Overall, Labour is worst hit by the shifting boundaries, which are part of an effort to cut the number of politicians in parliament from 650 to 600, with significant changes for MPs including Yvette Cooper, Tristram Hunt and Owen Smith. Many opposition politicians will fear that local members will take the opportunity of a shakeup to try to deselect them if Corbyn retains the leadership later this month.
Some of the party’s MPs described the plans – which analysts said could result in the opposition losing 23 sitting MPs – as a “barefaced gerrymander” and a “brutal mathematical” cull.
The angry responses came after the proposals from the Boundary commissions for England and Wales were handed out on Monday.
The results, which aim to equalise the number of voters in each constituency, will pit MPs against each other in a battle for survival – and not only those in the Labour party.
Despite giving the Tories an electoral boost overall, the plans could create a headache for Theresa May as up to 17 of her MPs lose their current constituencies – the same number as the party’s working majority.
Among the worst hit are the previous chancellor, George Osborne, whose Tatton constituency is broken apart. Priti Patel, Justine Greening and David Davis are three other Conservative cabinet ministers who are also likely to be affected. Patel will need to be parachuted into another Essex seat, vacated by a retiring colleague.
Johnson, the foreign secretary, will have to contest a newly created constituency in west London with more wards that have voted Labour, although his popularity is likely to mean he wins again.
Corbyn is affected by the loss of his Islington North constituency but is unlikely to face any difficulties being selected for the reshaped seat. His aides said he would be able to contest a new Finsbury Park and Stoke Newington seat, although that could have a knock-on effect for his close ally Diane Abbott. “I’m very confident of the constituency changes that are suggested. But I have to say they are a long way off,” he said.
Jon Ashworth, who is a key shadow cabinet minister leading on the policy, called the proposals “unfair, undemocratic and unacceptable”.
He said it was wrong for the calculations to be based on the electoral register at the end of 2015, meaning that 2mn voters who signed up in the run-up to the EU referendum result are not included.
“Constitutional changes should be done fairly and consensually, to ensure that everyone given a voice. There is nothing fair about redrawing boundaries with millions left out, and reducing the number of elected MPs while the unelected House of Lords continues to grow,” he said, calling for the policy to be blocked.