Comment DBCC-7748

I wish to make a submission to the Democracy and Boundary Commission Senedd Pairings first draft. In particular I want to propose an alternative to the pairing of Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr with Dwyfor Meirionnydd.
In short, we would see the pairings in the north changed to be:

- Ynys Môn & Dwyfor Meirionnydd
- Bangor & Clwyd West
- Clywd East, Alyn & Deeside
- Wrexham, Glyndŵr, and Montgomeryshire

In Summary
“The Commision did consider the alternative of combing Dwyfor Meirionnydd with Ceredigion Preseli, and Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr with Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe, however, was of the view that the alternative would create two Senedd constituencies that would be very large and unwieldly.

• The Commission has created a Senedd constituency which is very large and unwieldy in its proposal for pairing Dwyfor Meirionnydd with Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr.

The commission states that its decision on pairing is based on transport links, local ties, shared history, Welsh language and socio economic considerations.
The Transport links between the two constituencies are absolutely minimal.

o The border between the two constituencies is long but only crossed by two good A roads due to the mountains which form that boundary.
o The train from Welshpool to Pwllheli takes 3 hours 20 minutes. The train from Welshpool to Cardiff takes 3 hours, despite the fact that it detours through England
o Cardiff is nearer by road than Aberdaron on the Lleyn peninsula.

Local Ties: There are no known local ties between the constituencies. None.

Shared History: Equally, there are no historic connections between those two points - not even in the ancient kingdoms under Llewelyn Fawr and arguably not under Owain Glyndwr.

Geography: Whilst one sits on the border with England, the other faces the Irish Sea so culturally and socially, they are not contiguous.

Socio Economic Ties: There are no socio economic ties between the two constituencies.
The organisation structure of councils will be a complete mess as the new constituency is expected to cover following County Councils: Denbighshire, Gwynedd, Powys, and Wrexham. No member of the Senedd can do this justice.

My Preferred Pairing is one which does not seem to have been considered by the Electoral Commission as only Dwyfor Meirionnydd and Brecon and Radnorshire are listed as part of the consideration. It is to pair Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr with Wrexham keeps the constituency to two County Councils, two Police and Crime Commissioner areas and is far more accessible in terms of the road network.
We already have the working relationships established, have minimal mountainous interruption and have much better cultural, historical and socio-economic ties.
I ask the Electoral Commission to take this into account and reconsider. The proposal made does not match your criteria and is unworkable as a constituency. Frankly it looks like the Commission does not care about rural areas of Wales.

Respondent type

Member of public

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