By Jamie Hailstone The Electoral Commission has called for more flexibility in changing the number of councillors per ward. A new report into electoral review policies by the commission said there was strong support for moving away from three member wards in metropolitan areas. The report includes findings from a 12-week consultation, which found that 92% of respondents wanted to be able to change ward and division names without the need for an electoral review. There was also a call to make commission reviews into changing ward structures more flexible and take community identities into account. But there were problems in agreeing how it should be measured, with some respondents saying the commission should look at transport links, while others wanted the location of community facilities to be the basis for any ward changes. Commission chairman, Sam Younger, said: ‘Changes to local authority electoral arrangements affect the level of representation voters have in an area, the number of councillors elected to local authorities, and the make-up of wards and county divisions. ‘This report provides a valuable insight into the current review system and will form a good starting point from which we can seek to make changes for future reviews.’ Chair of the Boundary Committee, Pamela Gordon, added: ‘Community identity is of great importance to voters and, together with electoral equality, should be a key consideration during all electoral reviews. We will be interested in any government perspective on community, its nature and definition, that may emerge in the forthcoming local government White Paper.’ j.hailstone@hgluk.com
