Should Haworth become part of Calderdale?

The Boundary Commission for England is looking at moving the Bronte capital into the Calder Valley parliamentary constituency and moving Hipperholme and Lightliffe into Halifax.

It would mean both constituencies potentially gaining more Conservative voters.

The proposals are part of a national boundary review aimed at reducing the number of MPs at Westminster from 650 to 600.

Calder Valley MP Craig Whittaker said that gaining voters in Haworth and the Worth Valley was not something he would have predicted but he believed the areas had strong links.

The Mayor of Calderdale, Nader Fekri, who stood in Keighley as a parliamentary candidate in 2010, said messing with the Calder Valley boundary would make life more difficult for the area’s MP, who would then have to work with Bradford Council as well as Calderdale Council.

The former Mayor of Bradford, Peter Hill, who is also a member of Haworth Parish Council, said he was amazed by the proposal.

Switching Hipperholme and Lightcliffe voters to Halifax could disadvantage Halifax Labour MP Linda Riordan who was returned in 2010 with a majority of just 1,472 votes.

She described the proposals as interesting.

The boundary shake-up should ensure that all parliamentary seats have between 72,810 and a maximum is 80,473 electors.

The first phase of formal public consultation ran until December and this week the boundary commission is publising all the responses on line, giving people another four weeks to say which they agree with.

The commission will then consider whether to revise any of its initial proposals for constituencies.