2 JANUARY 1948, Page 20

THE BOUNDARY COMMISSION

SIR,—Mr. Chapman's complaint that Bradford, with only three members for 213,399 electors, will suffer more than any other urban area from re- distribution is not supported by the facts. No less than thirty-three urban constituencies in England will have electorates larger than Bradford's average of 71,133, and eight will exceed 80,000. No doubt some of these places also will complain of under-representation. But unless the convenient principle of identifying parliamentary with municipal units were violated to an extent which it was the main purpose of the 1947 Act to prevent, such grievances could only be removed by a substantial increase in the number of members, which nobody has advocated nor the Act authorised, and an increase would itself praluce fresh anomalies. The Commissioners' report shows that suggestion for modifying their proposals of six months ago were carefully considered, and a number of them acted upon. It seems unlikely, that any more equitable re- distribution could now be devised —Your obedient servant,