The Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) carried out an electoral review of Basingstoke and Deane from 2017-2019.
The last review of Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council wards before that was completed in October 2007. However, as a result of population changes since then, by 2017 there were significant imbalances in the number of electors per councillor in some of the borough’s electoral wards. The Commission, therefore, decided that a new review should be carried out with the aim of ensuring that each councillor represents roughly the same number of voters.
Following a period of consultation from February to May 2018, and a further consultation on its draft recommendations from August to October 2018, the Commission on 5 March 2019, published its final recommendations for Basingstoke and Deane.
The Commission’s final recommendations propose that Basingstoke and Deane should be represented by 54 borough councillors: six fewer than previously. The recommendations also proposed that those councillors should represent eighteen three-councillor wards across the borough.
The order, which brought these changes into effect at the local council elections in May 2020, referred to as The Basingstoke and Deane (Electoral Changes) Order 2019. However, the local elections due to be held on Thursday 7 May 2020, were postponed and took place on 6 May 2021 at which point the new boundaries and council size came into effect.
Further details of the Basingstoke and Deane electoral review are on the Commission’s website.