Stroud Green - soon to be in Tottenham

Happyhenry

I don't know if this has been picked up elsewhere on this forum. Can't see it. But the Boundary Commission's proposals for the 2013 boundary changes take Stroud Green out of Hornsey & Wood Green (Featherstone - Liberal Democrat - marginal seat) and put it into Tottenham (David Lammy - Labour - ultra-safe seat).

All done to balance the voter numbers in each constituency and to help reduce the total number of MPs.

Apart from the potential drop in property prices and hikes in insurance premiums once 'the postcode databases' catch up with our new location status, my biggest concern is the devaluing of my vote come the next general election.

We currently live in a 'marginal constituency' where our votes are worth something. We can and have changed between Labour and Liberal Democrat in the past and can change again. However, Tottenham is an 'ultra-safe constituency' where our vote will be relatively worthless as it will have very little effect on the status quo - whether you vote to maintain it or change it, it doesn't really matter whether you turn out or not.

In the run up to the PR / AV debate the New Economics Foundation published a tool to calculate the relative value your vote in terms of its effect on the election outcome. It is still on their website. In the marginal Hornsey and Wood Green constituency each vote was worth 0.549. A vote cast in the ultra-safe Tottenham constituency was worth just 0.021 - twenty-five times less than one in H&WG.

In other words, one person voting in H&WG has the same effect on the outcome of an election as twenty-five voting in Tottenham.

Fancy being disenfranchised?

You can see the maps and voice your opinion on the Boundary Commission's website. Be quick.

mapsa

We are already in Haringey, the same borough as Tottenham. The n4 postcode already stretches from the edge of Crouch End across Harringay towards Seven Sisters. An electoral boundary review won't affect these, and really isn't going to have any impact on house prices and insurance (I'd love to know who checks electoral boundaries before moving house, likewise insurance forms don't ask who your MP is) Your other point is valid, but their overarching aim of ensuring that MPs represent a roughly equivalent number of people has to be achieved somehow. Rather than just rejecting this, what solution do you propose instead?

Arkady

Proportional representation. *weeps*

Ali

Are MPs not allowed to comment on the boundary changes as I don’t think I have heard anything form them on this. I have seen stuff on his from the LibDem councillors. I checked Lynne Featherstone’s web site and there nothing about this although there seems to have been some campaign concerning changes in the North London Yellow pages boundaries !

krappyrubsnif

I think you'll find Lynne Featherstone has been squawking about this - probably in the Ham and High or somewhere.

Happyhenry

Mapsa - You are of course right about these constituency boundaries only being relevant to Westminster MPs and general elections. I suppose I had my indignant hat on at that point.

However, I don't understand why balancing the size of the electorate between constituencies should, in our case, involve moving SG into Tottenham whilst at the same time moving Bounds Green into Hornsey & Wood Green.

Assuming (big assumption, I acknowledge) that local election voting patterns reflect national election voting patterns, the net effect of moving Labour-voting Bounds Green into a marginal seat will make a significant difference to that balance whilst moving Lib Dem voting Stroud Green into ulta-safe Labour Tottenham basically sterilizes that Lib Dem voting block.

Better to put Bounds Green in Tottenham where it makes no difference to the status quo (whether they turn out to vote or not), and leave SG in H&WG where there is a fine balance between Labour and Lib Dem.

We barely have a democracy as it is when only 20% of the voters can actually swing a general election result, the rest are just told they can and go through the motions. I guess I'm arguing to remain one of that 20%.

I'm sure Lynne Featherstone must be worried about this. Combined with the current unpopularity of the Lib Dem's part in the coalition the last thing she needs is a chunk of her constituency support swapped for Labour voters.

norton

A couple of friends sold their homes in Tottenham last year to move to a better part of town Stroud Green. They arn't too happy now.

krappyrubsnif

How must the good folk of Highgate feel about being in 'Haringey'? I only ask, because I have no idea, but there's probably no reason for them to be unhappy - is there?

odd stewart

I don't think this is going to make much difference.

Or is there something obvious that will change?

gardener-joe

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odd stewart

Just got this letter from Richard Wilson.

Dear resident,

Thank you for completing the survey on the Boundary Commission’s proposals to move Stroud Green into the Tottenham constituency. My colleagues Ed Butcher, Katherine Reece and I have been delighted to see so many responses.

We, along with the vast majority of people who completed the survey, strongly agree with you that Stroud Green should remain a part of the Hornsey constituency. Many people highlighted in the survey that there are so few community ties, and barely any transport links, between Tottenham and Stroud Green.

