Map of UK's 650 parliamentary constituencies to be redrawn
The map of the UK's 650 parliamentary constituencies will be redrawn after the Parliamentary Constituencies Act received Royal Assent.
The new legislation passed on Monday will make constituencies across the UK more equal in size.
The government argues the updated constituencies will reflect changes in population shifts, including house building and migration. The current boundaries were defined using data from two decades ago.
The legislation could have a big impact on the result of the next election, despite it likely to be four years away.
Constitution Minister, Chloe Smith, said: “Every voter deserves to have confidence that their vote counts the same, no matter where it is cast. This assurance is long overdue and today’s Act delivers exactly that.“Up-to-date, more equally sized constituencies is a sensible policy that will make our elections fairer, ensuring that people from all four nations of the UK have equal representation in Parliament.”
Reviews of UK parliamentary constituencies are undertaken by four judge-led and independent bodies - the Boundary Commissions for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Under the new legislation, reviews will take place every eight years and any proposals will be implemented automatically.
The Boundary Commissions will start their review in January 2021 using current data to determine the average number of electors in each constituency and re-draw boundaries in response.
This will take into account five protected constituencies which must remain as they are out of geographical necessity.
The Commissions will present their final reports to the Speaker of the House of Commons by 1 July 2023.