The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume one: Report – East Midlands
Lincolnshire and Rutland
Initial proposals
As previously set out, in formulating the initial proposals we identified that it was necessary to pair Lincolnshire with another county and, as part of our initial proposals, we proposed a sub‑region of Lincolnshire and Rutland, to which we allocated eight constituencies, one more than the present number of constituencies in Lincolnshire. Of the existing constituencies, four – Boston and Skegness; Gainsborough; Lincoln; and South Holland and The Deepings – have electorates that were within the permitted electorate range, and three – Grantham and Stamford, Louth and Horncastle, and Sleaford and North Hykeham – were above.
As part of our initial proposals we considered that the appropriate county boundary crossing between Lincolnshire and Rutland was to include parts of the District of South Kesteven with Rutland. We therefore proposed a Rutland and Stamford constituency that comprised all of Rutland unitary authority and 11 wards from the District of South Kesteven, including the towns of Stamford and Market Deeping.
Consequently, we proposed modified constituencies of Grantham and of Sleaford and North Hykeham to bring both within the permitted electorate range. Under our initial proposals the District of North Kesteven wards of Heckington Rural and Osbournby were included in the Grantham constituency.
We proposed limited changes to the existing constituencies of Gainsborough and Lincoln. In Lincoln our only changes were to realign the constituency with the new local government ward boundaries. Our proposed Gainsborough constituency was realigned to be coterminous with the boundaries of the District of West Lindsey and thus transferred the Wragby ward to the proposed Louth and Horncastle constituency.
We proposed some further changes to the Louth and Horncastle constituency to bring it within the permitted electorate range and to realign the constituency with new local government ward boundaries. We transferred from this constituency the wards of Chapel St. Leonards and of Willoughby with Sloothby to the proposed Boston and Skegness constituency. Consequently, some further changes were proposed to the Boston and Skegness constituency. We transferred from this constituency the wards of Five Village, and Swineshead and Holland Fen to a reconfigured South Lincolnshire constituency.
In response to the consultation on the initial proposals we received some support for our pattern of constituencies across Lincolnshire and Rutland. We received some support for our proposed Rutland and Stamford constituency, with those in support considering that Rutland and Stamford shared community ties. However, we also received significant opposition to this proposed constituency, with respondents highlighting that Rutland had closer ties to Melton Mowbray and Leicestershire.
Our proposals for Boston and Skegness, Louth and Horncastle, and Gainsborough were all largely supported. However, we did receive some representations that opposed the changes we had made as part of our initial proposals, particularly the inclusion of the Five Village and Swineshead and Holland Fen wards in the South Lincolnshire constituency.
A counter proposal was received that proposed modifications to some of the initially proposed constituencies in Lincolnshire, although a requirement of it was to alter the original subregion. This counter proposal was for a sub-region of Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire. Rather than include the area of Market Deeping in a Rutland and Stamford constituency, this constituency would be expanded west to include the three Borough of Harborough wards of Billesdon & Tilton, Nevill, and Thurnby & Houghton. Consequently, under this counter proposal, the existing South Holland and The Deepings constituency could be retained unchanged. Furthermore, the wards of Five Village, and Swineshead and Holland Fen could be returned to the Boston and Skegness constituency and the ward of Halton Holegate could be included in the Louth and Horncastle constituency.
Our proposals for Grantham, Lincoln, and Sleaford and North Hykeham were all broadly supported. We did receive some representations commenting on the boundaries of the Lincoln constituency. Alternative counter proposals were received. One considered that the villages on the northern edge of the City of Lincoln boundary should be included in the Lincoln constituency, whereas others considered that a different configuration should be proposed, which reflected the community ties between North Hykeham and Lincoln. We also received some representations that commented on the name of the proposed Grantham constituency, with respondents suggesting that this constituency should be named Grantham and Bourne.
