DUDLEY is being carved up in the biggest shake up of parliamentary constituencies since 1944 sparking an almighty political row.

The current constituencies of Dudley North and Dudley South will be scrapped under Boundary Commission plans to cut 50 MPs from the House of Commons.

Labour’s Ian Austin’s Dudley North constituency will be split between three seats - Dudley East and Tipton, Dudley West and Wolverhampton South and Coseley.

Mr Austin said: “What the Tories are doing is very bad. For the first time in history, these changes are being introduced in a party-political, partisan basis and I think that undermines the whole system.”

Dudley East and Tipton will be made up of Castle and Priory, St James’, St Thomas’ wards and Sandwell wards Great Bridge, Greets Green and Lyng, Oldbury, Tipton Green and Princes End.

Mr Austin and current West Bromwich West Labour MP Adrian Bailey might have to contest the nomination for the Dudley East and Tipton seat.

The Wolverhampton South and Coseley constituency will be made up of Coseley East, Sedgley, Upper Gornal and Woodsetton, Bilston East, Bilston North, East Park, Ettingshall and Spring Vale.

Dudley West will incorporate the majority of the current Dudley South seat with Brockmoor and Pensnett, Gornal, Kingswinford North and Wall Heath, Kingswinford South, Netherton, Woodside and St Andrews, Quarry Bank and Dudley Wood and Wordsley.

Current Conservative Dudley South MP Mike Wood welcomed the boundary changes, which the Government say will save taxpayers £66 million over five years. He said: “The proposals work great for me, they probably add another 700 to my majority.

“However, I think they can do better in making it represent local communities.”

Mr Wood believes Brierley Hill being moved into the Stourbridge constituency is a strange decision.


He said: "To take Brierley Hill town centre out whilst leaving most of the surrounding areas like Brockmoor and Pensnett and parts of Woodside does seem to be unnecessarily splitting local communities."
 

If passed through parliament the changes will be implemented before the 2020 General Election.