How boundary changes will affect Northamptonshire voters at this year's General Election

Some people living in certain areas of the county will be jumping constituencies since they last went to the polls in 2019 to choose their local MP. The new boundaries for the seven constituencies in the Northants area were announced last summer to standardise the amount of people each MP represents.

The new rules require every constituency to have an electorate that is no smaller than 69,724, and no larger than 77,062 – within five per cent of the ‘electoral quota’. This has led to a county-wide reshuffle to bring each seat’s voting pool in line with the guidance.

Of Northamptonshire’s seven constituencies, only Kettering was within the permitted electoral range. Meanwhile, Corby, Daventry, South Northamptonshire and Wellingborough were above and Northampton North and South were below the range.

This means that changes to boundaries across the county could affect the MP candidates you will be allowed to vote for.

Here is a round-up of the major changes that you need to know about:

Corby and East Northants

The Corby constituency has been held by Conservative MP Tom Pursglove since the 2015 general election. He has announced that he will be fighting again for the seat after he won a 10,000 majority in the last election.

Under the review, the area the constituency covers will be reduced and it will be renamed ‘Corby and East Northamptonshire’. The changes will see some of the electorate go to Kettering and another chunk be transferred to Wellingborough and Rushden.

In practice, this will see the Irthlingborough ward being split across Corby and Wellingborough. Parts of Corby Rural, including Middleton, East Carlton, Stanion and Little Stanion, will also now vote for the next Kettering MP.

Daventry

The boundaries of Daventry, which was held by Conservative MP Chris Heaton-Harris from 2010, will also be subject to change. Mr Heaton-Harris, who was also the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, announced that he will not be standing for re-election.

The current borders of Daventry will be changed to transfer some voters to neighbouring constituencies and pick up voters in other areas.

The changes mostly affect an area of land between Junction 15 of the M1, the A5 and the A43. This includes Gayton, Rothersthorpe, Bugbrooke, Harpole and Upper Heyford and more which will be moved to South Northamptonshire.

The Daventry boundaries will also be extended out on the west to include villages towards Chipping Warden and the east to include Wilby, Great Doddington and Isham to name a few.

Kettering

The area Kettering covers will be increased and incumbent MP Philip Hollobone, who has held the seat since 2005, will be running again this year.

No areas in the previous Kettering constituency will be lost, but it will encroach on some areas that would have previously voted in the Corby elections.

Middleton, East Carlton, Cottingham, Stanion and Little Stanion have all been absorbed and will vote for the next Kettering MP.

Northampton North

Northampton North was previously held by Conservative MP Michael Ellis, who was elected in 2010. The constituency has now been enlarged and will have additional small boundary changes.

It has been expanded to the southwest to encompass Northampton town centre and nearby residential areas. The new patch includes the Castle and Dallington Spencer wards and King’s Heath.

On the east boundary, part of the electorate will go to Northampton South as the Blackthorn estate has been transferred across.

Sir Michael Ellis won’t be standing again for the seat.

Northampton South

The Northampton South constituency will have one of the biggest changes across the county, as it loses 38.7 per cent of its original area to Northampton North.

This includes the Castle and Dallington Spencer wards and King’s Heath being lost. The northern boundary of the updated constituency runs along the River Nene directly under the town centre.

Some wards have remained the same, such as Duston and Far Cotton, however it has been majorly expanded to the south and taken on a large area of what used to be the South Northants constituency.

It now includes East Hunsbury and Shelfleys, Wootton, Collingtree, Upton, Pineham Village and Great Houghton to name a few.

The seat is currently held by Conservative Andrew Lewer – the only member of parliament to defend their seat in West Northants.

South Northants

Another area that has suffered major changes is the South Northants area, which has lost areas to Northampton South and Daventry, but gained from Wellingborough and Rushden.

The seat was previously held by Conservative MP Dame Andrea Leadsom, who chose to step down in this election after 14 years in office.

Boundaries have been expanded to include villages between Junction 15 of the M1 and the A5 including Gayton, Rothersthorpe, Bugbrooke, Harpole and Upper Heyford. It will also take on Bozeat, Wollaston and Grendon from Wellingborough.

Rural villages north of Chipping Warden have been lost, along with areas on the outskirts of Northampton.

Wellingborough and Rushden

The name of the constituency has been changed to Wellingborough and Rushden to reflect the different areas covered by the parliamentary seat. The area was last represented by Labour’s Gen Kitchen after she battled for the seat in a February by-election – she will be running again in the General Election.

It will continue to encompass other nearby areas such as Higham Ferrers, Irchester, Stanton Cross and Finedon. Part of Irthlingborough will also be added to the constituency to reflect the new requirements.

Rural areas below Wellingborough will be transferred to South Northants. Daventry will take on areas on the outskirts of Wellingborough including parts of Glenvale Park as well as Wilby and Great Doddington.

For more information on any of the boundary changes for the 2024 general election, you can view the Government’s page here.