Michael has recommended that the town of Swanley be formally recognised in the name of his constituency in his response to the Revised Boundary Proposals 2018. Should his request be granted, the official name of the Sevenoaks constituency would become Sevenoaks & Swanley.
Revised proposals for all the parliamentary seats were published in October by the Boundary Commission for England. Under the new proposals, the Sevenoaks constituency remains largely the same, but would gain the Wrotham, Ightham and Stansted ward from Tonbridge, increasing the size of the Sevenoaks electorate to 72,561.
The review aims to make constituencies more equal in size. Parliament has also approved the principle of reducing the size of the House of Commons. If the majority of MPs support the detailed plans, the proposed changes will take effect at the next election.
Happy with the boundary proposals, the local MP took the opportunity to recognise Swanley as a key part of his constituency.
He said: “My constituency is special because it is diverse. The town of Swanley is very different from the town of Sevenoaks, and each contributes equally to the character of the constituency. I refer to my constituency as Sevenoaks & Swanley, and I believe that now is the time that Swanley be recognised in its formal name.”