Grant Shapps says David Cameron's scheme to reduce number of MPs by 50 is unlikely to be introduced in this parliament

This article is more than 8 years old

This article is more than 8 years old

The Tory leadership has abandoned immediate plans to reduce the size of the House of Commons by 50 MPs, after Lords reform was dropped, the party chairman, Grant Shapps, has announced.

In his first major move as chairman, Shapps told the ConservativeHome website that parliamentary candidates would be selected on existing boundaries once the police commissioner elections have been held in November.

The prime minister's plans to reduce the number of MPs from 650 to 600 by equalising the size of constituencies ran into trouble over the summer when Nick Clegg withdrew Liberal Democrat support after the failure of the Tories to back Lords reform.

David Cameron has said he will still press ahead with a final Commons vote next year, even though the Lib Dem opposition makes it almost impossible for the vote to be passed.

Shapps said he was working on the basis that the changes were unlikely to be introduced in this parliament.

"Constituencies of equal size are a matter of basic democratic fairness and anything else is an abuse of the electoral system," he said.

"The coalition agreement commits us to voting on the new boundaries, but that vote won't take place for another year.

"In the meantime I'm absolutely determined to ensure that we get first-class candidates out and about, working for their communities and becoming known for their drive and passion."

Labour said the government should acknowledge the changes were never going to be introduced and abandon the plans, saving the taxpayer £4m.

John Spellar, the shadow foreign office minister, said: "This is running up the white flag. The government would save £4m if it dropped these plans altogether."

Shapps said the government was still committed to equalising the size of parliamentary constituencies, and the plans could be introduced after the next election even if the final vote in this parliament was rejected.

The proposals are contained in the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act, enacted in February last year, which will remain on the statute book regardless of the vote on whether to implement the changes in this parliament.