§ Mr. Coombsasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list the shire counties, London boroughs and metropolitan boroughs in England in ranking order according to the degree by which their electorates vary from the nationally averaged electorate appropriate to the number of parliamentary constituencies within them.
§ Mr. WhitneyThe information requested is given in the following table:
648W
Average electorate per constituency Area 1985 electorate Number Percentage difference from national average England 35,938,491 68,716 Isle of Wight 97,614 97,614 42.1 Wiltshire 404,946 80,989 17.9 Gloucestershire 394,620 78,924 14.9 Dudley 234,694 78,231 13.8 Harrow 156,443 78,222 13.8 Sunderland 232,797 77,599 12.9 West Sussex 542,595 77,514 12.8 Haringey 154,068 77,034 12.1 Solihull 153,811 76,906 11.9 Hampshire 1,145,556 76,370 11.1 Suffolk 457,809 76,302 11.0 Cambridgeshire 456,013 76,002 10.6 Sefton 227,659 75,886 10.4 Berkshire 530,136 75,734 10.2 North Yorkshire 529,778 75,683 10.1 North Tyneside 151,061 75,531 9.9 Bedfordshire 376,763 75,353 9.7 Buckinghamshire 445,193 74,199 8.0 Hertfordshire 740,342 74,034 7.7 Warwickshire 367,720 73,544 7.0 Calderdale 146,506 73,253 6.6 Humberside 658,589 73,177 6.5 Doncaster 219,205 73,068 6.3 Leicestershire 656,556 72,951 6.2 Shropshire 291,680 72,920 6.1 Hounslow 145,405 72,703 5.8 Avon 724,252 72,425 5.4
649W
Average electorate per constituency Area 1985 electorate Number Percentage difference from national average Essex 1,155,227 72,202 5.1 Cheshire 721,409 72,141 5.0 Surrey 789,981 71,816 4.5 Lincolnshire 430,072 71,679 4.3 Kirklees 286,714 71,679 4.3 Staffordshire 782,646 71,150 3.5 Kent 1,137,572 71,098 3.5 St. Helens 142,109 71,055 3.4 Derbyshire 710,048 71,005 3.3 Dorset 496,051 70,864 3.1 Hereford and Worcester 496,039 70,863 3.1 Sheffield 423,645 70,608 2.8 Cleveland 423,550 70,592 2.7 Wigan 232,319 70,400 2.5 Nottinghamshire 767,807 69,801 1.6 Hackney 139,261 69,631 1.3 Ealing 208,285 69,428 1.0 Norfolk 554,217 69,277 0.8 Bradford 345,322 69,064 0.5 Cornwall and Isles of Scilly 343,405 68,681 -0.1 Northamptonshire 411,316 68,553 -0.2 East Sussex 547,293 68,412 -0.4 Somerset 341,523 68,305 -0.6 Devon 747,575 67,961 -1.1 Oxfordshire 407,181 67,864 -1.2 Salford 182,268 67,507 -1.8 Enfield 202,374 67,458 -1.8 Sutton 134,001 67,001 -2.5 Durham 468,838 66,977 -2.5 Wandsworth 200,904 66,968 -2.5 Bury 133,582 66,791 -2.8 Camden 133,455 66,728 -2.9 Walsall 200,122 66,707 -2.9 Gateshead 165,921 66,368 -3.4 Stockport 224,421 66,006 -3.9 Cities of London and Westminster 132,025 66,013 -3.9 Lancashire 1,054,449 65,903 -4.1 Leeds 546,978 65,901 -4.1 Bolton 197,249 65,750 -4.3 Wirral 261,549 65,387 -4.8 Oldham 168,020 64,623 -6.0 Newcastle upon Tyne 225,825 64,521 -6.1 Rotherham 193,142 64,381 -6.3 Liverpool 386,009 64,335 -6.4 Rochdale 154,332 64,305 -6.4 Wakefield 237,229 64,116 -6.7 Manchester 338,871 63,938 -7.0 Tameside 165,968 63,834 -7.1 Trafford 171,821 63,637 -7.4 Merton 126,924 63,462 -7.6 Wolverhampton 189,735 63,245 -8.0 South Tyneside 126,440 63,220 -8.0 Birmingham 757,658 63,138 -8.1 Cumbria 377,115 62,853 -8.5 Brent 187,910 62,637 -8.8 Havering 186,690 62,230 -9.4 Knowsley 123,019 61,510 -10.5 Croydon 245,301 61,325 -10.8 Richmond upon Thames 121,083 60,542 -11.9 Lewisham 181,432 60,477 -12.0 Islington 120,006 60,003 -12.7 Coventry 239,190 59,798 -13.0 Hillingdon 178,468 59,489 -13.4 Redbridge 177,607 59,202 -13.8 Bromley 235,884 58,971 -14.2 Sandwell 234,942 58,736 -14.5 Lambeth 175,664 58,555 -14.8 Northumberland 233,191 58,298 -15.2 Barking and Dagenham 115,500 57,750 -16.0 Barnsley 172,370 57,457 -16.4
Average electorate per constituency Area 1985 electorate Number Percentage difference from national average Southwark 171,769 57,256 -16.7 Bexley 169,947 56,649 -17.6 Barnet 224,263 56,066 -18.4 Tower Hamlets 112,036 56,018 -18.5 Greenwich 164,329 54,776 -20.3 Waltham Forest 164,264 54,755 -20.3 Newham 162,246 54,082 -21.3 Kingston upon Thames 102,317 51,159 -25.6 Kensington and Chelsea 101,448 50,724 -26.2 Hammersmith and Fulham 98,012 49,006 -28.7