Boundary review postponed due to coronavirus
A review of Telford and Wrekin’s electoral map has been delayed in order to devote time and resources to handling the coronavirus crisis.
Two months ago, the borough’s Boundary Review Committee heard that the voters-per-councillor ratio varied by more than 25 per cent between some wards and agreed to write to a national elections body.
A spokesman for the Local Government Boundary Commission for England said this week it had had “informal contact” but no formal request for a review.
Telford and Wrekin Council said a review, if commenced now, “would impact upon the resources available” to support residents during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the request would be sent “at an appropriate time in the future”.
On January 27 this year, the Boundary Review Committee heard there are, on average, 2,389 voters for each borough councillor, but the Brookside ward is 12.8 per cent below this. Horsehay and Lightmoor has the highest electorate, at 13.2 per cent above.
In a report, legal and governance manager Anthea Lowe wrote that Lawley’s electorate has risen from 6,100 to 7,600 in four years, but it still does not have a named ward of its own.
The LGBCE conducts an automatic review if any one ward strays 30 per cent from the average, or if 30 per cent of wards have a 10 per cent variance. This is not the case in Telford and Wrekin, Ms Lowe wrote, but the authority could still request a review.
Governance director Jonathan Eatough said the new map could be in use for the borough’s next local elections, in May 2023, if this was acted on immediately.
A spokesperson for the LGBCE said: “Although we have had informal contact with Telford and Wrekin [Council] about an electoral review, we have not received a formal request asking us to consider one.”
A Telford and Wrekin Council spokesperson said: “Officers made contact with the LGBCE to discuss the nature of the information it may require from the council to support its request for a review and to discuss the availability of the LGBCE to undertake a review.
“In the current climate, the council remains focussed on supporting the residents of its borough and, if a review is commenced, this would impact upon the resources available to support our efforts in that respect.
“Consequently, it has been decided that a formal request for a review will not be made at the moment.
“It remains the council’s intention to seek a review at an appropriate time in the future.”
As of Friday morning, there were just under 3,000 deaths attributed to COVID-19 in the UK. The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust had confirmed 14 fatalities.
