Nick Clegg’s revenge over Lords saves seats of MPs including Vince Cable

 
Carved up: Vince Cable faced the prospect of facing Zac Goldsmith
Pippa Crerar7 August 2012
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London MPs including Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith and Business Secretary Vince Cable have been “saved” by Nick Clegg’s plan to block a boundary review.

They faced tough battles to keep their seats under a new map of constituencies being drawn up by the Boundary Commission.

The plan was being contested by MPs from all parties who feared they could lose out.

The deputy prime minister yesterday blocked a boundary review which many saw as crucial to David Cameron securing an overall majority at the next election in revenge for his failure to deliver House of Lords reform.

However the coalition’s biggest crisis yet could save the political careers of several high-profile London MPs.

Liberal Democrat Tom Brake, who faced a difficult fight to retain his Carshalton and Wallington seat, said: “Clearly I’m not disappointed if these communities are maintained if the Commission’s proposals are dead in the water.”

Mr Cable, MP for Twickenham, has accused the Boundary Commission of reintroducing 19th-century constituencies while failing to take into account borough boundaries and identities.

His seat was being carved up to create a new Richmond and Twickenham constituency, spanning the Thames, and could have been contested by Zac Goldsmith, the Tory MP for Richmond Park and North Kingston.

Alternatively, Mr Cable could have sought to win the new seat of Teddington and Hanworth which would include 67 per cent of his existing constituency and would have seen him fighting Labour.

Mr Duncan Smith is also understood to have asked the commission to amend its proposal to break up his Chingford and Woodford Green constituency.

Just over half his seat would have merged with a large part of Edmonton — represented by Labour’s Andy Love — and a small chunk of Walthamstow.

A high-profile contest between two of Labour’s highest profile MPs — shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna and shadow justice minister Sadiq Khan — was also on the cards in Tooting and Streatham.

The number of constituencies in the capital was expected to go down from 73 to 68.

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