A campaign to save Southgate’s electoral constituency received cross-party backing at a public hearing.

When the boundary commission for England (BCE) announced tentative proposals for new electoral boundaries to reduce the number of MPs from 650 to 600, some of the tweaks were met with apprehension.

The Save Our Southgate campaign, working against proposals to split Enfield Southgate into five pieces, saw support as all three main political parties gave counter-proposals to the plan at a public hearing in Westminster yesterday (October 17).

Joint campaign manager David Conway said: “Every speaker, whatever their party, emphasised the importance of keeping communities together and respecting existing boundaries as far as possible.

“That chimes exactly with our campaign to save Southgate.”

David Burrowes, MP for Enfield Southgate, said the proposals are “a bad deal for Enfield”, and the borough needs three MPs focusing on the area.

He said: “We want to make sure the BCE know there are proposals out there which make much more sense and which have cross-party, cross-community support.

“That is why today we are publishing proposals which ensure Enfield Southgate is put back together again.”

In the current proposals, parts of the Southgate area would be divided up into constituencies primarily based in Barnet.

The Finchley and Golders Green constituency would become ‘Finchley and Southgate’, taking parts of Southgate lost by the Enfield and Southgate constituency and Theresa Villier’s Chipping Barnet seat.

Mr Burrowes said the ‘Finchley and Southgate’ idea “makes no sense at all”, recommending a ‘Finchley and Muswell Hill’ seat as an alternative change.

MP for Finchley and Golders Green Mike Freer expressed his opposition to the changes which would affect his own constituency.

He said: “Personally I am saddened to see my seat broken up and I will be arguing that the historic ties many of our communities have are maintained.

“It makes little sense to divide communities down the middle of roads, for example one half of Golders Green goes to Hendon and one half to Hampstead, one half of Finchley Church End to Hendon and one half to Southgate.”

In England, only 68 constituencies would remain unchanged while 33 would disappear entirely.

This would include current Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn's seat Islington North, which would be divided between two new seats - Finsbury and Finsbury Park and Stoke Newington.

The changes would be expected to take effect in time for the 2020 general elections.