Proposed Bermondsey & Waterloo constituency will span Southwark-Lambeth border

The review of constituency boundaries is being carried out after Parliament decided that there should be a reduction in the number of constituencies across the UK, and that there should be similar numbers of electors in each constituency. The number of constituencies in Greater London is being reduced from 73 to 68.

Initial proposals from the Boundary Commission for England were published this week. A key consequence of the review is a break with the previous convention that parliamentary constituencies should not usually cross London borough boundaries.

The current Bermondsey & Old Southwark constituency (incument: Simon Hughes) – which only gained its present name at the 2010 general election – would be redrawn to include Bishop's ward in Lambeth but lose Southwark's Newington ward.

Bishop's ward, which includes Waterloo Station and the South Bank, is represented by three Liberal Democrat councillors but is currently part of the Labour-held Vauxhall parliamentary constituency.

Bishop's ward would remain in Lambeth for local government purposes but would be grouped with North Southwark for parliamentary representation.

The commission proposes that the constituency should be renamed Bermondsey & Waterloo.

Prince's ward in Lambeth, which includes some SE1 homes on and around Albert Embankment, would be part of a new Battersea and Vauxhall constituency comprising four Wandsworth wards and four Lambeth wards. The current Vauxhall constituency held by Kate Hoey is effectively dismantled.

The change to Newington ward means that residents of the Strata tower and Draper Estate at Elephant & Castle would in future be represented by the MP for Camberwell and Peckham (currently Harriet Harman).

"Parliament has set clear rules on what we can and can't do when it comes to developing our initial proposals – BCE was given clear principles and from that starting point we have found a solution that we think best meets Parliament's rules and now we want to know what people think of our initial proposals," says Simon James, secretary to the Boundary Commission for England.

"Now that we have published our initial proposals we welcome people's participation until the consultation closes on 5 December 2011. People can contribute via our website, they can write in or email us, or come and present their views at a public hearing in one of 36 venues around the country between 11 October and 18 November this year."