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Plans to cut the number of MPs dropped
David Cameron’s plans to reduce the number of MPs from 650 to 600 have been dropped by the current government, citing the likelihood of ‘a greater workload’ following Brexit.
The former Prime Minister first proposed the idea in 2012, seeking to wipe 50 constituencies from the electoral map in a bid to reduce the cost of politics. Eight years, and two Prime Ministers on, the government has now said it is ‘sensible’ to maintain current numbers.
Cabinet Office minister Chloe Smith said that the government will still go ahead with proposals to create constituencies containing near-equal numbers of voters and call for constituency boundary reviews to take place every eight years instead of every five, but that a reduction in the number of MPs was no longer needed.
Darren Hughes, chief executive of the Electoral Reform Society who said: "Plans to cut voters' representation in the Commons would have undermined the voices of ordinary people in Parliament and hurt democratic scrutiny. The proposals always seemed more like an executive power grab than a genuine move to improve the function of the Commons, so this is a small but welcome victory for backbenchers and voters."
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