Over 100 people have responed to the survey so far, and 100% disagree with the Commission's proposals. 97% believe Stroud Green has strong ties with Crouch End and Hornsey, and only 2% think we have strong ties with Tottenham.

The results of the survey will be of great use in our campaign to get the Boundary Commission to abandon their proposal. But please remember that our case will be stronger if more people contact the Commission directly. You can leave a comment on their website at:

http://consultation.boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk/have-your-say/

The consultation ends on the 5th of December, so do it now before you forget!

I will make sure that all the comments made by you and everyone else on the survey will be passed to the Commission. If you want to help the cause even further, why not pass our survey onto your neighbours and friends in Stroud Green to complete and to contact the Commission as well.

Thank you again for taking the time to complete the survey – it makes a real difference. Please encourage your neighbours and any friends who live nearby to also fill in the survey and contact the Boundary Commission.

To get updates on this and other Stroud Green issues please register on my website at:

http://bit.ly/RichardWilson_signup

Kind regards,

JT

I find the objection to this a bit puzzling, apart from on narrow party-political grounds (which surely the Liberal democrats wouldn't stoop to). If you want to equalise the constituencies (and I think 10% variance would have made sense myself), you have to draw the boundary somewhere, and this proposal is as good as any - it doesn't cross local authority or ward boundaries - and there are plenty of connections between Stroud Green and parts of the Tottenham constituency. Most people will shop at Sainsbury's or on Green Lanes (in Tottenham); people will have children at South Harringay school (in Tottenham), or people attending Stroud Green School will live in Harringay (in Tottenham). I could go on. I'm sure the links are just as great with neighbouring parts of Hackney or Islington as well, but, as I said you have to draw these boundaries somewhere.

I found the statement that there are "barely any transport links, between Tottenham and Stroud Green" risible. What, apart from it being two stops on the Victoria Line to Tottenham Hale or one stop on the overground to Harringay Green Lanes (in Tottenham) and two to South Tottenham from Crouch Hill, or the W3 or 259 buses?

Also, the survey (apart from being a self-selecting sample of people agitated by the issue) was highly misleading. Why ask whether people feel a connection with Crouch End and Hornsey or Tottenham? The constituency is Hornsey and Wood Green, so that should have been the question, or if you wanted to ask about nearby wards, then Crouch End or Harringay would have been a more appropriate comparison.

Personally, I would rather live in a marginal seat than a safe one, and was quite looking forward to voting oute Lynne Featherstone, but that is not what the Boundary Commssion are there for.

Paulinderwick

Political affiliation is more than just 'are there buses" - I can tell you that the N8 part of Stroud Green Ward feels very neglected because even local councillors seem to recognise the geographical area of Stroud Green and forget the Vale Roads who were taken from Crouch End Ward back in the 80's for similar reasons.  In case you hadn't noticed there is the main East Coast railway line separating Stroud Green from Tottenham, leaving on foot connections restricted to three, at the South by Finsbury Park, at the North by Turnpike Lane, and in the middle the footpath by Harringay station.  A better proposal would be, in my opinion, to add Noel Park Ward, the Eastern area from Turnpike Lane Station into Tottenham as it has no physical boundary at all and common problems and issues.  Just as the Vale Roads tend to get overlooked in Stroud Green so Stroud Green would get overlooked in a new Tottenham constituency.  Incidentally I hear the labour party want to do away with a Tottenham constituency in it's entireity and divide it into neighbouring constituencies to the North and South - heaven knows where that would leave us!<br>

gardener-joe

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gardener-joe

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wright

<P>Interesting the last comment described the video as "from the LibDems" - it certainly looks like it, although it's from the "non-aligned" GreenN8 people (or person), since no names, governance arrangements etc that I could see appear on their website)</P> <P>The Labour Party opposes moving Stroud Green and has proposed moving Highgate ward instead. Have the Lib Dems said what their alternative is, as opposed to their usual protest tactics? The reality is that they and their coalition partners have decided this should happen, and I'd like to see an alternative from them rather than the usual nimbyism.</P> <P>I've no doubt the Lib Dems at regional level or whatever have put forward alternatives. It would be good to see them.</P>

NorthNineteen

I had a play around with boundary changes and the best I could do to keep Stroud Green in Hornsey was to remove Bounds Green and then do a further 9 (approx, I lost count) changes all the way down to West Ham.  Won't be an easy one to solve but I hope the try as they have completely failed in their goal not to break up communities.<br>