THE region's MPs have accused the Conservatives of "gerrymandering" following the announcement of proposed changes to constituency boundaries.

A number of Labour MPs have spoken out about their concerns at the Government's 2018 boundary review which could eventually see the number of constituencies slashed from 650 to 600 across the UK.

Initial proposals published by the Boundary Commission for England today (September 13) reveal in the North-East alone the number of MPs will be cut from 29 to 25 - with entire communities affected by the redrawn borders.

Phil Wilson MP, whose own constituency of Sedgefield will be reformed to make a new East Durham constituency, said: "It's disappointing it has come to this. The reason they have done this is to gerrymander the system to give them a bigger majority over the Labour Party.

"Of the 50 MPs that will be lost, two thirds are Labour and they (the Government) wouldn't be doing this if it was the other way round."

The boundaries have been redrawn to ensure that they contain equally-sized constituencies of between 71,000 and 78,500 electors, which is a legal requirement.

Constitution minister Chris Skidmore said the Government was "committed to ensuring fair and equal representation for the voting public across the UK is in place by the next general election".

The process would also save taxpayers £66 million over five years by cutting the number of MPs.

Mr Wilson has rejected the Conservatives' claims, labelling the move as "unfair, undemocratic and unrepresentative" - views echoed throughout the region by among others Jenny Chapman, MP for Darlington, Sharon Hodgson, MP for Washington and Sunderland West, and Newcastle Central MP Chi Onwurah.

Mr Wilson added: "The average size of the House of Commons since the Reform Act of 1832 has been 649.

"We have maintained that size and for the Tories to say it's about cutting the cost, and the fact they've increased the number of peers (in the House of Lords) by 200 at a cost of £30million, just isn't the reason."

Labour MPs also believe the boundary changes are undemocratic as they do not take into account the two million voters who signed up to have their say in the EU referendum, while there are fears it could set a precedent for each parliament to conduct reviews if they are passed ahead of the 2020 General Election.

Peter Cuthbertson, who was Conservative candidate for Darlington in last year's General Election, said the new boundary was more logical and fairer. He said: "One thing that has hurt the North-East is the perception that a 'donkey in a red rosette' will always win. But that is down to the boundaries, not how people vote. Labour got less than half the vote in the region last year but has 90 per cent of local MPs."

A list of the region's proposed constituencies

NORTH-EAST
Bishop Auckland: Bishop Auckland, Spennymoor, Ferryhill, Willington, Barnard Castle (East)
City of Durham: Durham City, Tow Law, Hetton-le-Hole
Darlington: Darlington, Middleton St George
Easington and Houghton: Hoghton-le-Spring, Seaham, Peterlee
East Durham: Sedgefield, Newton Aycliffe, Croxdale, Haswell, Blackhall Colliery
Hartlepool and Billingham: Hartlepool, Billingham 
Middlesbrough North East and Redcar: Redcar, Marske-by-the-Sea, Grangetown
Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland: Saltburn-by-the-Sea, Guisborough, Nunthorpe, Boulby
Middlesbrough West and Stockton East: Middlesbrough, Stockton (East), Thornaby
North Durham and Chester-le-Street: Stanley, Chester-le-Street, Sacriston, Kibblesworth, Great Lumley
Stockton West: Stockton (West), Yarm
West Durham and Teesdale: Barnard Castle (West), Consett, Lanchester, Middleton-in-Teesdale
Berwick and Ashington
Blaydon
Blyth Valley
Gateshead
Hexham and Morpeth
Jarrow
North Tyneside
South Shields
Newcastle upon Tyne East
Newcastle upon Tyme North West
Sunderland Central
Sunderland West
Tynemouth

NORTH YORKSHIRE
Richmond: Richmond, Northallerton, Cotterdale, 
Thirsk and Malton: Malton, Thirsk, Reighton, Pickering, Norton-on-Derwent
Scarborough and Whitby: Filey, Scarborough, Whitby, Commondale
Skipton and Ripon: Skipton, Ripon, Settle
York Outer: Strensall, Haxby, Kexby, Askham Bryan, Poppleton