Hackney to be split into three under Labour proposals

Hackney is to be divided into three parliamentary seats, should proposals by the Labour party be approved by the Boundary Commission.

The Commission recently proposed a new set of constituencies that take account of population changes as well as the government’s desire to reduce the overall number of MPs at Westminster.

Under these plans, a new ‘Hackney North’ constituency would contain much of the existing area covered by Hackney North and Stoke Newington plus Chatham, King’s Park and Wick wards, which are currently in Hackney South and Shoreditch and one ward, Seven Sisters, which is part of the London Borough of Haringey.

The other Westminster seat in Hackney would simply ‘Hackney South’ and would comprise most of the current constituency of Hackney South and Shoreditch, minus the three aforementioned wards, but with the addition of the three wards of Clissold, Stoke Newington and Dalston that currently form part of Hackney North and Stoke Newington.

Were the proposed changes to be accepted, Hackney North would have more people in it than any other parliamentary constituency in the UK and Meg Hillier’s Hackney South would become the smallest in geographical size.
Any problems relating to MP-to-constituent ratios would be likely to be exacerbated as time passed; Hackney North’s electorate – and its population in general – appears to be growing faster than many others but it will still only have one MP.

Figures from the Office of National Statistics and show that Hackney North’s electorate grew by 20%  between 2001 and 2010. Over the same period Hackney South only managed a 10% increase.

In an internal document seen by the Citizen, the Labour party has now proposed an alternative arrangement whereby Hackney would be covered by three constituencies: Stamford Hill and South Tottenham would be combined into a single constituency, Hackney Central would be a second seat, and Bethnal Green and Shoreditch a third.

Only one of these (Hackney Central) would be wholly in Hackney; the other two would incorporate parts of Haringey and Tower Hamlets respectively. The consultation on the proposed boundary changes runs until 5 December and includes a series of public hearings where members of the public will have the opportunity to ask questions and voice their concerns.