Agenda item

Councillor Thomas moved the motion in his name. Councillor Cooke moved an amendment in his name. Debate ensued.

Votes on the amendment in the name of Councillor Cooke were recorded as follows:

The amendment in the name of Councillor Cooke was declared LOST.

Votes on the substantive motion in the name of Councillor Thomas were recorded as follows:

RESOLVED that:

Council noted that:

1.       Therearecurrentlythree Parliamentaryconstituencies in Barnet: Chipping Barnet, Finchley and GoldersGreen, andHendon. Each of these constituencies is entirelywithin the London Boroughof Barnet.

2.       TheBoundaryCommissionfor England has recently submitted its initialproposalsfor Parliamentary constituencies across England.

a.       As theystand,these proposals would create sweeping changes to boundarieswithinBarnet.

3.       Theinitial proposals call forfive constituencies tocover the London Boroughof Barnet. All but oneof these, High Barnet andMill Hill, would include areasfrom otherLondonboroughs:

a.       Finchleyand MuswellHillwould includeHaringey

b.      Hendon andGolders Green would include Brent

c.       SouthgateandBarnetEastwould include Enfield

d.      Stanmoreand Edgwarewould includeHarrow

Council believes that:

1.       Having fiveMembersof Parliamentcoveringareas ofBarnet, andfourother boroughs,wouldbe impractical.

2.       Theseproposals innowaytake into considerationthecommunities,transport infrastructure or local linksin the area.

a.       Forinstance,themain public transport routes across Barnet runNorth-South,whichis howour communitiesare connected. Therefore:

i.      GoldersGreenhas far more in common with Finchley thanwith Kingsbury

ii.      FinchleyChurch End hasmore in common with ChildsHill thanwith MuswellHill

iii.      Brunswick Park has far better connections to Totteridge & Whetstone thanto PalmersGreen

iv.      BurntOaksharesmorecommunaland transport connections withColindalethan with Stanmore.

3.       An approach that ensures that local communities andconnections are preserved,while containing fewerthan 77,062electors; the maximumnumber theCommission says that anyconstituencyshouldhave,shouldbe sought.

a.       This couldbe done whilemaintaining thevast majorityof Barnet wardswithin threeconstituenciesof Chipping Barnet, Finchley and GoldersGreen, and Hendon. To dothis, the wardscould beseparated as below:

i.      Chipping Barnetwould contain thewards of: Edgwarebury, High Barnet,Underhill, Barnet Vale,EastBarnet, Brunswick Park,Whetstone,Totteridgeand Woodside

ii.      Finchleyand GoldersGreen would containthe wardsof: Cricklewood,ChildsHill, East Finchley, FinchleyChurch End, Garden Suburb, Golders Green, WestFinchley,Woodhouse

iii.      Hendon would contain thewards of:Colindale South, Colindale North, Burnt Oak, Edgware,Mill Hill, Hendon, WestHendon.

b.      A fourth constituency, Hornsey and Friern Barnet could then straddleBarnetand Haringey, with theFriern Barnet ward sitting inside a constituencyotherwisemadeup of those solely in Haringey.Thiswould be the only Barnet ward that would bewithin a constituency thatcoverstwoboroughs.

Council resolved to:

1.       Supportconstituency changes that preserve thecharacter,communityandinfrastructureof the areas thatthey cover and opposethosethat donot.

2.       Opposeproposalsthat willdamage links betweenconstituenciesand local authorities, as wellas those thatdon’t take local ties into account.

a.       Torecommendthatthe BoundaryCommission reviews its initial proposals for theconstituenciesthat would impactBarnetresidents, inline withthe proposalssetout in Council Believes, Paragraph 3, above (a map has been added,Appendix 1, showingthe wards withinthe constituency boundaries proposed above).

3.       InstructtheLeader to submit adetailed rationale on behalf ofthe Council, supporting the alternative proposal laid out in thismotion, totheBoundaryCommission for England.