The constituencies which Oxfordshire locals vote in may look very different in the near future, as a review into the boundaries of constituencies in the county is underway.
The Boundary Commission for England (BCE) has drawn up plans for new parliamentary constituencies across England as part of its 2023 Review, which sees a number of changes proposed for Oxfordshire.
The BCE is the independent organisation responsible for reviewing Parliamentary constituency boundaries in England.
It is required by the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986 to review the parliamentary constituencies in England every 5 years.
The reviews take place to reflect the ever changing demographics of local areas by taking into account things such as new developments, which could see the population figures increase.
What changes could we see?
In Oxford, the Oxford East constituency would no longer include the city centre and this would be taken over by the Oxford West and Abingdon constituency.
The Oxford West and Abingdon constituency would also be changed to represent Marcham just west of Abingdon, however it would lose Kidlington in the north.
By far, the biggest change we could see is that a new constituency all together would be added to the county.
Currently there are four constituencies outside of Oxford and these include Banbury, Witney, Wantage and Didcot and Henley.
A new constituency for Bicester would be created, separating it entirely from Banbury.
The new constituency for Bicester would include the town alongside Eynsham, Woodstock and Mixbury.
Banbury’s redrawn constituency would see Chipping Norton and Chalbury join it from Witney.
The Wantage and Didcot constituency would be redrawn to include a corridor of land running from Didcot to Oxford, which includes Clifton Hampden.
Proposed changes to Witney would see it instead represent more areas to the south, including Faringdon.
The Henley constituency, however, will remain relatively unchanged.
The BCE is not due to make its final recommendations to Parliament until July 2023.
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