BOUNDARY COMMISSION FOR WALES

The number of Welsh Members of Parliament at Westminster is set to reduce under a Boundary Commission Wales plan which is now opening for an eight-week public consultation.

The plan increases the number of registered voters in each constituency from 69,724 to 77,062, except the island of Anglesey which only has 52,415 voters at present but will keep its own MP. If passed, the move would reduce the number of Welsh MP’s in the House of Commons in London from 40 to 32 at the next General Election.

The proposed boundaries would see the Pontypridd Constituency extended to include Aberaman South, Penrhiwceiber and Mountain Ash West, the Rhondda Constituency extended to include Llanharan, Brynna and Tonyrefail East and Aberdare to be merged with Merthyr Tydfil constituency. The maps outlining then proposals are below:-

Pontypridd’s MP Alex Davies-Jones said:- Today the Boundary Commission for Wales released their initial proposals for the 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituencies.

If they go ahead, the new plans will see slight changes to the Pontypridd constituency’s borders which would change to run from Talbot Green, across to Hawthorn, and up to Aberaman North.

The preservation of our rich Welsh Valley’s identity is – and has always been – a priority for me.

And it is already a huge privilege to be one of the Members of Parliament covering this incredible part of South Wales.

The new boundaries, if selected to go ahead, will see the Pontypridd constituency stretch from Llantwit Fardre right the way up to the incredible former mining communities at the very heart of our Welsh Valley’s heritage.  

At the national level, the proposals will sadly see the number of MPs here in Wales reduce by eight, which is the most significant change to Wales’s constituencies in a century.

However I am pleased that, should these plans go ahead, the Pontypridd constituency would remain entirely part of the Rhondda Cynon Taf local authority.

This has huge benefits and would mean that local council-run services ranging from transport to our leisure centres will remain available for all across the area.

There will soon be a period of consultation and of course I will of course continue to follow developments on how the boundaries progress closely.”

Anyone wishing to respond to the review can do so via bcomm-wales.gov.uk