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Post by gwynthegriff on Jun 26, 2020 21:44:40 GMT
Now moving across the border: Birmingham Hodge Hill – where on earth is Hodge Hill?! I'm sure it's a made-up place that no-one actually lives in. The constituency should be called something like Birmingham Saltley or Birmingham Ward End Cannock Chase – this should just be Cannock South Staffordshire – this should be Seisdon; they missed an opportunity for a good obscure hundred name for a bunch of non-descript commuter villages Staffordshire Moorlands – this should obviously be called Leek Stoke-on-Trent North, Central, and South – should be Stoke-on-Trent Burslem, Hanley, and Longton Warley – better known as Smethwick West Bromwich East – drop the East West Bromwich West – call it Wednesbury The Wrekin – I mean, honestly, naming a constituency after a mountain? Call it Wellington Wyre Forest – if it can't be called Bewdley, it should at least be called Kidderminster Where is your romance and imagination   Without unusual constituency names how would we ever have heard of Eye ? |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 26, 2020 21:54:39 GMT
Where is your romance and imagination Without unusual constituency names how would we ever have heard of Eye ? If the BCs worked from the hard and fast rules suggested here (and similar threads) then I dare say we wouldn't have many of the weird and wonderful names of the years. |
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Richard Allen
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Post by Richard Allen on Jun 26, 2020 21:57:26 GMT
Now moving across the border: Birmingham Hodge Hill – where on earth is Hodge Hill?! I'm sure it's a made-up place that no-one actually lives in. The constituency should be called something like Birmingham Saltley or Birmingham Ward End Hodge Hill is East of Ward End, South of Bromford and North of the River Cole. I will grant that is a pretty small area to name a constituency after but is very much a real place. |
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Post by therealriga on Jun 26, 2020 22:02:17 GMT
Which isn't even the largest town in the constituency. I don't think size of settlement should be the main factor in constituency names, it should be based on historical significance and where is well known outside of the area. So Wantage instead of Didcot, Sedgefield instead of Newton Aycliffe, and Wells instead of Street or Burnham. Didcot is a pretty important railway junction so I suspect many will have heard of it, certainly more than Wantage. |
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Post by where2travel on Jun 26, 2020 22:13:49 GMT
Thank you for the insight into Wales! Looks like Pembrokeshire also throws up the irritating 2x sets of compass points, Camarthen West and South Pembs. It would be nice to continue with my National Park idea, but I assume Pembrokeshire Coast wouldn't do because the coast is split between the two? At least Tatton isn't actually a NT property, so it abides by your rule Tatton Park *is* an NT property, at least according to the NT app on my phone. Call it Tatton Park then? Tatton on its own just seems somewhat odd. Or Wilmslow & Knutsford, given Cheshire has managed to avoid using the county name in its constituency names? |
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Post by 🏴☠️ Neath West 🏴☠️ on Jun 26, 2020 22:42:17 GMT
Aberconwy – this was a rubbish name for a district running the entire length of the Conwy Valley, and it is still a rubbish name for a constituency; it should just be called Conwy Which isn't even the largest town in the constituency. Okay, Vale of Conwy then, to make it obvious it's the river. |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 26, 2020 23:22:02 GMT
Inverness Nairn, Badenoch & Strathepey - Inverness & Nairn
West Aberdeenshire & Kincardine - Kincardine & Deeside
Perth & North Perthshire - North Perthshire
Ochil & South Perthshire - Ochil & Strathearn
Linlithgow & East Falkirk - Linlithgow & Falkirk East
Falkirk - Falkirk West
Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale & Tweeddale - just abolish that monstrosity
Paisley & Renfrewshire North - Paisley North
Paisley & Renfrewshire South - Paisley South
Derbyshire Dales - West Derbyshire
Brecon and Radnorshire - Brecon & Radnor
Barrow & Furness - Barrow-in-Furness
North West Cambridgeshire - Isle of Ely
I have more - undoubtedly others that were given stupid names in the 1983 or 1997 boundary reviews but that's all I can think of for now.
