Stroud Parliamentary constituency set to lose Nailsworth and Dursley under proposed boundary changes

The ward would become part of the Cotswolds constituency instead, meaning the town’s 5000 voters would have to vote for a different MP in the next General Election.

The shakeup will mean Conservative MP for Stroud Neil Carmichael will have to relocate his constituency office away from the town.

The redrawing of the constituency map would also see Stroud lose five other wards: Dursley, Berkeley Ward, Vale Ward, Cam West and Cam East.

Some 15,000 voters here would instead join a newly-created Dursley, Thornbury and Yate constituency - whose current MP is Conservative Luke Hall.

Stroud would however gain the Quedgeley Severn Vale and Quedgeley Fieldcourt wards to the north from the Gloucester constituency.

This would see the constituency gain almost 13,000 voters – meaning overall the number in Stroud would fall by around 3,000.

The constituency would be left with just over 71,000 voters.

(Blue, the current boundary lines for the Stroud Parliamentary constituency and, red, the proposed changes to the map)

The draft plans are one of a number across the UK announced by the Boundary Commission today.

It is seeking to ensure that electorates are more equal in size, with the number of MPs reduced from 533 to 501 in England, from 40 to 29 in Wales, from 59 to 53 in Scotland and from 18 to 17 in Northern Ireland.

The commission’s report said: “We propose to include the Stroud district ward of Nailsworth in The Cotswolds constituency to ensure that it is within 5 per cent of the electoral quota.

“We also propose that the remaining 21 Stroud district wards are included in our proposed Stroud constituency together with the Gloucester city wards of Quedgeley Fieldcourt and Quedgeley Severn Vale.”

It continued: “Having included the wards of Boyd Valley, and Frampton Cotterell in other constituencies, the existing Thornbury and Yate constituency needs to gain electors from Stroud district.

“To bring this constituency within 5 per cent of the electoral quota, we propose to include five Stroud district wards, including the towns of Cam and Dursley, from the existing Stroud constituency, and two wards (Kingswood and Wotton‑under‑Edge) from the existing The Cotswolds constituency.

“As a result of these changes, our proposed name for this constituency is Dursley, Thornbury and Yate.”

Stroud has been represented in the House of Commons by Mr Carmichael since 2010.

In 2015’s General Election he won 27,813 votes compared to his Labour rival David Drew’s 22,947.

What impact the planned changes will have on elections is uncertain.

Two wards that Stroud is set to lose – Nailsworth and Dursley - are currently Labour voter strongholds.

On the other hand Berkeley Vale, which is also leaving, is a steadfast Tory stronghold.

Cam West and Cam East are mixed, each with one Labour and one Conservative district councillor.

Quedgeley has also voted blue in the last few elections – with both wards electing two Conservative councillors to Gloucester City Council earlier this year.

These are only proposals and the public is invited to makes its views known by December 5 2016 on the Boundary Commission's website.

Under the draft plans, the number of parliamentary constituencies will fall significantly, reducing the number of MPs in Parliament by 50 to 600, while most seats will change in size and character, for the first time in at least a decade.

The shake-up will pit existing MPs against each other for re-election and could have a big impact on the outcome of the 2020 poll, as well as the internal dynamics of the leading parties, particularly Labour.

Click here to view the changes.