Having considered the evidence received, we decided to revise our initial proposals for parts of Lincolnshire and Rutland. We were persuaded by the evidence to modify the sub-region and expand the Rutland and Stamford constituency westwards to include three District of Harborough wards. We recognised that this pattern did not include Rutland in a constituency with Melton Mowbray, but as previously outlined, we were not able to identify a pattern of constituencies that proposed this composition while formulating a pattern of constituencies across the wider subregion that reflected the statutory factors.
Our Assistant Commissioners were persuaded by the evidence that a revised Rutland and Stamford constituency allowed for the statutory factors to be better reflected across Lincolnshire. They noted that this revised sub-region allowed for the existing South Holland and The Deepings constituency to be retained unchanged, the return of the Five Village, and Swineshead and Holland Fen wards to the Boston and Skegness constituency, and the inclusion of the Halton Holegate ward in the Louth and Horncastle constituency, which again better reflected the existing boundaries of constituencies.
Our Assistant Commissioners also noted that these modifications did not require any changes to the Gainsborough, Grantham, Lincoln, and Sleaford and North Hykeham constituencies, which had all been broadly supported by respondents. Our Assistant Commissioners were not persuaded by the counter proposals to modify the Lincoln constituency, particularly as our proposals largely reflected the existing constituency. They were also not persuaded to propose the constituency name of Grantham and Bourne as both conurbations are within the District of South Kesteven.
Our revised proposals were therefore for constituencies of: Boston and Skegness; Gainsborough; Grantham; Harborough; Lincoln; Louth and Horncastle; Rutland and Stamford; Sleaford and North Hykeham; and South Holland and The Deepings.
In response to the consultation on our revised proposals, we received support for our revised constituencies in Rutland and Lincolnshire, including our decision to retain the existing South Holland and The Deepings constituency and the inclusion of the Swineshead and Holland Fen ward in the Boston and Skegness constituency. However, we received some opposition to this constituency, with respondents considering that the inclusion of the Willoughby with Sloothby ward in this constituency did not reflect community ties.
We again received some opposition to the Sleaford and North Hykeham constituency, with respondents suggesting that North Hykeham shared community ties with Lincoln and that we should have regard to the new District of North Hykeham ward boundaries.
While the boundaries of our proposed Gainsborough and Grantham constituencies were largely supported, we did receive some representations commenting on the names of both constituencies. Some respondents again proposed that the Grantham constituency should be renamed Grantham and Bourne in order to reflect the two largest settlements included in the constituency. Respondents who opposed the constituency name of Gainsborough considered that it should be renamed West Lindsey, given the constituency was coterminous with the district of the same name.
Having considered the evidence received, we are not persuaded to amend the boundaries of any of our proposed constituencies in Lincolnshire. We are not persuaded by the arguments to modify the boundaries of the Lincoln constituency, as it is largely unchanged. Similarly, we are not persuaded to include the Willoughby with Sloothby ward in the Louth and Horncastle constituency, as doing so would require significant consequential changes to a number of constituencies across Lincolnshire, which have all been broadly supported.
We do, however, consider that persuasive evidence has been received to revise the names of the Grantham constituency. We recognise that the existing constituency name is Grantham and Stamford, with both settlements forming part of the District of South Kesteven. Therefore, adopting the name of Grantham and Bourne would not be inconsistent in reflecting two conurbations within the same local authority. Given this name has received local support we have decided to adopt it as part of our final recommendations. However, we are not minded to modify the name of the proposed Gainsborough constituency. We note that the boundaries of this constituency are largely unchanged and that the alternative name of West Lindsey has not commanded significant support locally.
Our final recommendations for Lincolnshire and Rutland are therefore for constituencies of: Boston and Skegness; Gainsborough; Grantham and Bourne; Lincoln; Louth and Horncastle; Rutland and Stamford; Sleaford and North Hykeham; and South Holland and The Deepings. The areas covered by these constituencies are listed in Volume two and shown on the maps in Volume three of this report.
