Beeston should not to be split by Parliamentary boundary change, says council

Broxtowe Borough Council offices.
By Anna Whittaker, Local Democracy Reporter

Locals in Beeston feel a closer bond with their town than they do with Nottingham, officials reviewing parliamentary constituency boundaries have been told.

Plans to change Nottinghamshire’s boundaries will be discussed by Broxtowe Borough Council on Wednesday, July 21.

And councillors have vowed to oppose any proposals that might split Beeston across more than one consitiuency.

The Boundary Commission for England (BCE) isr reviewing parliamentary seats in England, with recommendations due to be published in July 2023.

An agenda published ahead of the council meeting this week reads: “Broxtowe Borough believes that each of Nuthall, Kimberley and Beeston are distinct communities in their own right, and that the boundaries of these are well understood.

“That residents in Beeston do not see themselves simply as a part of Nottingham, but rather as residents of Beeston.

“That as the whole of Broxtowe cannot form one Parliamentary Constituency, it is preferable for entire communities to be in the same constituency.”

The latest Boundary Commission proposals suggest removing Eastwood and Brinsley from the Ashfield Constituency and placing them in the Broxtowe Constituency.

They also proposed removing Kimberley and Nuthall from the Broxtowe Constituency and placing them in Nottingham North.

But MP for Broxtowe, Darren Henry, has proposed Kimberley and Nuthall are retained in the Broxtowe Constituency and parts of Beeston are placed into the Nottingham South constituency.

The council agenda states: “Broxtowe Borough regrets the rules on constituency size mean it is unavoidable that part of Broxtowe Borough will not be in the Broxtowe Constituency.

“It therefore resolves to write to the Boundary Commission indicating support in principle for the proposed changes to the Broxtowe Constituency boundaries they have proposed, and also to express our opposition to any alternative proposal which would result in Beeston being split into two for parliamentary purposes.”

Meanwhile in Nottingham, the Leader of Nottingham City Council David Mellen has expressed “serious concerns” over the  commission’s proposals for Nottingham city.

It is proposed that Nottingham North’s electorate would increase from 66,914 to 74,515 and Nottingham East’s would increase from 66,279 to 75,327.

Nottingham South’s electorate would decrease by 3,608 to 76,076.

Cllr Mellen said: “We are not objecting to the BCE’s proposed new constituencies for Nottingham, as the proposed changes are much less significant (and detrimental) to the city and local people than the changes put forward by the BCE in the abandoned 2016 review of constituency boundaries.

“However, we have serious concerns about the electorate figures used for Nottingham City and the methodology used for measuring the size of the electorate.”

Cllr Mellen argues that some consideration should be made of between 14,000 and 31,000 people in Nottingham – mainly students and recent migrants – who are represented by their local MP but not registered to vote.