Campus’ New Constituency: Labour or Conservative?

The parliamentary constituency of Coventry South will be combined with Kenilworth if new plans released by the Boundary Commission get the green-light.

Coventry South is currently held by Labour while the Conservatives won 60.8% of the vote in Kenilworth and Southam during June’s General Election

The Boundary Commission, the public body responsible for reviewing Parliamentary constituency boundaries, is tasked with reducing the number of constituencies in England from 533 to 501. As part of the proposals, the number of constituencies in Coventry and Warwickshire is set to decrease from 9 to 8.

In revised proposals published on 17 October 2017, the Boundary Commission outlined the rationale behind their plans to establish a new Coventry South and Kenilworth constituency. According to the Boundary Commission, the change would allow for “all of the Warwick University campus to be included in one constituency”.

The revised proposal will most likely be greeted by the Conservative Party, the Liberal Democrat Party and the Green Party. In the initial round of proposals, representatives had argued the case for establishing a Coventry South and Kenilworth Constituency.

The plans are unlikely to prove universally popular, however. In earlier consultations, Jim Cunningham, Labour MP for Coventry South, and Geoffrey Robinson, Labour MP for Coventry North Wes, suggested that there were close links between the town of Bedworth and the City of Coventry. But the assistant commissioners ruled against including Bedworth in a Coventry Constituency as it would: “Require extensive changes to the pattern of existing constituencies in the north and east of Warwickshire”.

In the face of public opposition, the commissioners dropped initial plans to establish a Coventry West and Meriden constituency in favour of including the town of Kenilworth in the Coventry South constituency.

It remains to be seen whether Cunningham will hold on to his seat if the proposal to bring together Conservative strong-hold Kenilworth and Labour held Coventry South passes. Cunningham has represented the Coventry South constituency since 1997. Jeremy Wright, the MP for Kenilworth and Southam, has represented his constituency with a substantial share of the vote since its creation in 2010.

The Boundary Commission is seeking comments on the revised proposals from members of the public until 11 December 2017.