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South Thanet Labour Party

Working for the people of the South Thanet Constituency

12^th November 2011

Laura Sandys: are you really serious about splitting Margate in half?

At the Boundary Review Commission meeting in Maidstone last week we were astonished to hear the MP for South Thanet speak enthusiastically about the strong links between Little Stour & Ashstone Ward and Ramsgate and that it would be perfectly acceptable to exclude Salmestone Ward from the new Margate and Ramsgate constituency, and not to include either Garlinge Ward or Westbrook Ward!

Can you imagine the new Margate Constituency without the QEQM? Without Margate Football Club? Without Margate Cricket Club? Without Hartsdown Technology College? Even without the Margate cemetery and Thanet crematorium?

No doubt Ms. Sandys was being very selective about what she calls ‘community links’.

What is shocking is that our current MP for South Thanet does not seem to want to represent the whole community of Margate and yet is prepared to get rid of significant areas of it in favour of Sandwich and Little Stour & Ashstone.

The Margate community is closely-knit and must not be split.

We strongly urge residents to write supporting the inclusion of the Margate Wards of Westbrook and Garlinge and keeping Salmestone Ward in the proposed new constituency of Margate & Ramsgate as they form an integral part of Margate and Thanet to:

The Boundary Commission:

35 Great Smith Street, London SW1P 3BQ
Telephone: 020 7276 1102
Email address for representations: reviews@bcommengland.x.gsi.gov.uk

Michelle Fenner and Alan Poole

13th September 2011

Initial Proposals from the Boundary Commission

South Thanet Constituency is to be replaced by

Margate & Ramsgate Constituency made up the following wards:-

Sandwich                              Dover District Council           5,572
Beacon Road                        Thanet District Council         3,246
Bradstowe                             Thanet District Council         3,230
Central Harbour                    Thanet District Council         5,319
Cliffsend and Pegwell           Thanet District Council         3,710
Cliftonville East                     Thanet District Council         4,987
Cliftonville West                    Thanet District Council         4,319
Dane Valley                          Thanet District Council         5,167
Eastcliff                                 Thanet District Council         4,741
Kingsgate                              Thanet District Council         1,746
Margate Central                    Thanet District Council         2,884
Nethercourt                           Thanet District Council         3,393
Newington                             Thanet District Council         3,177
Northwood                            Thanet District Council         4,808
St Peters                               Thanet District Council         5,522
Salmestone                           Thanet District Council         3,549
Sir Moses Montefiore            Thanet District Council         3,456
Viking                                    Thanet District Council         5,347

Margate and Ramsgate Constituency 74,173

Ed Miliband MP, Leader of the Opposition, commenting on the Boundary Commission for England’s announcement, said:

"The priority for our MPs has always been and will remain the service of the people who elected them in May 2010. We have serious concerns about the Government's decision to change the boundaries, which we believe was an act of gerrymandering by the Conservative Party. However the Labour Party now intends to take time to examine the initial proposals before making our formal response.”

Sadiq Khan MP, Labour’s Shadow Lord Chancellor, said:

“The Conservative legislation on which this review will be carried out is ill-thought through and the product of partisan politics, and is likely to cause pointless disruption and the break-up of long standing communities. That is why Labour opposed it so strongly. However, now that the review is underway we will engage with the Boundary Commission constructively, and are hopeful that they will take full account of the views expressed to them. We will take time to examine the Commission's initial proposals in detail before submitting the Labour Party’s formal response.”