Vote UK Almanac New Boundaries development

[nyx]

Question about tenses- I assume that for future proofing it would be preferable to write about these constituencies in the present tense as if they already exist (which they do on paper of course, but not in use until next year)? I tried to do so with the Isle of Wight East entry.

Otherwise the wording of each entry would feel quite outdated as soon as the election passes and these are the only constituencies in existence.

[Robert Waller]

Good point. I am not too fussed either way myself. I would have thought that there are other aspects of these entries which might seem outdated after the election, though ... I would be hoping for rewrites then in any case. This is meant, I hope, to be an evolving project.

[Robert Waller]

Thought it might be time for a general update.

Just over half the new seats now have entries - one can look at the thread count, currently 355, minus about 25 for:
a/ the initial sticky posts in each region with links to the boundary review
b/ threads on which seats have been done, in some but not all regions
c/ constituency threads started but without profiles. See below

Overall this is excellent progress so far in only 3 months, and the general standard of profiles has been high, thank you!

However, though it might on the surface appear as if everything's on track, I would point out that the majority of the profiles have been done by a small number of people, who have been updating the seats they did in the previous online 'edition'. All of these people are now nearing the end of that updating process, with I would say no more than a couple of dozen more between them.

Therefore if we are to continue at anything like the rate needed to complete this project in good time for the next general election I feel I need to
- give fair notice that from a week from now seats are available for anyone to write a profile unless they have previously been done by those who have clearly indicated in either open forum or PM to me that they will update theirs and have been doing so and are closing on the end of the task. In this category are, for example, John Chanin, Pete Whitehead, andrewp and myself.
- I would also like to give a final reminder to those who have started threads saying they will write profiles, bsjmcr in Cambridgeshire comes to mind! Also there are some who have stated in the forum that they will take seats but have not yet done so, such as wysall and jamie in the North East index thread. I am not intending to 'name and shame' here, this exercise is entirely voluntary and of course people are likely to have very good reasons for not doing even what they said they would. But I do feel some clarity would be very helpful at this stage in the project.
- I did PM most of those who contributed last time towards the start of the New Boundary project. Some gracefully and/or with totally convincing reasons said they probably couldn't help. A very few did not reply at all. Of course no excuses are in any way necessary, see previous para. But a few did indicate they would be able to help but have not done so yet. It would be helpful if they could state here or PM me about their current position. In particular the work of therealriga on Northern Ireland, MacShimidh on Glasgow, and Penddu in the much revised Wales, are among those whose excellent work would really fill holes, but responses now from all who helped last time would be most appreciated.
- It would also be helpful if anyone not in position to update their own profiles in the near future would let it be known that they don't mind if some of their work be adapted or re-used - I would ask anyone who does this to give due credit.

My apologies if anyone at all feels slighted in any way by any of the above. That was not my intention. But I hope the reasons why I am making these suggestions are clear, and acceptable.

[Pete Whitehead]

I think I have a few seats to do in the West Middlesex/Bucks area - I can't be sure to remember all the profiles I did. I will try and get these done in the next couple of days. All of them are pre-existing seats with generally quite minor boundary changes.

[Robert Waller]

Oct 8, 2023 11:21:39 GMT Pete Whitehead said:

I think I have a few seats to do in the West Middlesex/Bucks area - I can't be sure to remember all the profiles I did. I will try and get these done in the next couple of days. All of them are pre-existing seats with generally quite minor boundary changes.

Thanks, Pete ... though please note I was not asking you or the others mentioned to finish within the next week. No hurry for anyone who has clearly been progressing through 'their' seats.

[andrewp]

I have the following to do, as successors of seats that I did the first time around.

Chippenham, Glastonbury and Somerton, Mid Dorset and North Poole, Newton Abbot, Gower, Mid and South Pembrokeshire, Monmouthshire. Newport E, Newport W and Islwyn, Swansea W

If no one else plans to do them, I will then move on to Cornwall, what’s left of the former Avon area and Cardiff.

[yellowperil]

Oct 8, 2023 11:02:53 GMT Robert Waller said:

Thought it might be time for a general update.

Just over half the new seats now have entries - one can look at the thread count, currently 355, minus about 25 for:
a/ the initial sticky posts in each region with links to the boundary review
b/ threads on which seats have been done, in some but not all regions
c/ constituency threads started but without profiles. See below

Overall this is excellent progress so far in only 3 months, and the general standard of profiles has been high, thank you!

However, though it might on the surface appear as if everything's on track, I would point out that the majority of the profiles have been done by a small number of people, who have been updating the seats they did in the previous online 'edition'. All of these people are now nearing the end of that updating process, with I would say no more than a couple of dozen more between them.
















