Based on the 2023 boundaries, the least represented constituency is Birmingham Ladywood with 151,867 residents and just 76,585 registered voters. Photograph: Joe Giddens/PA
New map based on electoral roll not actual populations, meaning some MPs will be supporting 50% more people than others.
Some of Britain’s most deprived communities could find it harder to get parliamentary representation based on how UK constituencies have been redrawn, according to research backed by anti-poverty campaigners.
The latest boundary review was meant to equalise constituencies, redrawing the outline of MPs’ seats on the basis of the electoral roll, but did not take the actual populations into account.
The result is that some new MPs will be supporting as many as 50% more constituents than others, with tens of thousands of additional people meaning larger caseloads.
Poorer places such as Peterborough, whose MP will be representing nearly 130,000 people, compare badly in comparison with wealthier areas such as New Forest West, which has 85,006 people living there.
Constituencies with the largest resident populations are also more likely to be in inner-city areas, according to research carried out as part of a major new voter registration drive, with lower levels of registration and often higher levels of deprivation.
They included Birmingham Ladywood (which had 76,585 on the electoral roll but 151,867 living there), West Ham and Beckton (which had 70,590 on the electoral roll but 137,226 living there) as well as Barking, Brent East and Tottenham.
Seven in 10 of England’s smallest constituencies by population size are in more affluent areas including New Forest West, Mid Derbyshire and Christchurch.
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