A WALTHAM Forest MP has promised to fight plans to merge his constituency with parts of Edmonton. Chingford and Woodford Green MP Iain Duncan Smith initially said he was "surprised" by the plans from the Independent Boundary Commission released earlier this month, but has now launched a full-on attack following consultation with residents.

He said "no-one" supported the proposals and accused the commission of failing to understand the dynamics of the local area.

Under the plans, wards including Chingford Green, Endelbury, Hatch Lane, Higham Hill, Larkswood and Valley will come under a new Chingford and Edmonton seat, which would also include Lower Edmonton, Edmonton Green, and Jubilee.

The commission was tasked with drawing up the proposals after a law was passed in February to cut the number of MPs by 50 nationwide.

Mr Duncan Smith said: "The whole way it's been done here is rather bizarre.

"My main concern is there is no historic link between Edmonton and Chingford. There's the huge reservoir in between which has always been a natural boundary.

"Their reasoning for linking Chingford with Edmonton is the barrier of the A406 North Circular, yet at the same time they want to include Highams Park as part of Walthamstow - two areas divided by the road.”

He also believes Boundary Commission staff mistakingly confused Walthamstow's Higham Hill ward with Highams Park when drawing up the proposals.

If the plans go ahead, Mr Duncan Smith could be pitched into a battle with Labour MP for Edmonton Andy Love, but Mr Duncan Smith denied he was motivated by concerns of losing his safe Conservative seat.

He said: “I've fought both marginal and safe seats throughout my career, what's important to me is the future of Chingford and Woodford.”

Mr Love has previously slammed the proposals, saying: “It just doesn't make any sense – we all knew that these would be radical proposals when they were drew up and I was expecting my constituency to be broken up like many others have been.

“But what does concern me is that the Lea Valley at the point between Edmonton and Chingford is a real barrier between the two areas – constituencies are meant to be communities, and there's no contact between these areas and they are very different.”