26 Sep HAVE YOUR SAY TO BOUNDARY COMMISSION ON #THURROCK CONSTITUENCIES
The Boundary Commission has recently published its proposed constituency boundaries for Thurrock. The Thurrock constituency is unchanged whilst the South Basildon and East Thurrock constituency loses some of the Basildon wards and gains part of Brentwood.
Thurrock MP Jackie Doyle-Price is asking the Boundary commission to consider renaming the Thurrock constituency. She said, “The name is a historical hangover from the days when our MP represented the whole borough. Today I represent two thirds of the population of Thurrock and less than half the land. Given the need for more houses it seems likely that the population of Thurrock will continue to rise and over time the borough will need to be represented by two MPs. With that in mind I am advising that the Boundary Commission should look at renaming the Thurrock constituency so that it better reflects the communities I represent.
There are many alternatives. We could call it West Thurrock, we could call it Grays. We could call it Port of London or Tilbury. My own recommendation would be to name it after the two postal districts that serve the constituency and call it Grays & South Ockendon. You too can have your say by writing to the Boundary commission.
Ultimately I cannot speak for the whole of Thurrock and there should not be an expectation that I do so. The interests of the communities at the west of the borough can often pull in different directions to those in the East as the debate on the Lower Thames crossing has shown. It is time to properly reflect the community I serve by finding a new name”
