Proposed new election boundaries for Cambridgeshire County Council, announced only last month, have been thrown into chaos.

The Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) published ‘final recommendations’ in February for new election boundaries to take effect at next year’s county council elections.  But the proposals were so ludicrous, and the response so scathing, that they have been forced back to the drawing board.

A new phase of public consultation will be held between 10 May and 20 June on the electoral arrangements for Cambridgeshire County Council.  The LGBCE will consider the submissions it receives and publish new final recommendations in September.

To ensure co-ordination between the county review and the review of East Cambridgeshire district council election boundaries, the LGBCE has also decided to defer publication of the final recommendations for the district council until 16 August.

The good news is that Sutton and the Downham Villages may not find themselves sharing two county councillors in the LGBCE’s nonsensical proposed ‘Littleport West’ division along with half of Littleport, Haddenham, Wilburton, Stretham, and Little Thetford.

The bad news is with proposals delayed to September, county council elections in May next year, and normally a five month period between the publication of final proposals and the making of the required Order in Parliament, we may find ourselves not knowing what the election boundaries will be until only a few weeks before candidates are nominated.