THE Colchester parliamentary constituency is set to grow after the publication of final proposals to reform the House of Commons.

Under the Boundary Commission for England’s plans, the existing constituency will incorporate the former borough council ward of East Donyland, which includes Rowhedge.

That ward has now been amalgamated into the new Old Heath and Hythe ward.

At the moment, Rowhedge is part of the Harwich and North Essex constituency - a safe Conservative seat.

The change means an extra 1,845 electors will be added to the Colchester constituency, taking it to a total of 74,140.

The amendments also mean the Colchester constituency will be completely surrounded by the new North Essex constituency, as had been the case before 1997.

Conservative Will Quince holds the Colchester seat by 5,677, having taken 24,565 votes in the 2017 General Election.

His nearest challenger was Labour’s Tim Young, who picked up 18,888. The addition of East Donyland to the Colchester constituency would appear to benefit Labour, which garnered 488 votes - set against the Conservatives’ 209 and Lib Dems’ 21 - the last time the Colchester Council seat was up for election, in 2012.

But it is unlikely to have any discernible affect on the seat’s outcome.

Mr Quince said he is “excited” at the prospect of adding the coastline to the constituency.

He added: “It’s a different demographic, of course, and had been well represented by Sir Bernard for sometime now but it’s certainly something I’m looking forward to.”

Under the proposals, Priti Patel’s Witham constituency will be joined with veteran and fellow Conservative John Whittingdale’s Maldon seat.

Stanway will be removed from the Witham constituency into the newly-named North Essex, which in turn is set to lose Harwich to the newly-drawn Clacton seat.

The big question, however, will be where the controversial Ms Patel will stand in the next General Election.

One move would be for 58-year-old Mr Whittingdale to step aside and allow Ms Patel - still seen as a possible future party leader despite resigning her Cabinet role in April - a clean run at the new Witham and Maldon seat.

However, it could also be possible the recently knighted Sir Bernard Jenkin could call time on his public service career.

The 59-year-old staunch Brexiteer has been in the public eye for more than 20 years and received the honour in June.

But it is understood he is likely to seek re-election at least one more time.

When asked by the Gazette where her political future lay, Ms Patel said: “The independent Boundary Commission has reviewed constituency boundaries and redrawn them in accordance with the legislation to reduce the number of MPs from 650 to 600.

“The reduction in the number of MPs is important to ensure that the number of electors in each constituency is of a more equal size and as part of the Government’s commitment to cut the cost of politics.

“This is a manifesto commitment and the proposed new constituencies will be subject to a vote to approve them in Parliament.”

There is also a chance the party could move Ms Patel to another safe seat elsewhere in the country.

Giles Watling’s Clacton seat will see some changes, with Harwich re-joining for the first time since 1997.

In that year’s General Election, Labour’s Ivan Henderson took the seat. He also defended it in 2001.

In 2005, it was taken by then-Conservative Douglas Carswell - who later defected to UKIP - who held it until stepping down in April last year.

On the face of it, although the addition of Harwich to the constituency is likely to increase Labour’s share of the vote, the Conservatives are likely to fancy their chances, especially since plans to move Jaywick into the North Essex constituency were shelved. St Osyth, though, will become part North Essex.

Guidelines state each constituency should have a lower limit of about 71,000 electors and an upper limit of 78,500.

'Changes would have led to Tory majority'

The Conservatives would have won an overall majority of 16 at the last General Election if a proposed boundary shake-up branded a “power grab” had been in place, according to analysis.

The proposals will cut the number of MPs by 50, with high profile MPs such as Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and former Tory minister Priti Patel having their seats erased.

The planned new boundaries would have had a significant impact at the 2017 General Election had they been in place at the time, analysis commissioned by the BBC, ITV News, Sky News and the Press Association found.

Taking into account the fact Sinn Fein MPs do not take their seats in Westminster, the research found the Conservatives would have won a majority of 23, with 308 seats.

Labour would have garnered 232 seats while the SNP would drop to 33 seats. 

A number of Tories are likely to oppose the plans, and the Commons Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee has warned the overhaul is unlikely to progress.

Labour’s leader is the most high profile casualty under the proposed reforms, with his Islington North seat being wiped out. But it is expected that he will take over one of the redrawn seats in the area.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “These reforms will ensure there is fair and equal representation for voters across the UK at the next General Election.”

The proposals were drawn up by an independent group.