Frank's Westminster Blog

I have more news for you on the Boundary Commission’s proposals for Birkenhead. You may remember that two weeks ago the Boundary Commission published potential new seats for the whole of England. The Wirral was obviously affected.   Parliament gave the Commission it's terms of reference. Previous Commissions, when setting constituency boundaries, had to take into account such important matters as local communities and natural boundaries, like rivers and motorways. This time the...

How can we protect the identity of Birkenhead in the new world where Parliamentary seats must be made up of equal numbers of voters (and increased numbers from the last election)?    That is the task of the Boundary Commission which, last week, transferred part of the heart of Birkenhead, Bidston and St James Ward, into the Wallasey constituency.   For Wirral the Boundary Commission proposed a ‘Conservative’ seat on the Dee side, and three ‘Labour’...

Keep the Cash! is an organisation that helps students to take a long hard look at where money comes from and how best to spend it.   They were in the University Academy of Birkenhead last Friday and I went along to see what the pupils made of it. I had to declare a double interest: I chair the Academy’s governors and I also suggested that Keep the Cash! might come in to the school.   The project succeeded way beyond my expectations. The pupils were divided into six...