Boundary commissions (United Kingdom) in the context of Counties (Detached Parts) Act 1844


Boundary commissions (United Kingdom) in the context of Counties (Detached Parts) Act 1844

⭐ Core Definition: Boundary commissions (United Kingdom)

In the United Kingdom, the boundary commissions are non-departmental public bodies responsible for determining the boundaries of parliamentary constituencies for elections to the House of Commons. There are four boundary commissions: one each for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Each commission comprises four members, three of whom take part in meetings. The speaker of the House of Commons chairs each of the boundary commissions ex officio but does not play any part in the review, and a High Court judge is appointed to each boundary commission as deputy chair.

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👉 Boundary commissions (United Kingdom) in the context of Counties (Detached Parts) Act 1844

The Counties (Detached Parts) Act 1844 (7 & 8 Vict. c. 61), also known as the Detached Parishes Act 1844, which came into effect on 20 October 1844, was an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom which eliminated many outliers or exclaves of counties in England and Wales for civil purposes. The changes were based on recommendations by a boundary commission, headed by the surveyor Thomas Drummond and summarized in a schedule attached to the Parliamentary Boundaries Act 1832. This also listed a few examples of civil parishes divided by county boundaries, most of which were dealt with by later legislation. This Act was repealed in its entirety by the Local Government Act 1972.

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Boundary commissions (United Kingdom) in the context of Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom

The Parliament of the United Kingdom currently has 650 parliamentary constituencies across the constituent countries (England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland), each electing a single member of parliament (MP) to the House of Commons by the plurality (first-past-the-post) voting system, ordinarily every five years. Voting last took place in all 650 of those constituencies at the United Kingdom general election on 4 July 2024.

The number of seats rose from 646 to 650 at the 2010 general election after proposals made by the boundary commissions for England, Wales, and Northern Ireland (the Fifth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies) were adopted through statutory instruments. Constituencies in Scotland remained unchanged, as the Boundary Commission for Scotland had completed a review just before the 2005 general election, which had resulted in a reduction of 13 seats.

View the full Wikipedia page for Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
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Boundary commissions (United Kingdom) in the context of Fifth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies

The fifth periodic review of Westminster constituencies was undertaken between 2000 and 2007 by the four boundary commissions for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland for the UK Parliament. The changes for England, Wales and Northern Ireland took effect at the 2010 general election; that for Scotland took effect at the 2005 election. Changes were also made to the constituencies and electoral regions of the then National Assembly for Wales (now the Senedd), and took effect at the 2007 Assembly election. All of the recommendations were approved.

View the full Wikipedia page for Fifth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies
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