Comment DBCC-7759

I want to propose an alternative to the pairing of Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr with Dwyfor Meirionnydd.
I see the pairings in the north changed to be:

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

1.0 Summary
“The Commission did consider the alternative of combining 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. 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 the 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.
Our preferred pairing of 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.
We ask the Electoral Commission to take this into account and reconsider.

2.0 The Boundary Commission Rationale

We recognise that the Boundary Commission’s rational for pairing Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr with Dwyfor Meirionnydd is as the Commission stated:
“The Commission did consider the alternative of combining 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.
They are of the view that there are reasonable road links between the areas of the proposed constituency such as between Machynlleth and Dolgellau.
Whilst the Commission is of the view that it is not ideal to propose such a large constituency it is the best option in terms of proposing a contiguous combination of 2 UK parliamentary constituencies in the area.”
3.0 Reasons the Boundary Commission should Reconsider
I will now set out my reasons, in line with the criteria that the Commission were given by the Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Act 2024.
The Boundary Commission states in its rationale for this pairing that (1) some combinations of constituencies are too large and unwieldy and that (2) there are good road links which underpin the pairing.
Firstly on the issue of the size of the constituency.
I object to the size of the pairing on the grounds of the sheer scale of the geography and also on the basis of the number of organisational groupings which may not speak to geographical size but absolutely add to the complexity of the constituency.
The current pairing of Dwyfor Meirionnydd with Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr covers 4 county councils and the full breadth of Wales from Llangurig at its south-easterly tip to Ynys Enlli at the most north-westerly - those two points know nothing of how the other live and a representative in the Senedd cannot know nor represent their local needs.
Geographically, that pairing is the largest and has the most mountains which makes the job of organisation and representation incredibly difficult and risks endangering trust in the democratic processes of the Senedd. Too many people already believe that 'Cardiff doesn't understand us' and this pairing will only reinforce that belief, as well as add support for the those who want to see an end to any political autonomy in Wales.
Organisationally, it is the most stressed by being torn between the following County Councils: Denbighshire, Gwynedd, Powys, and Wrexham. No Member of the Senedd, new or old, has the capacity or the connections to do these councils justice, nor represent their needs in the Senedd.
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. Whilst one sits on the border with England, the other faces the Irish Sea so culturally and socially, they are not contiguous.
Those reasons, and the trouble ordinary people will have in campaigning, are why I suggest the above changes to the pairings.
On the issue of ease of travel, the Boundary Commission states that, “there are reasonable road links between the areas of the proposed constituency such as between Machynlleth and Dolgellau.”
Whilst this short stretch of road may be good, we ask you to consider that it takes 30 minutes longer to travel from Llangurig to Aberdaron than it would do to drive from Llangurig to Cardiff. This is based on the usual shining optimism of computer generated travelling times. In reality it takes over 3 hours to get from one end of your proposed constituency to the other and certain routes are somewhat crowded with mountain ranges.
Ynys Mon and Dwyfor Meirionnydd may not have a road connecting them (although this is only by a few hundred yards) but they have thousands of years of history, culture, kingdoms and county councils, languages, literatures, and historic connections that far outweigh any contiguous connection between Dwyfor Meirionnydd and Montgomeryshire - notably, a representative for Dwyfor & Ynys Môn would only work with and within the constraints of 2 County Councils but a representative for Dwyfor & Montgomeryshire & Glyndŵr would have to work with 4 - I feel my suggested changes make representation clearer for constituents and more manageable for potential representatives in the Senedd.
Equally, I would make the argument that the Boundary Commission brought Montgomeryshire and Clwyd South together in Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr despite the fact that the main road linking them goes through another constituency and another country, England. To have to drive through a short stretch of a few hundred yards from Ynys Mon down the first slip road and then 3rd exit of a roundabout to reach Dwyfor Meirionnydd at least keeps the driver within the same country, Wales.
4.0 My Preferred Pairing
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.
My preferred pairing of 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. There are already working relationships established, have minimal mountainous interruption and have much better cultural and social ties.
I sincerely hope that this submission will be considered. I understand how difficult it is to reconsider once a proposed solution is public but I sincerely believe that faith in the democratic process will be impacted by the current proposal if it is not changed.

Respondent type

Member of public

This comment refers to

The entire area under review.