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LABOUR'S MAJORITY IS BROWN BY 19

EXCLUSIVE Commons seats cut down day he's PM
By Nigel Nelson Political Editor Nigel.Nelson@People.Co.Uk

GORDON Brown will lose 19 MPs on the SAME day he becomes PM.

He'll be hit by boundary changes from June 27 which mean the Tories will gain 12 seats and Labour lose seven.

The Queen's political advisers The Privy Council approved the changes on Wednesday.

The switch would cut the Labour majority of 67 by nearly a third and increase the chances of Mr Brown failing to get an overall majority in a 2009 Election.

Prof Colin Rallings, of Plymouth University, who did the calculation, said: "A hung parliament is now more likely.

"A very wide range of swings from Labour to Conservative gives no overall majority. Parties would have to do deals to form a Government."

Labour casualties will include Roads Minister Stephen Ladyman, Immigration Minister Joan Ryan, and flam-boyant left-wing lawyer Bob Marshall-Andrews.

One survivor will be Mr Brown's best political pal, Ed Balls, who is switching from about-to-be-axed Normanton, West Yorks, to a newly-created safe Labour seat.

The Boundary Commission increased the number of seats from 646 to 650 because of population changes.

It also re-drew boundaries so constituencies have roughly the same number of voters.

Large northern cities and London lose seats to the south as more people have moved to live there. Labour MPs are the big losers as key supporters have been moved to new constituencies. By-elections will be fought on existing boundaries.

By-elections will be fought on existing boundaries.

At which time any key MPs will be moved into safe seats