Part of me wants to rename Ynys Mon to "Isle of Anglesey", but I constantly sing the praises of "Na h' Eileanan an Iar", so I had better leave it......
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Post by finsobruce on Jun 26, 2020 23:34:12 GMT
Where is your romance and imagination Without unusual constituency names how would we ever have heard of Eye ? Who nose? |
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jamie
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Post by jamie on Jun 27, 2020 0:03:58 GMT
While I recognise the existence of Durham council, the names ‘Durham North’ and ‘Durham North West’ are rather misleading considering 100000s of people live further north in what they would consider Durham. The latter in particularly stretches rather far south. ‘Chester Le Street’ and ‘Consett and Weardale’ would be preferable in my view.
‘Blyth Valley’ is named after an old council area and is unnecessarily long. ‘Blyth’ is fine.
Not a fan of ‘Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland’. ‘Middlesbrough South and Guisborough’ would be a good name instead.
‘Barrow and Furness’ is rather problematic considering most of the population of Furness is in Barrow. ‘Barrow’ is fine.
‘Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford’ (and Knottingley according to Yvette Cooper) is unnecessarily long. Would it really be a great injustice to simply call it ‘Castleford’?
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Post by Deleted on Jun 27, 2020 0:05:15 GMT
Bristol West - should be Bristol Central. There is no west of Bristol, and if there is this certainly doesn't cover it. Or you could name the Bristol seats after areas of Bristol, in this case Clifton & Lawrence Hill
NE Beds- contains the most north-westerly point of the county. Should be Biggleswade, or Biggleswade & Sharnbrook, or at a push North Beds if you insist on just using the county.
Stroud - Stroud contains a small proportion of the population but hogs most of the attention. Severnside & West Cotswolds would accurately describe the area without making people think there's only one town in the seat.
Kingswood - not even named after a current local authority. Mangotsfield is at least as good a name.
N Somerset - unnecessarily lazy, Portishead & Clevedon would be fine.
Witney - same issue as Stroud, should be West Oxon.
Northampton South - contains the northern border of Northampton, doesn't contain the most southerly point. Name them after districts of the town.
Corby - and the rest! Corby & Irthlingborough would be more accurate.
Newcastle North - contains the southern border of the city. Should be Newcastle West
SW Wilts - again, unnecessarily lazy. Trowbridge & Westbury works just as well.
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Post by Pete Whitehead on Jun 27, 2020 0:36:18 GMT
While I recognise the existence of Durham council, the names ‘Durham North’ and ‘Durham North West’ are rather misleading considering 100000s of people live further north in what they would consider Durham. The latter in particularly stretches rather far south. ‘Chester Le Street’ and ‘Consett and Weardale’ would be preferable in my view. ‘Blyth Valley’ is named after an old council area and is unnecessarily long. ‘Blyth’ is fine. Not a fan of ‘Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland’. ‘Middlesbrough South and Guisborough’ would be a good name instead. ‘Barrow and Furness’ is rather problematic considering most of the population of Furness is in Barrow. ‘Barrow’ is fine. ‘Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford’ (and Knottingley according to Yvette Cooper) is unnecessarily long. Would it really be a great injustice to simply call it ‘Castleford’? Agree with most of these - Cleveland would be the best name for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland. I would support Pontefract rather than Castleford for historical reasons Stroud - Stroud contains a small proportion of the population but hogs most of the attention. Severnside & West Cotswolds would accurately describe the area without making people think there's only one town in the seat. Is this a fucking joke? |
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Post by Pete Whitehead on Jun 27, 2020 0:43:06 GMT
Gravesham should be Gravesend
NW Norfolk should be Kings Lynn
NE Cambridgshire should be Wisbech
North Devon should be Barnstaple
North Herefordshire should be Leominster
SW Wiltshire should be Westbury
North Wiltshire should be Malmesbury
NW Hamshire should be Andover
East Hampshire should be Petersfield
SW Surrey should be Farnham
Staffordshire Moorlands should be Leek
West Lancashire should be Ormskirk
