Press Releases

Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland
PRESS NOTICE
Forestview, Newtownbreda, Belfast BT8 7AR

16 May 2003

REVIEW OF PARLIAMENTARY CONSTITUENCIES

A review of the boundaries of all Parliamentary constituencies has been announced by the Parliamentary Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland. The Commission are a statutory body, which make periodical reports to the Secretary of State showing the constituencies into which it is recommended Northern Ireland should be divided. The Commission submitted their last report to the Secretary of State in June 1995.

Provisional recommendations for constituencies must be drawn up in accordance with statutory rules contained in the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986. The Act provides that the number of constituencies in Northern Ireland shall not be greater than 18 or less than 16, and shall be 17 unless it appears to the Commission that Northern Ireland should for the time being be divided into 16 or 18 constituencies. There are currently 18 constituencies in Northern Ireland.

Members of the public and bodies and organisations with an interest in the Commission's recommendations will be invited to express their views when the Commission's provisional recommendations are published later this year.

Notes for Editors

1. The Chairman of the Commission is the Speaker of the House of Commons, the Rt Hon Michael Martin MP. The Deputy Chairman of the Commission is the Hon Mr Justice Coghlin, a Northern Ireland High Court Judge. The other members of the Commission are Mr Richard Mackenzie CB and Mrs Joan Ruddock OBE.

2. The Commission's recommendations must avoid excessive disparities between the electorate of any constituency and the electoral quota. The quota is obtained by dividing the electorate for Northern Ireland by the number of existing constituencies. The number of Parliamentary electors on the Register of Electors on 16 May 2003 was 1,097,450. The number of Parliamentary electors in each constituency is reproduced in the attached Annex. The electoral quota is 60,969.

3. Once the Commission have published provisional recommendations, representations may be made to the Commission within one month. Local public inquiries must be held if representations or objections to the proposals are received from an interested local authority or from a body of 100 or more electors. Inquiries are conducted by an assistant commissioner appointed by the Secretary of State whose reports must be considered by the Commission before they submit their final recommendations.

4. The Commission's report must be laid before Parliament by the Secretary of State. Any new constituencies or alterations to the boundaries of existing constituencies take effect at the General Election following the approval by Parliament and the making of an Order in Council laid before Parliament by the Secretary of State to give effect to the Commission's recommendations with or without modification. The recommendations made by the Commission following their last general review in 1995 were accepted by the Government without modification.

5. Further information can be obtained from the Secretariat to the Commission.

CONSTITUENCY ELECTORATES

On 16 May 2003, the enumeration date for the purpose of the review, there were 1,097,450 persons on the Parliamentary register of electors in Northern Ireland. The electoral quota calculated by reference to the existing number of constituencies was therefore 60,969.

Constituency	Electorate	% +/- average of 60,969
Belfast East	51899	-14.9
Belfast North	51422	-15.7
Belfast South	50599	-17.0
Belfast West	50870	-16.6
East Antrim	55453	- 9.0
East Londonderry	56166	- 7.9
Fermanagh and South Tyrone	64345	+ 5.5
Foyle	65151	+ 6.9
Lagan Valley	67963	+11.5
Mid Ulster	60119	- 1.4
Newry and Armagh	68730	+12.7
North Antrim	70582	+15.8
North Down	57435	- 5.8
South Antrim	63587	+ 4.3
South Down	70173	+15.1
Strangford	66303	+ 8.7
Upper Bann	68806	+12.9
West Tyrone	57847	- 5.1
	Total 1,097,450