County vs Borough constituency status

[nyx]

Is obviously fairly arbitrary except for the purpose of election expenses, but I was still surprised when browsing the map at just how arbitrary the divide seems to be. Here's a list of the largest borough constituencies by area, and the smallest county constituencies by area, by new boundaries. England only because I couldn't find area data for elsewhere.

I have to think it would make more sense to just specify a dividing line- e.g. county if over 65 km^2- because I really can't think of any logical criteria which would lead to the constituencies listed being sorted into county/borough status in the way they have been.

County constituencies under 70 km^2
Maidstone and Malling 51.89 km^2
Chatham and Aylesford 56.27
Hemel Hempstead 57.41
East Worthing and Shoreham 57.48
Leeds East 58.12
St Albans 59.72
Wigan 60.55
Broxtowe 60.77
Hazel Grove 61.43
Stalybridge and Hyde 63.28
Stevenage 63.45
Gedling 64.01
Dartford 65.41
Rayleigh and Wickford 68.68
Houghton and Sunderland South 69.20


Borough constituencies over 60 km^2

Redcar 82.68 km^2
Basingstoke 78.67
Castle Point 76.87
Thurrock 71.35
Washington and Gateshead South 69.85
Orpington 67.89
Milton Keynes Central 65.83
Lincoln 63.97
Woking 63.64
Spen Valley 62.15
Basildon and Billericay 61.88
Halifax 61.54
Wakefield and Rothwell 60.71

[YL]

It does seem a bit arbitrary but I'm not sure area is the best criterion, as some constituencies include areas which are almost completely uninhabited and so add to the area but don't actually add any rural voters. Castle Point is a good example of this: much of that area is marshes and the actual rural electorate must be tiny.

[islington]

Nov 21, 2023 7:32:57 GMT YL said:

It does seem a bit arbitrary but I'm not sure area is the best criterion, as some constituencies include areas which are almost completely uninhabited and so add to the area but don't actually add any rural voters. Castle Point is a good example of this: much of that area is marshes and the actual rural electorate must be tiny.

This.

The criterion for being a CC is - or at least, used to be (I haven't checked lately) - that the seat contains 'more than a token rural electorate' (note: 'electorate', not 'area').

Having said that, I'd certainly be receptive to an argument that the distinction no longer serves any useful purpose and that instead we could have a uniform rule for election expenses (based, I'd suggest, mainly on the number of electors but augmented by an additional (small) amount per sq km).

Edited to add: Although the nostalgiac in me does appreciate the distinction between 'BC' and 'CC' as a nod of acknowledgment of the way our system evolved.

(Hmm... 'nostalgiac' apparently not a word. Well it ought to be.)

[European Lefty]

I agree it's nice to retain the distinction for that reason, though basing election expenses on it is probably no longer necessary

[ntyuk1707]

Nov 21, 2023 12:07:57 GMT islington said:

Nov 21, 2023 7:32:57 GMT YL said:

It does seem a bit arbitrary but I'm not sure area is the best criterion, as some constituencies include areas which are almost completely uninhabited and so add to the area but don't actually add any rural voters. Castle Point is a good example of this: much of that area is marshes and the actual rural electorate must be tiny.

This.

The criterion for being a CC is - or at least, used to be (I haven't checked lately) - that the seat contains 'more than a token rural electorate' (note: 'electorate', not 'area').

Having said that, I'd certainly be receptive to an argument that the distinction no longer serves any useful purpose and that instead we could have a uniform rule for election expenses (based, I'd suggest, mainly on the number of electors but augmented by an additional (small) amount per sq km).

Edited to add: Although the nostalgiac in me does appreciate the distinction between 'BC' and 'CC' as a nod of acknowledgment of the way our system evolved.

(Hmm... 'nostalgiac' apparently not a word. Well it ought to be.)

That criterion is absolutely not adhered to.

• Around 25% of Edinburgh West's electorate is located outside of the Edinburgh urban area and it is a burgh constituency.
  
• Whereas only around 14% of East Renfrewshire's electorate is located outside of the Glasgow urban area and it is a county constituency.
• Around 14% of Dundee East's electorate is located outside of the Dundee urban area and it has a similar geographic size to East Renfrewshire, yet it is a burgh constituency.

It would seem, as is the case for Dundee East, that if a majority of electors live in the 'city proper' and the significant majority of the electorate live in dormitory towns and villages for that city, then an exception can be made even if that constituency has a clear 'rural' component to it.

[ntyuk1707]

Nov 20, 2023 23:40:22 GMT nyx said:

Is obviously fairly arbitrary except for the purpose of election expenses, but I was still surprised when browsing the map at just how arbitrary the divide seems to be. Here's a list of the largest borough constituencies by area, and the smallest county constituencies by area, by new boundaries. England only because I couldn't find area data for elsewhere.

I have to think it would make more sense to just specify a dividing line- e.g. county if over 65 km^2- because I really can't think of any logical criteria which would lead to the constituencies listed being sorted into county/borough status in the way they have been.

County constituencies under 70 km^2
Maidstone and Malling 51.89 km^2
Chatham and Aylesford 56.27
Hemel Hempstead 57.41
East Worthing and Shoreham 57.48
Leeds East 58.12
St Albans 59.72
Wigan 60.55
Broxtowe 60.77
Hazel Grove 61.43
Stalybridge and Hyde 63.28
Stevenage 63.45
Gedling 64.01
Dartford 65.41
Rayleigh and Wickford 68.68
Houghton and Sunderland South 69.20


Borough constituencies over 60 km^2

Redcar 82.68 km^2
Basingstoke 78.67
Castle Point 76.87
Thurrock 71.35
Washington and Gateshead South 69.85
Orpington 67.89
Milton Keynes Central 65.83
Lincoln 63.97
Woking 63.64
Spen Valley 62.15
Basildon and Billericay 61.88
Halifax 61.54
Wakefield and Rothwell 60.71

Aberdeen South; Coatbridge, Chryston & Bellshill; Edinburgh South West; Edinburgh West; Dundee East; and Dundee West are all well-over 60km^2

[nyx]

Nov 21, 2023 12:07:57 GMT islington said:

Nov 21, 2023 7:32:57 GMT YL said:

It does seem a bit arbitrary but I'm not sure area is the best criterion, as some constituencies include areas which are almost completely uninhabited and so add to the area but don't actually add any rural voters. Castle Point is a good example of this: much of that area is marshes and the actual rural electorate must be tiny.

This.

The criterion for being a CC is - or at least, used to be (I haven't checked lately) - that the seat contains 'more than a token rural electorate' (note: 'electorate', not 'area').

Regardless of how you define rural, however, it's clear that this rule is not applied consistently. For example, East Worthing and Shoreham doesn't have a meaningful rural electorate- virtually all of its population is in the coastal conurbation- but is a county constituency. Yet Basingstoke has more rural villages but is a borough constituency.