REPLIES to a consultation on the proposed new Hyndburn Parliamentary constituency have overwhelmingly rejected moving Whalley into it.

Last years the Boundary Commission for England published its proposals for redrawing the General Election map.

They included three council wards of Billington and Langho, East Whalley, Read and Simonstone and Whalley and Painter Wood from the Ribble Valley seat into a new Hyndburn constituency which would no longer include Haslingden.

Now the commission has published responses from members of the public to the new boundaries.

They show 293 comments against Whalley being included in Hyndburn and just 30 for the change.

Former Labour MP for Hyndburn Graham Jones said: "Whalley both historically, culturally and economically has no connection to Hyndburn.

"The sole bus between Whalley and Accrington has to be subsidised by taxpayers, has to take lots of detours to get passengers and even then and takes a less than half dozen passengers a trip

"Compare that to the six buses an hour from Padiham to every town in Hyndburn along two commercially viable but different routes.

"More people travel from Whalley to Manchester to work than Hyndburn."