This week the Boundaries Commission has released its proposals for new constituencies in England and Wales. Although this is part of a wider effort to reduce the number of MPs in the Commons from 650 to 600, the Labour party feel as though they are being unfairly picked on.
While the plans mean George Osborne and Boris Johnson are among the politicians who would have their seats redrawn, it’s the Labour party as a whole that would be worst affected with a potential loss of 25 Labour-held seats. However, this is not the party’s only problem when it comes to the proposals.
There are concerns that the process could allow Corbyn’s supporters to use reselection to purge the party of hostile MPs. While Labour rules state that a sitting MP has the right to contest a new seat if that new constituency retains at least 40 per cent of their old seat, Corbynistas on the NEC are already making soundings about reselection.
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