Proposals for parliamentary boundaries

The Boundary Commission for England (BCE) is required by Parliament to undertake an independent and impartial review of all constituencies in England, to rebalance the number of electors in each constituency.

Constituency sizes currently vary widely due to population changes since the last boundary review.

The new map proposed by the Commission will make sure each constituency has between 69,724 and 77,062 electors, so that each MP represents roughly the same number of electors.

Sunderland currently has three parliamentary constituencies of Houghton and Sunderland South, Sunderland Central and Washington and Sunderland West.

These were first contested in the 2010 General election following a previous boundary review.

The proposals now for Sunderland's three parliamentary constituencies are:

•          Sunderland Central constituency - Unchanged from current constituency and initial proposals

•          Houghton and Sunderland South Constituency - comprises the current constituency plus St. Anne's Ward

•          Washington Constituency - comprises Washington Central, Washington East, Washington North, Washington South and Washington West wards, the Redhill and Castle wards plus Birtley and Lamesley wards in Gateshead. Changes from the current Washington and Sunderland West Constituency comprise the removal of St. Anne's and the additions of Birtley and Lamesley Wards.

Other changes are proposed in the North East. The regional report and constituency maps are here: North East | Boundary Commission for England (independent.gov.uk)

The Commission has listened to the feedback sent in from the public, and have changed nearly half of the initial proposals published last year. The new revised proposals are now available to view via an interactive map on the consultation website. See: BCE Consultation Portal (bcereviews.org.uk)  

Consultation on the proposals is open until Monday 5 December and is the last chance to provide your views on new constituency boundaries.

The Boundary Commission for England has invited the public to visit BCE Consultation Portal (bcereviews.org.uk) and comment on the proposals via the website, email or letter.

Maps can be viewed at:

•         Houghton and Sunderland South Constituency map at Houghton Library

•         Sunderland Central Constituency map at Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens

•         Washington Constituency map at - Washington Library.

The full list can be found at: North East | Boundary Commission for England (independent.gov.uk) 

You can give your feedback on anything from where the proposed electoral boundaries are, to the suggestions for new constituency names.

The 2023 Boundary Review also requires that the number of constituencies in England increases from 533 to 543.