Embarassing myself with Boundary Assistant

[Sol]

I've been having a bit of fun with Boundary Assistant lately and thought it might be a bit of fun to share my maps on here. (Mods, move if this is not the right place).

This is also redrawing with an ulterior motive. Finding redistricting threads on here in high school gave me a tone of useless knowledge about the geography of America, but my knowledge doesn't really stack up in the rest of the world. Hopefully doing this teaches me more about Britiain, such as wtf is the difference between ceremonial counties, historical counties, and metropolitan counties, and what exactly is a "Humberside."

Northeast England to come shortly.

[Sol]

As promised.

First, Teesside and adjacent constituencies. I hewed pretty closely to the current proposals here.




Now for Tyneside.





A broader regional view. There are four constituencies which I didn't cover in the zoomed in screenshots; the sea green northern seat is "Berwick & Morpeth," the western pink seat is "Hexham and Cramlington," the purple SW seat is "Bishop Auckland" and the south central light purplish blue is "Spennymoor & Newton Aycliffe."


Where did I screw up? Also, how would these vote?

[Sol]

Whoever drew the wards in Sheffield is a titanium HP.

[YL]

Whoever drew the wards in Sheffield is a titanium HP.

Not really, no.  The point is that they were designed as electoral units for local elections (for which they are, for the most part, not bad) not as building blocks for a different process (for which they are far too big).

Have you grappled with Kirklees yet?

[Sol]

Whoever drew the wards in Sheffield is a titanium HP.

Not really, no.  The point is that they were designed as electoral units for local elections (for which they are, for the most part, not bad) not as building blocks for a different process (for which they are far too big).

Have you grappled with Kirklees yet?

No but the prospect that there might be worse wards in population size fills me with dread.

I think I shall switch to Wales.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Using wards with the tight quota demanded by the present rules was always going to be rather problematic. Of course it's actually even worse in places with county-scale unitary authorities: the divisions used in Durham and Shropshire UAs, for instance, are appalling.

[JimJamUK]

Using wards with the tight quota demanded by the present rules was always going to be rather problematic. Of course it's actually even worse in places with county-scale unitary authorities: the divisions used in Durham and Shropshire UAs, for instance, are appalling.

Any particular ones in mind? The 2 thin wards west of Durham come to mind for myself.

[Sol]

Nvm, I'm doing the Southeast. First, Kent.



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[Wiswylfen]

That 'Blyth & Tyne' constituency would be a really bad idea and there's no reason to go for it (and I should add that there is no such thing as 'Seaton'); if you're insisting on no ward splits, Tynemouth - Valley + Riverside (actually, do this and hope God forgives you for what you've done to Newcastle's outer west). A Hexham and Cramlington constituency would also be a bad idea.

[Sol]

That 'Blyth & Tyne' constituency would be a really bad idea and there's no reason to go for it (and I should add that there is no such thing as 'Seaton'); if you're insisting on no ward splits, Tynemouth - Valley + Riverside (actually, do this and hope God forgives you for what you've done to Newcastle's outer west). A Hexham and Cramlington constituency would also be a bad idea.

It's very doable to switch around like so; the question on my end is whether this is actually any better since the areas west of Newcastle seem like they're awkward fits at best with a more urbanized seat.



Sorry for the slow reply, have been busy.

[EastAnglianLefty]

That's an impressively awful arrangement of constituencies in Tynedale.

[JimJamUK]

That's an impressively awful arrangement of constituencies in Tynedale.

The South Tynedale ward is an abomination, but it’s an abomination that needs to be kept in the Hexham based constituency. Good luck to the MP who attempts to get from Blaydon to Allendale in the middle of Winter without leaving the constituency.

[EastAnglianLefty]

That's an impressively awful arrangement of constituencies in Tynedale.

The South Tynedale ward is an abomination, but it’s an abomination that needs to be kept in the Hexham based constituency. Good luck to the MP who attempts to get from Blaydon to Allendale in the middle of Winter without leaving the constituency.

I went to Hexham for a few days in December about five years ago and took that road in a misguided attempt to be clever. In the dark, as it was starting to snow. It was educational.

[Sol]

Agreed, which is why I went north initially. I'm playing around with other versions, like putting Cramlington in with Newcastle -- what makes most sense to put in with Tyneside in the Northumberland authority?

[Sol]

What about this? (Sorry about Bedlington).



You can easily do Hexham-Berwick instead if that makes more sense.

[EastAnglianLefty]

Hexham-Berwick very much does not make sense - look at the road network. That map is an improvement over your previous efforts, but it's also inching ever closer to the actual map we're going to get and that's not coincidental.