Commentary on Sections Amendment of existing provisions about schemes for ordinary elections Requests for single-member electoral areas in England Section 55: Requests for single-member electoral areas
140.This section provides for principal councils that hold whole-council elections, to request that the Electoral Commission directs the Boundary Committee for England to conduct an electoral review of their area with the aim of introducing single-member electoral areas. If the Electoral Commission decides not to direct a review the section requires the Electoral Commission to provide local authorities with reasons for this decision. Subsection (6) ensures that the Boundary Committee are not obliged to respond to a request by recommending that all wards become single-member wards if, having regard to the factors listed in section 13(5)(a) to (c) of the 1992 Act, they consider it would be inappropriate to do so.