Robert Pass

The chair of the Green Party in Lichfield has backed calls for the Boundary Commission to rethink plans to move Whittington and Streethay into the Tamworth constituency.

The proposals have been made as part of a wider plan to balance up the number of voters in each UK parliamentary constituency.

But a number of residents have criticised the plan, with Lichfield’s Conservative MP Michael Fabricant branding the move as “nonsense”.

Robert Pass, who stood for the Greens at the last general election, said the connections with Lichfield were too great to consider moving them into Tamworth.

Robert Pass
Robert Pass

“For once I find myself in agreement with Michael Fabricant,” he said. “The plan to remove Whittington from the Lichfield constituency is mindless and insensitive.

“Whittington has historic connections with Lichfield, from the origins of the barracks to the fact that Whittington Primary School feeds Lichfield’s King Edward VI secondary school.

“Going right back to the earliest days of the village residents have had close links with Lichfield and not Tamworth. For example, Whittington Church services were originally taken by monks who walked over from Lichfield Friary. In the days when there was a Smithfield Market in Lichfield, Whittington’s butcher would walk his livestock from Lichfield to Whittington to be slaughtered.”

Although the changes would be purely for voting purposes, Mr Pass believes such a move would have an impact.

“Lichfield is my community, not Tamworth,” he said.

“This proposed change would sever a link that goes back centuries, break apart a long-standing community and undermine local democracy.”

Founder of Lichfield Live and editor of the site.