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Parliamentary Constituencies (England) (Amendment) Order 2009

I certainly do not have such a distinguished interest as the noble Lord, Lord Henley, but I have an interest in knowing quite a bit about a part of the country to which the order refers: Somerset, which contains both the Somerton and Frome and the Wells constituencies. Having, I confess, been fully briefed only today, I am alarmed to the extent that I believe that the Boundary Commission for England may have misdirected itself with regard to the changes to those two constituency boundaries. I must substantiate that by trying to explain why I have expressed that very serious concern. As I understand it, a substantial review with considerable and comprehensive consultation was undertaken in the constituencies concerned. But, as has been implied by the Minister, before it was completed and the process brought to fruition, changes were made to the district council ward boundaries. It was at that point that the commission decided that it should review the proposals that it had already consulted upon. I understand that no complaint had been made in either constituency by either of the Members, who are representatives of the two opposition parties, about the earlier process of consultation. The concern arose about the then change in the recommendations that resulted from the changes made to the Mendip district wards. I emphasise that it was simply the district wards that were changed, not the county wards, and I am sure that the noble Lord, Lord Henley, who knows a lot about county politics, will agree that county wards are a great deal more significant when it comes to the identification of communities and the rural areas that have a relationship with local towns. It is true that although the changes are not that dramatic, as a result of the recommended redistribution, some very interesting divisions have arisen in the rural areas that form part of the catchment areas, if you like, of some of the small towns of Somerset. I think that we are owed a better explanation of why the Boundary Commission exercise decided to review proposals that had already attracted quite a lot of public support. The Minister has said that only five representations were made, but four of those were in opposition to the changes. It is clearly the case, as I know from contacts in Somerset, that many people thought that the original proposals would go through and were not aware of the second phase of consultation. Even more substantially in this building, I also understand that neither of the constituency Members of Parliament—Conservative and Liberal Democrat—feels that the consultation for the second stage of this exercise was anything like as adequate as for the first. The Minister may now be able to explain why this particular order has come to this House first. That is curious since it deals with parliamentary constituencies, which are of very considerable interest to Members of the other place. Indeed, I do not think that hitherto there has been a formal occasion for Members of the other place to express anxieties on this score. Having appeared before the Boundary Commission in the past, I have to say that its inquiries are usually meticulous. Up to this point, I have not heard of another example where it has gone back and, as it were, started the exercise again, having been triggered by a simple change to second-tier ward boundaries. That seems to be unusual as well. I find the whole process very extraordinary and I hope that the Minister will take note that I and my noble friends, when the report is made to the House, will seek the withdrawal of this order and a review. We do not believe that it meets the normal criteria that the Boundary Commission follows for England. Although it has a very good reputation, I fear that on this occasion, it has not met the expectations we all have of it.