Hertsmere is a crap name. In contrast with those who entertain the bizarre notion that a constituency should not be named after a settlement if it contains some other settlements, I should be perfectly happy for it to be called Elstree
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Post by Deleted on Jun 27, 2020 0:54:17 GMT
Stroud - Stroud contains a small proportion of the population but hogs most of the attention. Severnside & West Cotswolds would accurately describe the area without making people think there's only one town in the seat. Is this a fucking joke? Slightly tongue-in-cheek but not really a joke. Everybody seems to be under the impression that the constituency doesn't cover anything other than the town of Stroud, despite it being the least representative part of the area. |
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Post by bjornhattan on Jun 27, 2020 0:56:38 GMT
Newcastle North - contains the southern border of the city. Should be Newcastle West The problem is Newcastle North doesn't include what we actually call the "West End", which is instead in Newcastle upon Tyne Central (centred on Wingrove ward). North West would be the best compass point name, if you're willing to accept two. |
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bsjmcr
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Post by bsjmcr on Jun 27, 2020 1:19:25 GMT
Now moving across the border: South Staffordshire – this should be Seisdon; they missed an opportunity for a good obscure hundred name for a bunch of non-descript commuter villages Staffordshire Moorlands – this should obviously be called Leek Stoke-on-Trent North, Central, and South – should be Stoke-on-Trent Burslem, Hanley, and Longton Agreed with all of yours, other than these. South Staffs makes sense (and in response to many subsequent posts) as does using counties and (ideally a single compass point) for any large county area with many of villages of similar size. It might be 'boring'/lacking in 'character' to geography enthusiasts who happen to know where these places are, but for the members and public of those who live within and nationally (when constituencies are in the news/election results), they should be placeable. This system also prevents NIMBYism from villages wanting their name on the map, resulting in Normanton/Scotland scenarios, whereas with County names they are contained within a geographical area which is accurate and true. Staffs Moorlands is another Derbyshire Dales I'd like to think, but North Staffordshire would also work. Stoke I'd say is one of the ideal most scenarios that many cities ought to follow! Where the city can be split geographically into logical divisions, a Central, North and South is perfect! This could be done for cities with up to 5 divisions - Central (which must include the city centre), N/S/E/W if possible. In Leeds/Glasgow/Edinburgh they went further of course and divided them further, but 5 is the most ideal. Oh and what happened to Leeds South? Surely that's what Ed Balls' seat should have been? Somebody mentioned Manchester - the ridiculously tight boundaries of the city doesn't allow for compass points for the whole city of course (though as well as a North, there could be a Manchester East joining the areas near the City stadium with Failsworth/Droylsden. Meanwhile Nottingham's boundaries are so tight it results in there being no West! However to go with my previous idea of making the suburbs more identifiable, it would be better off going with the City, Area model as you end up with 6 - Nottingham: Beeston (Broxtowe), West Bridgford (Rushcliffe), Central and Clifton (South), Carlton (Gedling), Bulwell (North). East could be Mapperley, but it's currently too small so predict it will end up blended with the current North and Carlton So it isn't one size fits all, but as I say Stoke is a good example. Leicester is getting there, with a South, East and West, perhaps Charnwood should be Leicester North to complete the set. Makes sense to me. Who else knows where Charnwood is? Liverpool, having 5, could switch, but may need major boundary changes to tidy it up... Riverside=Central, Garston&Halewood = South, West Derby= East... fine The difficulty comes with Wavertree and Walton, becoming South East and North East respectively, which might be less than ideal. Then again, 'Liverpool West' would be pretty difficult to achieve. I'm surprised we've come this far without mentioning Sefton Central! |
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bsjmcr
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Post by bsjmcr on Jun 27, 2020 1:35:42 GMT
