THE FINAL battle lines have been drawn up for the next General Election.
The Boundary Commission for England (BCE) held three rounds of public consultation on proposals to redraw the parliamentary constituency boundaries ahead of the next election, which must be held by January 2025.
Following the third round last December, the final proposals have been presented to the Speaker of the House of Commons, Lindsay Hoyle.
Parliament now has four months to formally approve the changes.
Under the final recommendations by the BCE Silhillians would be represented by three MPs in Parliament instead of two, Julian Knight for Solihull and Saqib Bhatti for Meriden.
It also sees a name change for all constituencies.
These plans see Castle Bromwich and Smith’s Wood move to Birmingham Hodge HIll and Solihull North constituency.
And Elmdon and Silhill wards move from Solihull to Meriden and Solihull East.
They also suggest Blythe would move from Meriden to Solihull West and Shirley.
Mr Bhatti said: “The new constituency welcomes Silhill and Elmdon wards and as such the BCE have changed the name of the constituency to Meriden and Solihull East. I welcome this name change as it is reflective of the changing geography of the constituency while retaining our historical identity.
“I look forward to speaking to residents of Silhill and Elmdon and fighting for the issues that matter to them.
“I’m saddened that the Castle Bromwich, Smith’s Wood and Blythe wards will no longer be in my constituency.
“Each of these wards is unique and representing them remains a privilege.
“I will continue to fight for my constituents in these wards all the way up to the next election.”
In April Mr Knight announced he would step down at the next general election following the ‘worst year of his life’.
This comes after the Metropolitan Police launched an investigation into him after they received allegations of serious sexual assault.
The Met then dropped the investigation, but the Tory whips office said it would not restore Mr Knight as a Tory MP.
The Observer contacted Mr Knight for comment on the final BCE recommendations.
