Parliamentary Constituencies Working Group

It is inevitable, based upon the criteria to which the Boundary Commission is working, that the number of constituencies in Cumbria will reduce from six to five. The principal criteria which give rise to this recognition is the reduction in a number of overall seats from 650 to 600 and the need to have a measure of electoral equality, generally, in those 600 seats.

It is considered that the proposals should take account of the market towns and the key service centres within the rural areas and the communities which are served by those service centres and market towns.

The electoral quota is 76,641. A constituency must have an electorate which is either plus 5% or minus 5% of this figure. The electorate, therefore, should be between 72,810 and 80,473. In addition to the electoral quota the following factors should be taken into account: a) the special geographical considerations including the size, shape and accessibility of a constituency; b) the local government boundaries which is as they existed on 6 May 2010; c) the existing boundaries of the parliamentary constituencies; and d) any local ties that would be broken by any changes in the constituencies.

In relation to Eden District Council the initial proposals incorporate the whole of the district, with the exception of four wards, within a new constituency named Kendal and Penrith. The four wards within Eden District which would not fall within the new proposed constituency are Skelton, Greystoke, Ullswater and Dacre. These four wards would come within the new constituency of Workington and Keswick.

In response to the Boundary Commission Eden District Council comments: a) If the respondent agrees with the initial proposals for the North West Region in whole or in part: Eden District Council has considered the initial proposals for Cumbria and in particular those which affect Eden. Eden District Council does not agree with the initial proposals for Cumbria. Eden District Council does not comment upon any of the proposals elsewhere within the North West Region. b) Which sub-regions the respondent agrees with and why:

Eden District Council has only considered the sub-region of Cumbria. It does not agree with the proposals for Cumbria as a sub-region.

c) Which sub-regions the respondent disagrees with and why:

Eden District Council disagrees with the proposals for the sub-region of Cumbria for the following reasons:

 The proposal separates the Skelton, Greystoke, Dacre and Ullswater wards from the other wards within Eden. The four wards relate to the market town and key service centre of Penrith principally. The proposal to include the four wards within the Workington and Keswick constituency does not take account of the principal local ties, transport and communication links, the substantially rural nature of those areas, the strong sense of identity which those wards have with Penrith and Eden and the geographical circumstances in relation to the wards in the district.

 The proposed constituency splits the Eden Lakes and Greystoke and Hesket electoral divisions of the County Council. There are two electoral divisions which would fall partly within the Workington and Keswick constituency and partly within the Kendal and Penrith constituency, namely the Eden Lakes electoral division and the Greystoke and Hesket electoral division.

 The parts of the district which would fall within the Workington and Keswick constituency are a substantial distance from Workington with which town the areas have no particular link or connection. It is a substantial distance to Workington from any part of those four wards. The local service centre and market town for all those parts of the district of Eden is Penrith with the possible exception of Threlkeld in the Greystoke ward which has a clear relationship with Keswick.

 The parliamentary constituency proposals should take account of the local service centres which there are in the area. The key local service centres which Eden District Council identifies are Wigton, Cockermouth, the four market towns of Alston, Penrith, Kirkby Stephen and Appleby in Eden, Silloth and Kendal. The principle which should be applied in relation to drawing up the parliamentary constituencies is to take the key local service centre and its dependent or related villages and use it and them as bases for the new constituencies. The proposals do not recognise adequately the key local service centre of Penrith in relation to those parts of the District which may fall in the Keswick and Workington constituency.

 The constituents will need to be able to link with and gain reasonable access to the local Member of Parliament. The Member of Parliament needs to be accessible to its constituents taking account of communication links and public transport facilities. The proposals would make the MP less accessible to the residents of Eden.

