Sinn Féin MP Francie Molloy has welcomed the announcement that the British government’s revised boundary commission proposals have been shelved. 

Speaking following the announcement, Franice Molloy said:

“The proposals from the boundary commission had caused widespread anger across the nationalist community. If implemented, these proposals would have left tens of thousands of people across the north disenfranchised.

“The use of Rule 7, the so called ‘gerrymander rule’, by the British Government to go under or above the average electoral quota was extremely concerning.

“This effectively meant that not all votes would have carried the same weight.

“This is wholly unacceptable and undemocratic.

“These proposals should not just be shelved; they must be binned.

“I would also call on the Electoral Office not to conduct the removal of people from the register this year, reflecting the current public health crisis.

“It would place electoral office workers at risk to carry out a door-to-door registration or any other direct contact with the public at this time.

“There must be an evaluation of current electoral registration practices and a concentrated effort placed into finding a safer, more efficient and effective registration process.

“We cannot go back to the dark days of gerrymandering and the disenfranchisement of large swathes of the community.”