Louie French expressed his support for the Boundary Commission’s proposals for the Old Bexley and Sidcup constituency at the Boundary Commission Review Hearing but conveyed his concern for the loss of the Old Bexley name.

The Boundary Commission 2023 Review is reviewing all Parliamentary constituencies in England to equalise the size of constituencies and the number of electorates to adjust to population changes, whilst taking into account local ties and geographical considerations.

For Old Bexley and Sidcup, the proposal is to maintain most of the current boundary of the constituency except to realign the constituency boundaries with the local government ward boundaries used for Bexley Council elections. This will increase the size of the new constituency by taking in some additional parts of Falconwood and Welling ward and East Wickham ward which are currently within the Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency. 

Louie has praised the proposals for strengthening community links by unifying Welling and for aligning Parliamentary and Council boundaries which will provide clarity for constituents and facilitate better joint working.

As a result of these changes, the Boundary Commission have proposed a new constituency name of Sidcup and Welling rather than Old Bexley and Sidcup. Louie has expressed concern that this proposed name does not include Old Bexley which is affectionately known locally with a rich and distinctive history. Louie has suggested Old Bexley, Sidcup & Welling instead.

You can view Louie’s formal submission to the Boundary Commission’s proposals below.

The Consultation on the Boundary Commission’s initial proposals runs until 4 April 2022. You can submit your comments and view the proposals in full here.