REVISED plans to divide Ellesmere Port and Neston constituency have been slammed as a ‘waste of money’ by Ellesmere Port and Neston’s MP.

The Boundary Commission for England launched an eight-week consultation on its revised proposals for new parliamentary constituency boundaries in England last week.

It is the last chance for people to have their say before the commission prepares its final report.

Initial proposals, published last September, have been revised after the first consultation process.

The review of constituency boundaries is being carried out after Parliament decided there should be a reduction in the number of constituencies across the UK and there should be similar numbers of electors in each constituency.

The number of constituencies in England is being reduced from 533 to 502. Every constituency must have an electorate of no less than 95% and no more than 105% of the UK electoral quota of 76,641 electors.

MP Andrew Miller has criticised the decision to split his current constituency and put the Groves, Whitby, Ledsham, Willaston, much of Elton, Burton, Hooton, Ness and much of Little Sutton in a Chester constituency.

He said: “The new boundaries are more rational than the previous ones, which were frankly absurd.

“We remain disappointed at the split of Ellesmere Port and Neston.

“In all probability we won’t fight the election on the proposed boundaries because the Liberal Democrats won’t vote in support of it.

“It’s an extraordinary waste of public money.”

The controversial Mersey Banks constituency, which originally included land the other side of the Mersey, has been redrawn so only areas south of the river are included. They are Ellesmere Port Central, Westminster, Grange, Rossmore, Sutton and Manor, which will combine with Frodsham, Helsby, Eastham, Bromborough, Weaver and Heath.

Neston and Parkgate – which had been included in a Hoylake and Neston constituency – would join much of West Wirral in a Wirral Deeside constituency.