, which has been represented in Parliament since 1542, remains intact, and also gives us the opportunity to welcome local neighbouring communities that have similar landscapes and needs to our own.
“I have always accepted the importance for Parliamentary constituencies to be relatively even in terms of population size. Maintaining Montgomeryshire as a whole within a larger seat of Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr acknowledges the extremely strong cultural and historic ties of the county and Parliamentary seat, whilst also meeting the parameters of the review.
“I am very pleased that the Commission has acknowledged the significant number of submissions it had received in support of maintaining Montgomeryshire as a whole, which was key to its final decision. I am also hugely disappointed by the Liberal Democrat’s proposal of splitting Montgomeryshire in half to be divided between Brecon & Radnorshire and Clwyd South, which would have eradicated our historic county in one fell swoop.”
For further detail, visit https://bcomm-wales.gov.uk/reviews/10-22/2023-parliamentary-review-revised-proposals