Inverness Nairn, Badenoch & Strathepey - Inverness & Nairn West Aberdeenshire & Kincardine - Kincardine & Deeside Perth & North Perthshire - North Perthshire Ochil & South Perthshire - Ochil & Strathearn Linlithgow & East Falkirk - Linlithgow & Falkirk East Falkirk - Falkirk West Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale & Tweeddale - just abolish that monstrosity Paisley & Renfrewshire North - Paisley North Paisley & Renfrewshire South - Paisley South Derbyshire Dales - West Derbyshire Brecon and Radnorshire - Brecon & Radnor Barrow & Furness - Barrow-in-Furness North West Cambridgeshire - Isle of ElyI have more - undoubtedly others that were given stupid names in the 1983 or 1997 boundary reviews but that's all I can think of for now. Part of me wants to rename Ynys Mon to "Isle of Anglesey", but I constantly sing the praises of "Na h' Eileanan an Iar", so I had better leave it...... Mostly good stuff, apart from the loss of identifiable Aberdeenshire (and Deeside could cause confusion with Wales?), and careful with Ely, the city's in SE Cambridgeshire? Also don't believe in calling things that aren't islands, islands. Never understood the double standards in Barrow. It has always been -in-, but it had to become 'and'! Also Stratford -upon- or -on-Avon? Very minor, but still. |
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bsjmcr
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Post by bsjmcr on Jun 27, 2020 1:43:43 GMT
Tatton Park *is* an NT property, at least according to the NT app on my phone. Call it Tatton Park then? Tatton on its own just seems somewhat odd. Or Wilmslow & Knutsford, given Cheshire has managed to avoid using the county name in its constituency names? Inclined to agree, but thought that Alderley Edge was always the reason for preventing Wilmslow and Knutsford, thinking they were all roughly equally sized, so otherwise ending up with another Normanton, but turns out AE is tiny! Either that, or NE Cheshire. Weaver Vale - NW Cheshire, but really Northwich is better as it's huge and reasonably well known. Maybe risk of confusion with Norwich? Surely not! Eddisbury - Cheshire West, seeing it is most of the district except 'and Chester', though on closer inspection it has bits of Cheshire East. South West Cheshire then. Nantwich can disappear, it's tiny compared to Crewe! I think everyone should agree with Halton becoming Runcorn and Widnes? |
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bsjmcr
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Post by bsjmcr on Jun 27, 2020 1:52:42 GMT
And it's commonly, and completely wrongly, referred to, even in quite august publications, as "Tyneside North". I don't suppose nearby "Shields South" has also cropped up? |
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Post by minionofmidas on Jun 27, 2020 3:29:33 GMT
I don't think size of settlement should be the main factor in constituency names, it should be based on historical significance and where is well known outside of the area. So Wantage instead of Didcot, Sedgefield instead of Newton Aycliffe, and Wells instead of Street or Burnham. Didcot is a pretty important railway junction so I suspect many will have heard of it, certainly more than Wantage. Yeah, I'm pretty sure I've never heard of Wantage outside of electoral contexts. |
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Post by Andrew_S on Jun 27, 2020 4:06:15 GMT
Gravesham should be Gravesend NW Norfolk should be Kings Lynn NE Cambridgshire should be Wisbech North Devon should be Barnstaple North Herefordshire should be Leominster SW Wiltshire should be Westbury North Wiltshire should be Malmesbury NW Hamshire should be Andover East Hampshire should be Petersfield SW Surrey should be Farnham Staffordshire Moorlands should be Leek West Lancashire should be Ormskirk Hertsmere is a crap name. In contrast with those who entertain the bizarre notion that a constituency should not be named after a settlement if it contains some other settlements, I should be perfectly happy for it to be called Elstree Good suggestions. I like constituency names which are just one place in the constituency like Burton which could have easily been re-named East Staffordshire or Burton & Uttoxeter but thankfully never has been. Also I don't think more than two names should be used except very sparingly. Inverness, Nairn and Lochaber was okay although just Inverness was probably better. Instead of Croydon Central / North / South you could have Croydon / Norbury / Coulsdon. An interesting exercise would be to try to name every constituency after just one place in this way. Orkney & Shetland would be an exception. |
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