Keith Best of the electoral reform society, comments on the voting system and constituencies bill:

“MPs risk throwing the baby out with the bathwater with this bill. An impasse on boundary changes will only serve to deny voters their say on the alternative vote. The public don’t require a lesson on what happens when an irresistible force meets an immovable object – not when it’s their democracy at stake.

“The bill as it stands has practical problems and human costs – none of which are insurmountable.

“The government’s stated intention is to redraw constituencies and make them equal-sized. The proposed legislation, in its present form, cannot achieve this goal. Their decision to build seats using registered voters rather than the adult population is a recipe for bloated constituencies packed with invisible citizens.”