ALLIANCE PARTY Response submitted by: SAM NELSON Postal area: BT7 Response ID: BHLF-FFDS-VS1P-D Composite comments regarding the proposals Please find attached, the Alliance Party response to the Boundary Commission’s Provisional Proposals Report. On behalf of the Alliance Party, I would like to thank the commission for the opportunity to respond. Alliance Party 88 University Street Belfast BT7 1HE November 2016 Alliance Party response to the Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland’s ‘Provisional Proposals Report’ Introduction: The Alliance Party welcomes the opportunity to respond to the Provisional Proposals Report, as proposed by the Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland (The Commission) in November 2016. Alliance members and elected representatives have attended all the public hearings to engage fully throughout the consultation process. Alliance has a long-standing record of positive and constructive engagement throughout boundary review consultations at all levels. In advance of this response, Alliance consulted with party members across Northern Ireland to get views and opinions from electors with local knowledge in each area. We hope this is useful work for The Commission to consider. Before addressing the specific proposals, Alliance would also like to note concern that mandatory five year reviews could well lead to significant and consistent disruption of boundaries in the future. This is particularly true in the context of a region as small as Northern Ireland, currently sitting on the cusp of being a 17 or 16 seat region. The potential disruption is made worse by the fact that Northern Ireland Assembly elections are fought on Westminster boundaries. Finally, it is also worth noting that whilst it is important to create good, well balanced boundaries that meet the range requirements and take account of local factors, the first past the post system will always undermine the proportionality of a constituency. A system of proportional representation would complement any future boundaries by ensuring fair and proportionate elections. Overview: The Alliance Party would like to recognise the difficult task facing the commission in drawing up a set of proposals which take account of special geographical considerations; local government boundaries; local ties; and the current 18 constituencies, whilst working within the requirement of the quota range. It must be noted from the offset that the legislative requirement to work within the effective quota range of 71,031 to 78,507 (or 69,401 if The Commission deems necessary in protecting local areas) is tighter than previous requirements and will inevitably produce imperfect boundaries. The key must be to minimise these as consistently as possible, rather than protect any one constituency boundary over another. Likewise, it must also be noted that the requirement to reduce the number of constituency boundaries from 18 to 17 will inevitably result in significant change to all 18 boundaries. The priority must be placed on producing 17 stable boundaries that can withstand future reviews and minimise future change, therefore protecting local ties. With this in mind, Alliance is in full agreement with The Commission that Belfast must drop to a 4 seat constituency. As stated in the Provisional Proposals, Belfast is now well under 4 quotas and to sustain a four seat Belfast would require the city to stretch too far out into the outer suburbs, undermining the identity of the capital city. A four seat Belfast would also require much more significant change to the boundaries outside Belfast. The concentrated population centre of Belfast means it is already split and so it is less disruptive to simply rework that split.. The Alliance Party is broadly supportive of the provisional proposals as a good attempt to fulfil the requirements in a workable manner. However, whilst recognising the difficulty in proposing changes that can have a knock-on impact across Northern Ireland, we would like to suggest some relatively straight forward changes to improve geographical considerations, local ties and the future stability of the boundaries. These are mostly based around the greater Belfast constituencies where higher density population centres and a near-by coast can often make it difficult to form clean boundary lines. On top of a number of smaller changes, the Alliance Party proposals seek to offer a better solution for Lisburn, Newtownabbey, Craigavon and Dungannon. All areas contain significant suburban populations surrounding greater Belfast and the Provisional Proposals do not go far enough to protect their respective identities. Finally, with the recent work to clean up the NI register and a corresponding decision to remove 67,433 electors - coupled with a reported increase of registered electors in GB due to the EU referendum – it must be recognised that Northern Ireland will possibly suffer negatively in the future allocation of constituencies. If there is any future