“While I fight for the Lichfield and Burntwood constituency by trying to keep Streethay in Lichfield, Labour wants to see the constituency broken up and the City of Lichfield combined with parts of Walsall!” says Michael Fabricant. “It would cross county and district boundaries and make a total mockery of local identity.  It gets madder.  They want Burntwood removed and twinned instead with Stone in North Staffordshire!

“Whoever has proposed this in the Labour Party either doesn’t know the area or knows no shame. Burntwood, if Labour get their way, while still remaining in Lichfield District would be in a new Mid Staffordshire constituency along with Stone and Penkridge!”

The Labour document submitted to the Parliamentary Boundary Commission suggests “The Lichfield & Aldridge CC would comprise three wards of the Borough of Walsall and 11 wards of the District of Lichfield, five of which are currently wholly or partly in the Tamworth CC. In Staffordshire the consequential changes would be that the Tamworth CC would include the Lichfield District wards of Alrewas & Fradley and Needwood and a new Mid Staffordshire seat would be created with local centres in Stone, Penkridge and Burntwood. This constituency would include the South Staffordshire District ward of Huntington & Hatherton which would be the only change to the existing South Staffordshire CC. The only other change from the Initial Proposals would be the inclusion of the Wheaton Aston, Bishopswood & Lapley ward in the Stafford CC.” (CC means ‘County Constituency’)

Michael adds:  “The Labour Party say ‘A better arrangement would be for the seat to be shared between the counties to comprise parts of the Borough of Walsall and the City of Lichfield where the urban-rural contrasts are less stark.’

“Are they joking?  Do local Labour Party members actually support this crazy suggestion published by Labour’s HQ in London?”