Why 700 for Walthamstow

The Boundary Commission reviewed the boundaries of Westminster parliamentary constituencies, following legislation in 2011 to reduce their number, and make them more equal in size. It reported in 2018. Parliament has never debated this review, and is now very unlikely to.

In a similar review in 2011, the Commission initially included a Walthamstow constituency, but later eliminated it. '700 for Walthamstow' aimed to get local people, appalled by this, to send written responses to the Commission. In all around 1000 were sent (though the whole process was stopped in 2012 when parliament voted to stop it).

The 2018 review timetable

13th September 2016 - publication by BCE of the initial proposals

October 2016 - Public hearings for people to respond to the initial proposals(more details on these here):

  • Westminster – 17-18 October
  • Bromley – 20-21 October
  • Harrow -24-25 October
  • Kingston – 27-28 October
  • Romford – 31 October-1 November
Secondary consultation period

As soon as possible after the initial 12-week consultation on the BCE’s initial proposals, the BCE publishes on its website all of the representations that it has received for each region (including the records of the public hearings). Once the representations have been published there is a further statutory four-week period during which people can submit to the BCE written comments on those representations it received during the initial consultation period, for example challenging or supporting assertions made in a representation. There are no public hearings at this stage.

The BCE staff and Assistant Commissioners consider all the written representations received and oral representations made at public hearings in the initial consultation period, and all the written representations made in the four-week secondary consultation period. They then write a joint report on each region for the Commissioners, summarising and considering the representations and recommending whether – and, if so, how – the initial proposals for that region should be revised in the light of those representations. The Commissioners then consider each report and determine whether and to what extent revisions should be made to their initial proposals. 

The BCE then publishes a report for each region stating whether or not revisions have been made to the initial proposals for that region. Alongside these reports it publishes all the written representations received during the four-week secondary consultation period. 

If the proposals are revised, then the Act provides for a further period of eight weeks for written representations to be made to the BCE on the revised proposals for that region. There are no public hearings at this stage; nor is there a repeat of the four-week period for commenting on the representations of others. Publication of any representations received during the eight-week consultation on revised proposals will take place alongside publication of the final report

Late 2017 / early 2018

Following this secondary consultation, the Commission will be considering all representations received from both consultations, and will consider whether any revisions are needed. If they decide to revise the proposals, they will consult on the revised boundaries. They currently expect any such consultation to happen towards the end of 2017, or in early 2018.


September 2018

The BCE is required to make a formal report to the Government during September 2018, recommending any changes that it believes are appropriate to the distribution, size, shape, name or designation of constituencies in England. This review is therefore referred to as ‘the 2018 Review’.

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