LONDON -- An elected representative cannot consult all constituents on every issue of importance and, in theory, at least should vote according to his own conscience. If electors are dissatisfied, they can turn him or her out at the next general election.
But in a first-past-the-post electoral system, as in Britain, a member of Parliament is often elected by a minority of the votes cast for all candidates, and the party with a majority in Parliament may have won considerably less than half the votes cast in the election.
While efforts are made by the boundary commission to try to ensure that the number of voters in each constituency is roughly the same, the way in which boundaries are fixed can give an unfair advantage to one party.