THE constituency of Arfon should be dismantled and Bangor should be made part of an enlarged Anglesey constituency.
That’s the suggestion of the independent Boundary Commission, which is redrawing the electoral map of the UK with the aim of reducing the number of Westminster MPs from 650 to 600.
The suggestions in the commission’s report would see the the Arfon constituency, which covers Bangor and Caernarfon, dismantled.
In its place a larger constituency, called Menai ac Ynys Mon, would cover both Anglesey and Bangor.
Caernarfon would be covered by a new Gwynedd constituency, which would also cover the Llyn Peninsula, Porthmadog and Machynlleth.
The moves, which would see the number of North Wales MPs reduced from ten to seven, is aimed at ensuring each constituency represents a population of between 72,810 and 80,473, a move that was approved in the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011
Secretary to the commission Ben Whitestone said: “The commission has produced a set of initial proposals which meet the requirements of the 2011 Act.
“I would emphasise that these are initial proposals and I very much hope that members of the public will participate in the process of consultation which now begins.”
Anglesey MP Albert Owen said that although the Labour party would be ready to fight for the new seats, he believed the changes would disadvantage the region.
“Wales’s voice has been weakened in Westminster,” he said.
“North Wales will be disproportionately represented in the House of Commons.”
Arfon MP Hywel Williams also said he was worried about the impact of the changes.
“I’m more concerned with providing the service to the people of Gwynedd and Ynys Mon than I am with what happens in Westminster,” he said.
“Clearly there are going to be problems though.”
“The Gwynedd constituency would be enormous,
“Just getting around it in the first place would be quite a job.”
The public are being invited to submit their views on the proposals at a series of hearings across Wales.
There will be a hearing in Caernarfon at the Celtic Royal Hotel, from March 7 to March 8.