Harrogate Borough Council

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Electoral Boundaries

Detailed work on electoral boundaries rests with the Boundary Committee for England�which is the statutory committee of the Electoral Commission.

Schedule II of the Local Government Act 1972 states that the ratio of the number of local government electors to the number of councillors to be elected shall be, as nearly as may be , the same in every electoral ward or division of an authority, having regard to changes in the electorate likely to take place over the next 5 years.

This means that each councillor should represent roughly the same number of electors and ensures that each elector should have a vote of equal weight.

A further key principle is "Securing Convenient and Effective Local Government" and this was included in the Local Government Act 1972. There are times when these two principles conflict� and it is the Boundary Committee's job to consider representation from Local Authorities, Members of the Public and Political parties and for the Electoral Commission to determine� what the electoral arrangement should be.

Whenever a review of electoral arrangements takes place, public notice is given and draft recommendations are also published later in the process. At all stages individual Members of the Public are welcome to make representations.

With regard to Parliamentary Elections, the responsible agency is the Boundary Commission for England�and a similar process is followed. Where objections to the provisional recommendations of the Boundary Commission are received , a public local inquiry will be held.

Boundaries in the Harrogate District

The present pattern of Electoral areas within the Borough of Harrogate is as follows:

Harrogate Borough Council - 35 Wards, electing a total of 54 Borough Councillors.

North Yorkshire County Council� - 15 Divisions, electing a total of 18 County Councillors.

U.K. Parliamentary Elections - 3 Constituencies, electing 3 Members of Parliament.

European Parliamentary Elections - Harrogate is part of the Yorkshire and the Humber Region which elects 6 MEP's.