- I am the Member of Parliament for Banbury and was first elected to the seat in 2015. I represent the two large market towns of Banbury and Bicester together with the 54 surrounding villages. The constituency is currently one of the largest in the country. At the 2019 election, there were 90,116 registered voters.
- Since my election in 2015, it has always been clear to me that there would have to be some fundamental re-drawing of the constituency boundaries. We have witnessed significant growth in the area in the past few years. Cherwell District Council is one of the leading house-building authorities in the country witnessing a pre-pandemic peak of three new houses constructed a day.
- The current Banbury constituency is 13,518 electors above the maximum permitted. It seems logical to create a new constituency to cover the Bicester area along the boundary line proposed.
- I acknowledge that in splitting the current constituency in half, it is necessary to bring in some additional areas for both seats to comply with Rule 2. Specifically, it has been proposed that Banbury will incorporate some of the Witney constituency.
- I appreciate that there might be some disappointment among residents in the Witney constituency given the substantive changes that are proposed. However, it was inevitable that the size of the constituency would need to be addressed, as is the case with Banbury, given that it is currently above the maximum number of electors permitted.
- It strikes me as logical to incorporate some of the current Witney constituency into the new Banbury constituency boundaries given the longstanding historical connections there are between some of the communities, including Chipping Norton and Woodstock.
- While the Banbury constituency will cover wards in two local authorities – Cherwell District Council and West Oxfordshire District Council – I see no reason why this should prove problematic.
- For some time I have referred to my current constituency as North Oxfordshire given that it incorporates the large towns of both Banbury and Bicester. While not its official name, it has become appropriate as the constituency has grown. Going forward, the proposal to retain the Banbury constituency name and use Bicester for the newly-created constituency seems entirely sensible.
- In conclusion, I support the draft proposals for the 2023 Boundary Review. They provide a practical remedy to the issue of significant population growth which has led to some of the Oxfordshire constituencies exceeding the maximum number of electors permitted. The proposed boundary lines seem realistic and would, I hope, cause very little disruption to residents living within them.
