Local residents are being invited to give their views on what their county council will look like in the future as the independent Local Government Boundary Commission for England begins an electoral review of Cumbria County Council from Tuesday 12 October 2010.
The review will consider changes to the number of councillors on the council as well as the number and boundaries of the county council’s electoral divisions.
Max Caller, Chair of the Commission, said: “Having fair electoral boundaries is important for local democracy.
“The purpose of a review is to try to ensure that each councillor represents around the same number of people and that every elector’s vote is worth the same. That’s not the case at the moment in Cumbria. Dalston and Cummersdale division in Carlisle, for example, has 33% more electors than the average for the county while Moss Bay division in Allerdale has 27% fewer. That represents a major imbalance in the value of people’s votes across the county.
“During the course of the review, we’ll also want to reflect local community identities when we redraw the electoral divisions of the county. This is your chance to shape your council for the future”.
The first stage of the Commission’s consultation closes on 22 November 2010. During this stage, local people are being invited to comment – specifically – on how many county councillors should serve Cumbria in total.
Once it has considered the evidence provided by local people and organisations, the Commission will then publish its proposal on the total number of councillors and invite further views on where new division boundaries should be drawn. The Commission will publish draft recommendations for new divisions across Cumbria in the summer of 2011.
Following further public consultation on its draft recommendations, the Commission is aiming to publish its final plans in early 2012.The new electoral arrangements would then be due to come into effect for the county council elections in May 2013.
Further information on electoral reviews and guidance on what sort of information the Commission is looking for should be available at council offices, in your local library, or on our website at www.lgbce.org.uk
To have your say, please write to:
The Review Officer (Cumbria)
Local Government Boundary Commission for England
Layden House
76-86 Turnmill Street
London EC1M 5LG
Or email: reviews@lgbce.org.uk
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