Changes to the rotation of parliamentary constituencies in the UK have seen many MPs rush to keep their seats or find new ones, with some having to fight their counterparts for a chance.
In the so-called “Battle of Waterlowville” this week, Home Secretary Swella Braverman was forced to beat Conservative MP Flick Drummond in the backseat for the newly created seat in Fareham and Waterlooville.
The new seat occupies the southern end of Ms. Drummond’s Meon Valley constituency and bisects Ms. Braverman’s Fairham seat.
Half of their seats were allocated to Fareham and Waterlooville, with the remainder held by Ms. Braverman for the new seat in Hamble Valley and Ms. Drummond for the neighboring constituency of Winchester, currently occupied by Conservative MP Steve Russol.
The Secretary of the Interior ultimately won the “Battle of Waterlooville” to represent him, winning among local members by 77 votes to 54.
But the two are not the only MPs facing re-election, as up to 40 seats are expected to lose more than half of their voters to neighboring or newly created constituencies.
The split had already prompted at least one MP to resign, with Brigg and Goole MP Andrew Percy saying he was stepping aside as his seat was abolished and quartered.
The redrawing process is impartial, regardless of political influence, but the Conservatives will nonetheless benefit modestly from the new card, which would give the party 10 extra seats if passed in the 2019 General Assembly.
But with the Conservative Party consistently trailing Labor in the polls, many local associations have to think carefully about who they elect to fill new seats when there are multiple incumbents in an election.
A conservative councilor and local association member who will be involved in choosing the site, heavily carved out by border controls, said I They expected that one of the two incumbent MPs vying for the seat would likely be expelled at the upcoming election caucus.
“Nothing personal, but we all know who we need. [The other MP] Kind of sucks, to be honest,” they said.
“We have two MEPs to choose from and now we have to pick a winner. [The other one] can’t go for one of our nearby places. I think they should probably look for a new job or retire. It’s a bit difficult, but if we want to win, we have to aim for a bigger name.”
Another Conservative councillor, whose local association believes its electorate is largely unchanged under the new map, admitted there are concerns within the party about who should seek guaranteed seats.
“Next time we have to choose strong candidates. I don’t think things are as bad as the polls show, but not very good either. We cannot risk losing our seat to a rotten apple,” they said. I.
This opinion is shared by journalist and moderator Michael Creek, who maintains a Twitter account. @morningsmps then various qualifying competitions follow.
“In the Conservative Party, people are much more worried this time, because they see a very difficult defeat coming. So they’re all trying to get to higher ground and make sure the tide doesn’t drown them,” he said. I.
He also noted that there was nothing new in the struggle for new seats, since big names such as Winston Churchill and Ken Baker changed seats during their parliamentary careers.
“There’s always been what people disparagingly call Coop, where someone was looking for a new job,” he said. I.
But he acknowledged there was more at stake this time around as many party members on selection committees were “upset” by the death of Boris Johnson and the party’s position in the polls.
There have also been speculations that the Conservative Democratic Organization (CDO), formed in response to Rishi Sunak’s nomination for a non-voting prime minister, aims to win re-election of MPs who voted for Johnson last year.
Several attempts and successful recalls have been linked to CDOs allegedly targeting MPs, including veteran Tory MP Damian Green, who was unable to stand as a candidate for the newly created Weald of Kent constituency, and MPs from Hastings and Rye, Sally-Anne. Hart narrowly escaped the vote.
However, Mr Crick was skeptical of such claims, suggesting that many of the MPs who dropped out of Parliament were likely due to personal problems with the incumbent party.
He continued: “In many of these cases, you will find that there is actually a personal factor, the deputy was not a party member enough … Personal factors seem to be more important than political ones.”
The government also appears to be nervous about how border revisions and poor poll results will affect its election chances. Eagle Eye Watchers on Twitter saw a list of deputies in the hands of an officer entering number 10 after being picked up by photographers, some of whom were labeled as being at risk of “potential eviction”.
Visible names include Sports Minister Stuart Andrew, MP for Pudsey, whose boundaries are being redrawn to include half of the current Leeds West seat currently held by Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves.
Other names included Andy Carter, currently MP for Warrington South, whose constituency is being expanded to include parts of neighboring Tatton, currently held by Esther McVeigh.
The reasons why these MPs are in the market, as they risk being ousted, are unclear, but some speculate that it speaks to the party’s fears about the new card’s impact on the next election.
Commenting on the list on Twitter, Tim Bale, a professor in the political department at Queen Mary University, said the MPs listed could have been removed by the CCHQ panel, for which they were seeking their recall. nominated for other places.
He said MPs are able to do so “because a significant portion of their existing constituencies have been relocated, leaving them vulnerable to opposition.”
Source: I News
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