On the 17th October, the Boundary Commission published their revised proposals for the boundary changes and have announced that they will be proposing that the constituency of Washington and Sunderland West remains intact, with the addition of the Sandhill ward.

Since the initial proposals, Sharon has campaigned for the five wards in Washington to remain within one constituency and for the town to have recognition in the name of a Parliamentary constituency.

This included presenting to the Boundary Commission in Newcastle on the 14^th November 2016, where Sharon was the only MP from Tyne and Wear making a representation and the only elected official calling for the town to be kept within one constituency. She called on the Commission to rethink their proposal, citing emails from constituents who felt passionately about maintaining the Parliamentary representation they have had since 2010 when the town was united into one constituency.

Reacting to the Commission’s revised proposals, Sharon Hodgson MP, said:

“The new boundary proposals set out in the Boundary Commission’s revised proposals are fantastic and I am delighted that the campaigning by myself and many Washington residents has proven worthwhile and seen the town’s importance recognised by the Boundary Review, after their shocking decision to split the town across three constituencies.

“At the time, it was deeply disappointing to see this important town’s Parliamentary representation watered down, including no name recognition in any of the three proposed constituencies. The people of Washington are very proud of their area and it is important that their concerns were raised; that is why I went to the Commission’s public meeting last November and called for the town to remain united within one constituency.

“The new changes now keep the Washington and Sunderland West constituency completely intact, with the inclusion of the Sandhill area of Sunderland, and maintains the long and proud heritage of the two areas. These are still only proposals, that is why it is important that residents of Washington and Sunderland West make their support for this plan known to the Commission so that they do not change their minds during the final stages of the review.”

• The Boundary Commission will now undertake a final consultation on the revised proposals which will run for 8-weeks, from the 17^th October to 11^th December 2017. These views will help form the final decisions made by the Commission. To submit views on the revised proposals, local residents can go to the Commission’s website and submit their views. The link to the website is: www.bce2018.org.uk
• You can read Sharon Hodgson MP’s contribution to the public hearing in Newcastle on the 14^th November 2016, by following this link and going to page 43: https://boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/FINAL-BC-Newcastle-20161114-with-index.pdf