Cameron wants to get rid of 60 MPs
By politics.co.uk staff
The Tories will scrap 60 MPs from parliament if they get into power, David Cameron has confirmed.
The party want constituency changes to reflect Britain’s internal migration, which has been characterised by many families moving from urban areas to the countryside.
“I think the House of Commons could do the job that it does with ten per cent fewer MPs without any trouble at all,” the Tory leader said in an interview with the Financial Times.
The change Mr Cameron is suggesting would make it significantly easier for the Conservatives, who are currently at an electoral disadvantage over Labour, to win elections.
The main casualties would be in Labour-dominated urban areas and Wales, which traditionally votes left.
With all seats having roughly equal numbers of electors, Wales would lose its overrepresentation at Westminster, falling from 40 to 30 seats.
Major cities like Liverpool would lose some of their small inner city constituencies.
“We can legislate for that, yes, and we should,” Mr Cameron said.
“I believe in having seats that are the same size all across the country.”
Any reduction in the number of MPs would tend to exaggerate electoral swings, a feature of British politics many analysts – especially in Europe – already treat as problematic.