change in the allocation of constituencies, it is likely to see a drop from 17 to 16. This would clearly cause further significant change to any boundaries and so should at least be noted when formulating boundaries to help avoid future disruption. Belfast East: The Alliance Party believes that The Commission’s approach to begin by looking at Belfast is sound, given that the quota of the existing Belfast constituencies amounts to 3.48. We further agree with the proposals that the only workable outcome from this is to reduce Belfast to three seats. To sustain a four seat Belfast would require boundaries that stretch far beyond the natural limits of the city. This would require some unnatural territory to be included in the Belfast constituencies simply to retain the four, ignoring key factors like local ties and geographical considerations. Furthermore, the decision to link Belfast with the new City Council boundary is sensible and will ensure the identity of the capital city is reinforced. The decision to use the river as a boundary line between the East and South West of the City is sound and sits in line with the need to consider special geographical considerations such as main rivers. The use of the City Council boundary to the East of the proposed East Belfast then sits in line with reinforcing the City Council boundary. This is a clear and logical constituency and a good place to start. Belfast East ward proposals (Electorate of 72,001) Electorate Ward Electorate Ward 3,528 Ballymacarrett 3,085 Merok 3,443 Beersbridge 3,405 Orangefield 3,534 Belmont 3,409 Ormeau 3,422 Belvoir 3,062 Ravenhill 3,474 Bloomfield 3,636 Rosetta 3,532 Connswater 3,207 Sandown 3,150 Cregagh 3,755 Shandon 3,478 Garnerville 3,667 Stormont 3,563 Gilnahirk 3,333 Sydenham 3,588 Hillfoot 3,072 Woodstock 3,658 Knock Belfast South West / Belfast North West: The proposed Belfast South West and Belfast North West are not as simple to divide. The commission has deemed it necessary to breach the City Council boundary on the North of the City. This results in North West Belfast taking in the Glengormley Urban ward of Collinbridge and the Macedon ward of Valley. This is undoubtedly a cleaner approach than expanding the South West of the City, with Collinbridge and Valley sharing key transport routes to Belfast via the main routes of the Antrim Road and the Shore Road. Residents in these wards would also look more naturally to Belfast as a centre, rather than wards in the South West of the city that just as likely look towards Lisburn as a main centre. It must be noted, however, that this approach remains imperfect, in that it starts a chain of events that later leads to the Glengormley Urban area being split into four parliamentary constituencies. Whilst this is not ideal, it is the best possible fit within the commission’s approach. Having carefully studied the different possibilities in Belfast North West and Belfast South West the Alliance Party believes there are two alternative options that would further preserve the boundary of the City Council and prevent Glengormley being cut into four parliamentary boundaries. Option 1: By using the discretion afforded to the Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland to use a lower threshold of 69,401 electors per constituency, it could explore the option of removing the wards of Collinbridge and Valley from the proposed Belfast North West and adding the ward of Ballymurphy. This would leave Belfast North West with a total electorate of 70,215 and Belfast South West with an electorate of 70,266, both within the lower range. Not only does this significantly reinforce The Commission’s stated aim to “as far as possible, match the borders of Belfast City Council”, it also protects local ties in Glengomley by creating additional flexibility and preventing the break-up of a clear and settled community in to four parliamentary constituencies. Collinbridge can join its natural neighbouring wards of Hightown and Mallusk and Belfast Zoo then acts as a natural border between South Antrim and the Belfast ward of Bellevue. Belfast North West ward proposals – option 1 (Electorate of 70,215) Electorate Ward Electorate Ward 3,645 Ardoyne 3,377 Ballymurphy 3,994 Ballygomartin 3,237 Falls 3,333 Ballysillan 3,112 Forth River 3,497 Beechmount 3,290 Fortwilliam 3,386 Bellevue 3,700 Innisfayle 3,295 Cavehill 3,540 Legoniel 3,688 Chichester Park 3,310 New Lodge 3,574 Cliftonville 3,997 Shankill 3,665 Clonard 3,757 Water Works 3,731 Duncairn 3,087 Woodvale Belfast South West ward proposals – option 1 (Electorate of 70,266) Electorate Ward Electorate Ward 3,641 Andersonstown 3,472 Musgrave 3,682 Blackstaff 3,677 Poleglass 4,342 Central 3,816 Shaw’s Road 3,888 Colin Glen 3,566 Stewartstown 3,774 Dunmurry 3,832 Stranmillis 3,646 Falls Park 3,472 Turf Lodge 3,406 Finaghy 3,338 Twinbrook 3,632 Ladybrook 3,470 Upper Malone 4,409 Lagmore 3,804 Windsor 3,399 Malone Option 2: Move Collinbridge in to South Antrim and Ballymurphy in to Belfast North West.