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MPs face the chop in boundary changes

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Liverpool Wavertree MP Luciana Berger has said she will fight boundary changes which could see her lose her parliamentary seat. Ms Berger, the former director of Labour Friends of Israel, won the seat for Labour at the 2010 General Election.

A number of Jewish MPs may lose their seats by the next general election if constituency boundary changes follow predictions published this week.

According to the political research organisation Democratic Audit, based at the University of Liverpool, Ms Berger's seat will be abolished along with that of Hertfordshire Conservative MP Grant Shapps.

Fellow Conservative Zac Goldsmith, who holds his Richmond Park seat in London, is also at risk from proposed changes.

Government electoral reforms, which propose reducing the number of MPs from 650 to 600 and equalising the number of voters in each constituency, could also see Conservative MP Matthew Offord's Hendon seat abolished.

The projections come ahead of changes put forward by the four Boundary Commissions representing England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, which are due to be announced in September.

But Ms Berger said: "The real issue for the people of Liverpool is not which MP might lose out, but that they are going to have their representation in parliament reduced by a fifth, whether it is my constituency, or someone else's, which goes.

"My constituency office dealt with 600 pieces of casework last month, which shows why we have serious concerns about reducing the number of MPs," she added.

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