Therefore if we are to continue at anything like the rate needed to complete this project in good time for the next general election I feel I need to
- give fair notice that from a week from now seats are available for anyone to write a profile unless they have previously been done by those who have clearly indicated in either open forum or PM to me that they will update theirs and have been doing so and are closing on the end of the task. In this category are, for example, John Chanin , Pete Whitehead , andrewp and myself.
- I would also like to give a final reminder to those who have started threads saying they will write profiles, bsjmcr in Cambridgeshire comes to mind! Also there are some who have stated in the forum that they will take seats but have not yet done so, such as wysall and jamie in the North East index thread. I am not intending to 'name and shame' here, this exercise is entirely voluntary and of course people are likely to have very good reasons for not doing even what they said they would. But I do feel some clarity would be very helpful at this stage in the project.
- I did PM most of those who contributed last time towards the start of the New Boundary project. Some gracefully and/or with totally convincing reasons said they probably couldn't help. A very few did not reply at all. Of course no excuses are in any way necessary, see previous para. But a few did indicate they would be able to help but have not done so yet. It would be helpful if they could state here or PM me about their current position. In particular the work of therealriga on Northern Ireland, MacShimidh on Glasgow, and Penddu in the much revised Wales, are among those whose excellent work would really fill holes, but responses now from all who helped last time would be most appreciated.
- It would also be helpful if anyone not in position to update their own profiles in the near future would let it be known that they don't mind if some of their work be adapted or re-used - I would ask anyone who does this to give due credit.

My apologies if anyone at all feels slighted in any way by any of the above. That was not my intention. But I hope the reasons why I am making these suggestions are clear, and acceptable.

I haven't been named and shamed- perhaps I should have been!- but I am aware I have a number in the south east I did earlier, plus new constituencies including the one I now live in(!) that I have made no progress with. My health has been very poor for the sort of concentrated effort this requires, very different from the quick posts on something trivial which I have managed to keep going! I hope I won't deter anyone from having a go at the Kent and Sussex ones in "my" patch as I don't think I will manage them unless my health markedly improves.At present a withdrawal from the forum altogether has seemed the more likely outcome.  

[batman]

Wishing you much better, YP.

[Robert Waller]

yellowperil
Far from being named etc
If you look at the sentence in my post which starts “some gracefully” I was thinking more of you than anyone else.

You fully explained your situation in a PM then and of course I wasn’t expecting anything from you, for all the wisdom, experience and quality of your previous entries.

[therealriga]

Oct 8, 2023 11:02:53 GMT Robert Waller said:

Thought it might be time for a general update.

Just over half the new seats now have entries - one can look at the thread count, currently 355, minus about 25 for:
a/ the initial sticky posts in each region with links to the boundary review
b/ threads on which seats have been done, in some but not all regions
c/ constituency threads started but without profiles. See below

Overall this is excellent progress so far in only 3 months, and the general standard of profiles has been high, thank you!

However, though it might on the surface appear as if everything's on track, I would point out that the majority of the profiles have been done by a small number of people, who have been updating the seats they did in the previous online 'edition'. All of these people are now nearing the end of that updating process, with I would say no more than a couple of dozen more between them.

Therefore if we are to continue at anything like the rate needed to complete this project in good time for the next general election I feel I need to
- give fair notice that from a week from now seats are available for anyone to write a profile unless they have previously been done by those who have clearly indicated in either open forum or PM to me that they will update theirs and have been doing so and are closing on the end of the task. In this category are, for example, John Chanin , Pete Whitehead , andrewp and myself.
- I would also like to give a final reminder to those who have started threads saying they will write profiles, bsjmcr in Cambridgeshire comes to mind! Also there are some who have stated in the forum that they will take seats but have not yet done so, such as wysall and jamie in the North East index thread. I am not intending to 'name and shame' here, this exercise is entirely voluntary and of course people are likely to have very good reasons for not doing even what they said they would. But I do feel some clarity would be very helpful at this stage in the project.
- I did PM most of those who contributed last time towards the start of the New Boundary project. Some gracefully and/or with totally convincing reasons said they probably couldn't help. A very few did not reply at all. Of course no excuses are in any way necessary, see previous para. But a few did indicate they would be able to help but have not done so yet. It would be helpful if they could state here or PM me about their current position. In particular the work of therealriga on Northern Ireland, MacShimidh on Glasgow, and Penddu in the much revised Wales, are among those whose excellent work would really fill holes, but responses now from all who helped last time would be most appreciated.
- It would also be helpful if anyone not in position to update their own profiles in the near future would let it be known that they don't mind if some of their work be adapted or re-used - I would ask anyone who does this to give due credit.

My apologies if anyone at all feels slighted in any way by any of the above. That was not my intention. But I hope the reasons why I am making these suggestions are clear, and acceptable.

Apologies, Robert, I did say I'd update my NI ones but have been remiss in doing so and I'm now on a "workcation" until the first week of November. I'd be able to do it then but in the meantime, no worries if anyone wants to update my previous efforts (though would appreciate it if they acknowledge they've built on my profile.)