2  Eden District Council comprises the most sparsely populated rural area in England. Any Member of Parliament who represents any part of Eden can be expected to be required to be conversant with and have a specialist knowledge of rural issues, considerations and concerns. It is considered that a Member of Parliament should be recognised by all as being specialist in relation to rural issues which are fundamentally different from those which affect substantially urban areas. It is considered that it would be easier for a Member of Parliament to provide services to his constituents if there are substantial similarities in the needs of those constituents. If the constituents’ needs are vastly different it would be more difficult for any Member of Parliament to serve and provide for those needs and ensure that they are met. The proposal mixes the fundamentally rural areas with a substantially urban one which has different needs and interests.

 There are strong senses of identity and local ties in Cumbria which are to Carlisle, Barrow, West Cumbria and the rural areas in the east of Cumbria and through to the Solway Coast. The rural areas do have similar concerns in relation to a lack of public transport, a lack of access to broadband and general difficulties in communicating and contacting people readily. The proposals do not give sufficient recognition to those local ties.

 The links from east to west within Eden, generally speaking, are good. The links to Keswick and Cockermouth from Penrith are good. It is considered that the natural barriers within Eden are Helvellyn and Shap. The four wards in Eden which are separated have no particular links to Workington and West Cumbria. d) What alternatives the respondent proposes which meet the statutory criteria and rules.

Eden District Council would prefer the following parliamentary constituencies

1) Penrith and the Solway comprising:

Eden wards: Alston Moor, Askham, Crosby Ravensworth, Dacre, Eamont Bridge, Greystoke, Hartside, Hesket, Kirkby Thore, Kirkoswald, Langwathby, Lazonby, Long Marton, Morland, Penrith (Carleton, East, North, Pategill, South and West), Shap, Skelton, Ullswater

Carlisle: Dalston

Allerdale: Keswick, Derwent Valley, Crummock, All Saints, Christchurch, Dalton, Broughton St Bridget’s, Ellen, Wharrels, Boltons, Warnell, Wigton, Wampool, Marsh, Waver, Silloth, Holme, Solway and Aspatria

Electorate: 78,765

2) Kendal comprising:

3 Eden Wards: Appleby, Appleby Bongate, Brough, Kirkby Stephen, Orton with Tebay, Ravenstonedale and Warcop

South Lakeland: all except Mid Furness Low Furness and Ulverston (West, North, Town, East, Central and South)

Electorate: 77,154

3) Barrow: comprising

All Barrow Wards

Copeland: Bootle, Millom, Holborn Hill, Haverigg and Newtown

South Lakeland: Low and Mid Furness and Ulverston: Central, East, North, South, Town and West

Electorate: 75,107

4) West Cumbria: comprising

Copeland: all except Bootle, Millom, Holborn Hill, Haverigg and Newtown

Allerdale: Clifton, Ellenborough, Ewanrigg, Flimby, Harrington, Moorclose, Moss Bay, Netherhall, St John’s, St Michael’s, Stainburn

Electorate: 80,314

5) Carlisle: as proposed

Electorate: 79,030

The alternatives are proposed as:

1) They maintain electoral equality in all proposed constituencies.

2) They do not split any ward and take account of the relevant considerations to which the Boundary Commission has drawn attention.

3) They respect local ties and maintain links with the established market towns and key service centres.

4) They take account of the geographical issues within the affected part of Cumbria and maintain reasonable accessibility and communication links.

5) They take account of local identities and communities.

4 6) They take account of the fundamentally rural nature of parts of Cumbria with their common concerns and interests and the substantially urban areas. It is a principal concern that two constituencies should be predominantly rural and three should be predominantly urban.

7) The constituencies in Cumbria should be based upon Carlisle in the North, Barrow in the South, West Cumbria incorporating Workington and Whitehaven, and two rural constituencies based on Kendal/Westmorland and Penrith/Cockermouth and the Solway.

8) No proposal, given the criteria which must be met, can meet all and everyone’s requirements and circumstances. Eden District Council considers the principles it has identified in this response to be of particular relevance together with the Boundary Commission’s criteria and commends its proposal to the Boundary Commission.