Re-drawing the political map

I read an interesting proposal from the Conservatives today to reduce the number of MP’s in the House of Commons by up to 65, which would also involve a large overhaul of constituency boundaries.

These proposals are in response to the public outcry over the abuses of parliamentary expenses. David Cameron said “All week I've been receiving letters from people saying the same thing - how can MPs claim they're helping people through the recession when so many of them seem to be feathering their own nests?.”

He went on to say “They are right to be angry. We need to sort this out immediately. At a time when families and businesses are being forced to cut back politicians should be asking how they can help bring down the cost of politics across the board. It is taxpayers' money after all.”

At present there are 646 MP’s and this plan would cut that amount to well under 600. I think that reducing the number of MP’s would be a good idea, not only because some members have to stand during the bigger debates, but because I believe that there are currently too many MP’s and cutting down on the amount will save the taxpayers money. According to the Daily Telegraph, this saving would be more than £12 million a year.

I also believe that this is an issue which needs to be looked at because the current boundary system gives the Labour Party an advantage and means that the Conservatives need a double-digit swing to win an overall majority, so I expect that Labour are going to try to resist attempts to change the current political map.

So I hope that these proposals go forward and as Mr Cameron has said "I believe every vote should carry the same weight, which means levelling up the size of constituencies. That would help reduce the number of MPs, save money and give people confidence that their vote really mattered."