[John Chanin]

I have two more tranches to update. One is basically Leicestershire, which I did towards the end of the previous exercise because no-one else was interested.  The other is a miscellany of seats where my personal history means I have good knowledge. I hope to get these all done before my next holiday in November.  However I am suffering a bit from profile fatigue.  While it is obviously much easier to update a profile, particularly where changes are minor, the original profiles were done over a 3 year period, while I'm trying to cram the updates into 3 months.

There are 3 further seats I could do without any extra work if the originator doesn't.  Beyond that I could update some seats on the basis I did some of the originals - downloading data, doing research, and making a visit.  This would be easier because I could draw on the originals, but obviously it would be better if people who know the seats and did the original would update them themselves. In any case it would be spring before I could guarantee to do anything new.

[jamie]

I intend to do more seats in Northumberland and Durham at some point. I am personally fine with multiple profiles for each seat so if others get there first I’m happy to try and do a better one (and by the same token I welcome others improving on mine).

[Robert Waller]

therealriga

I’m sure you are the right person to update N Ireland - and also that we can wait until November!

[MacShimidh]

Hi folks. I had indeed told Robert Waller that I would rejig my Glasgow profiles and I'm still hoping to do this at some point, but due to life being a bit relentless at the moment I'm not sure when that will be. For that reason I'm more than happy for others to have a crack at the Glasgow profiles before me, and also happy for them to refer to my previous profiles if they so wish!

[iainbhx]

I've not committed to anything so far because of a terrible shortage of time, but I have about 14 days off over Christmas and I can attempt to do several Black Country seats in that period if they haven't been done yet, building of course on the work of others in the previous version. I'd proposed to do the Dudley and Sandwell seats first and move onto Wolves and if I have time Walsall. I'd also do the new Kingswinford & South Staffs seat if it hasn't been done.

[Pete Whitehead]

I think i have done all the seats I had done previously, covering all of Hertfordshire and parts of Middlesex and Buckinghamshire (plus a couple of new ones in the latter two counties). I could potentially do the three seats in the Southern half of Bedfordshire and I'm good for any London seat (especially North & West) that needs doing. I couldn't find the various lists which are on here somewhere that show which seats have been covered

[andrewp]

Nov 29, 2023 18:19:46 GMT Pete Whitehead said:

I think i have done all the seats I had done previously, covering all of Hertfordshire and parts of Middlesex and Buckinghamshire (plus a couple of new ones in the latter two counties). I could potentially do the three seats in the Southern half of Bedfordshire and I'm good for any London seat (especially North & West) that needs doing. I couldn't find the various lists which are on here somewhere that show which seats have been covered

The London gaps, per Robert’s list, are 

Beckenham and Penge
Bermondsey and Old Southwark
Bexleyheath and Crayford
Bromley and Biggin Hill
Chelsea and Fulham
Chipping Barnet
Cities of London and Westminster
Croydon East
Croydon West
Dulwich and West Norwood
Eltham and Chislehurst
Erith and Thamesmead
Greenwich and Woolwich
Kensington and Bayswater
Lewisham East
Lewisham North
Lewisham West and East Dulwich
Old Bexley and Sidcup
Orpington
Peckham 
Queen’s Park and Maida Vale
Streatham and Croydon North

[Pete Whitehead]

Nov 29, 2023 18:34:49 GMT andrewp said:

Nov 29, 2023 18:19:46 GMT Pete Whitehead said:

I think i have done all the seats I had done previously, covering all of Hertfordshire and parts of Middlesex and Buckinghamshire (plus a couple of new ones in the latter two counties). I could potentially do the three seats in the Southern half of Bedfordshire and I'm good for any London seat (especially North & West) that needs doing. I couldn't find the various lists which are on here somewhere that show which seats have been covered

The London gaps, per Robert’s list, are 

Beckenham and Penge
Bermondsey and Old Southwark
Bexleyheath and Crayford
Bromley and Biggin Hill
Chelsea and Fulham
Chipping Barnet
Cities of London and Westminster
Croydon East
Croydon West
Dulwich and West Norwood
Eltham and Chislehurst
Erith and Thamesmead
Greenwich and Woolwich
Kensington and Bayswater
Lewisham East
Lewisham North
Lewisham West and East Dulwich
Old Bexley and Sidcup
Orpington
Peckham 
Queen’s Park and Maida Vale
Streatham and Croydon North

I'll bag these if there's no other takers. I could do the three Southwark based seats too.

[Pete Whitehead]

I can do the Wolverhamptons as well - maybe one or two of the other Black Country seats too if iainbhx is no longer bothered

[iainbhx]

Nov 30, 2023 10:15:08 GMT Pete Whitehead said:

I can do the Wolverhamptons as well - maybe one or two of the other Black Country seats too if iainbhx is no longer bothered

I was planning on doing the Black Country over Christmas as I have two weeks off.