Twenty years ago Lambeth’s ward boundaries and the number of councillors representing our residents were reviewed by the Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) and we kissed goodbye to electoral wards including Angell, St Martins and Town Hall and said hello to new areas such as Coldharbour and Clapham Common. Since then Lambeth’s population – like most of inner London – has grown considerably (and is projected to be over 330,000 by 2025) but it has done so unevenly with parts of the borough such as Vauxhall and Central Brixton seeing major increases with smaller growth in Streatham and other parts of the south of our borough.
As a result LGBCE are back to re-examine electoral representation in Lambeth once more, in time for our next elections due in 2022. The review seeks to ensure that each councillor represents roughly the same number of voters and tries to ensure wards reflect the interests and identities of communities across Lambeth. The borough is currently divided into 21 wards with each one represented on the council by three councillors who are elected every four years to represent the best interests of the residents in their ward. Some council services and also neighbourhood policing are organised by ward – so getting the boundaries right is very important.
That is why LGBCE and the council needs the help of the residents and communities across the borough, to suggest what changes are needed and to tell us what should be preserved in the current warding patterns. We are jointly starting the public consultation process with an online briefing taking place on 13 July 2020 and there will be opportunities to provide your views over the next 9 months (in two phases) and to have your say on how Lambeth should be represented. These will cover ward sizes, boundaries and names and the need to ensure that everyone in the borough is as fairly and represented as possible.
I hope you’ll help us achieve this aim!
Cllr Jim Dickson is the Chair Lambeth Boundary Commission Working Group.
The online meeting takes place at 6pm on July 13. Follow this link to join via Microsoft Teams: https://bit.ly/31iZmVP
Find more information about the review on the Lambeth Council Website.
