Sir Simon Hughes has spoken out against proposals to move part of north Southwark into a parliamentary constituency with Vauxhall in Lambeth.
St George’s ward, which includes the Imperial War Museum, St George’s Cathedral and Sir Simon’s own London South Bank University, would become part of a Vauxhall and Camberwell constituency under the Boundary Commission for England’s plans.
Former Bermondsey and Old Southwark MP Sir Simon said that the change would make no sense, as the constituency MP would have to deal with two local councils – although admittedly this is already the case with the Dulwich and West Norwood constituency – and these landmarks all have close ties to Southwark.
The changes to constituency boundaries are being proposed to ensure that each MP is voted for by roughly the same amount of people. The second round of consultation ended on Monday (April 4). There will be another round later this year before the Boundary Commission makes the final changes in 2023.
Southwark is currently covered by three parliamentary constituencies: Bermondsey and Old Southwark, Peckham and Camberwell and Dulwich and West Norwood.
The new constituencies would be Bermondsey and Borough, Peckham, Dulwich and Sydenham, and Vauxhall and Camberwell.
Bermondsey and Borough would be made up of eight wards: Borough & Bankside, Chaucer, London Bridge & West Bermondsey, North Bermondsey, North Walworth, Rotherhithe, South Bermondsey and Surrey Docks.
But it would lose St George’s and Newington wards to Vauxhall and Camberwell, which would also gain the Camberwell Green ward, which is currently in Peckham.
The new Peckham constituency would stretch from South Bermondsey station in the north-east, and the start of Walworth Road in the north-west, down to Honor Oak in the south-east and North Dulwich station in the south-west. The constituency would include eight wards: Champion Hill, Faraday, Nunhead & Queen’s Road, Old Kent Road, Peckham, Peckham Rye, Rye Lane and St Giles.
Dulwich and Sydenham would cover the area from Herne Hill in the north-west to Beckenham in the south-east.
Sir Simon added that the three Walworth wards – Faraday, North Walworth and Newington – should all be part of the same constituency for once.
He also called on the Boundary Commission to include Rotherhithe in the name of the constituency that covers the north of the borough.
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Sir Simon said: “I really believe that it would be completely illogical to split St. George’s ward off from the other parts of SE1 in the Borough and Bermondsey.
“It would also be very sad and bad if the chance was missed not just at last to bring all parts of Walworth together in one constituency after they have been divided politically for so long, but now to make things worse by carving Walworth into three separate constituencies, one mainly with Lambeth voters.
“It would also be great for Rotherhithe to be part of a constituency name again – as it was in the last century.
“I believe I have made a strong argument for all these changes – and now call on the Boundary Commission to support them.”
Current Bermondsey and Old Southwark MP Neil Coyle also spoke out against the proposed changes during the previous consultation.
Secretary to the Boundary Commission for England Tim Bowden said: “The 2023 Boundary Review will rebalance the number of electors represented by each MP. It’s important that the constituencies we shape reflect your local community as best as possible.