THE temptation, when a dramatic shake-up of Westminster constituencies is announced, is to start pondering which political parties are up and which are down.

I played the game myself this week - noting the prediction that the proposed cull of 31 English seats would hit the parties thus; Labour (down 14), Liberal Democrats (10), Conservatives (6) and Greens (1).

Had the new boundaries been in place at last year’s general election, could David Cameron have grabbed the keys to Downing Street with the support of Unionist MPs and shunned the Liberal Democrats?

Most intriguingly, how will Nick Clegg sell, to his battered Lib Dems, the idea of voting through changes likely to wipe out one quarter of his English MPs?

All of these things matter greatly, of course... but what about the impact on the public, the people these MPs are paid to serve?

The most important points about the new electoral map, unveiled by the Boundary Commission, are that it will result in a worse service to constituents - from a process that is wrong in both theory and practise.

Consider the proposed new Consett and Barnard Castle seat. It will stretch from Hadrian’s Wall all the way down to the Yorkshire border – a 60-mile trek, covering an astonishing 2,500 square miles, I’m told.

Pat Glass, the North West Durham MP, said the direct route would be impassable for three months of the year (because of snow on the high ground), making the trip something only Ranulph Fiennes would fancy.

Elsewhere, I was struck by a constituency, in Merseyside, spanning three different local authorities. The quality of service from the MP – typically dealing with 500-plus letters and emails a month – is bound to suffer.

The Gloucester seat will not include the city’s cathedral, docks or shopping centres - and the constituency of Leigh will be stripped of its civic centre, library and parish church.

All these proposals are simply bonkers, dumping all common-sense to achieve a political fix, in Mr Cameron’s determination to eradicate Labour bias in the current set-up.

Yes, there is Labour bias, but the first-pastthe- post system has never produced a proportional result. If the Prime Minister wants one, he should back a PR system - not redraw boundaries that will punish constituents.

Similarly, the argument that there are too many (650) MPs does not hold water, in a country without regional government and where local councils lack muscle.

A few Conservative MPs have been quickly off the blocks to argue for a rethink - and even some aides in Downing Street appear to believe the shake-up is just too radical to get through.

Amid Tory backbench pressure – and Lib Dem panic – the boundary review may still end up in the very long grass.

DARLINGTON MP Jenny Chapman has echoed her predecessor, Alan Milburn, in attacking the quality of careers advice given to school-leavers,.

Arguing the job could not be left to parents, she said: “I look at my own sons and wonder who is going to talk to them if they want to go into science, technology, engineering or maths?

“Heaven help them if they look to me or their father for advice. I can give them advice on politics, psychology, archaeology, retail.. and cake decorating.”