The MP for Carshalton and Wallington is set to face a tough fight to retain his seat in the next general election after proposed new Parliamentary boundaries were unveiled.

Tom Brake, London’s only Liberal Democrat MP, would see thousands of Tory voters absorbed by his constituency under the Boundary Commission’s plans, published on Tuesday.
Mr Brake won retained the seat with a majority of 1,510 votes in last May’s polls.

The commission’s shake-up, proposed to come into force in 2018, would bring the Belmont ward – where more than 3,000 Conservative votes were cast in the general election – into Carshalton and Wallington.

Had the constituency incorporated the ward in 2015, Mr Brake would have lost the seat to the Tories by 760 votes.

Your Local Guardian:

The current Carshalton and Wallington constituency, left, and the proposed new boundaries, right

He said this week: “The previous proposals that were announced were drastic in the terms of the impact and would have killed the constituency off completely and while I do not welcome this proposal it’s not quite the disaster that it was five years ago.”

Asked if was confident of retaining his seat, he added: “It will be a challenge, yes. 

“Belmont is a ward that has Conservative councillors, but it is also a ward where many people voted to remain inside the European Union and has had Liberal Democrat councillors in the past.”

The Boundary Commission carried out its review with the aim of cutting the number of MPs in Parliament down from 650 to 600 and distributing voters equally.

Under its proposals, Labour would lose seats nationally and the Conservatives would lose 17, prompting claims of “gerrymandering” from Jeremy Corbyn’s party.”

The changes would also increase the Tories’ majority from 12 to 40 seats in Parliament.

Mr Brake said: “I do support the principal that constituencies should be roughly of equal size, but it’s in the city areas where the fiddling is happening.

“The inner-city areas are underrepresented and I can understand the concerns of Labour members.”

He added: “I also agree with the proposal to bring down the number of MPs to 500 is sensible and with more powers being given to Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and with Manchester taking responsibility for health I think the camber needs to reflect the limited responsibilities that we have.”

Your Local Guardian:

The current Sutton and Cheam constituency, left, and the proposed new boundaries, right

Paul Scully, MP for Sutton and Cheam, could see his majority decrease by hundreds under proposals to absorb St Helier and Lower Morden – which largely vote Labour – into his seat and remove Belmont.

But the changes would still have left him with a 4,548 majority at the last general election.

The MP said: “I’m supportive of the move to cut the number of MPs down from 650 to 600. 

“It’s ridiculous that some wards have 60,000 and other 110,000, there should be a little more equality.

“But I’m not sure that splitting Belmont is the best thing as the residents’ association that covers that area will be divided and that will complicate matters and not give them the best representation.”

He added: “The changes will make for a more interesting battle and it’s going to be interesting to see what happens with the Labour Party in the next few years.”