Tavistock would become more 'Plymouth-facing' if revised Boundary Commission proposals published this week go through the House of Commons.

The controversial move would create a Tavistock and Plympton constituency — Tavistock, which has already lost its parliamentary link with its West Devon neighbour Okehampton, would be politically packaged with Ivybridge, Wembury and Brixton in the South Hams.

But the proposal has come under fire from senior political figures in the existing West Devon and Torridge constituency, held by Conservative Geoffrey Cox.

Mr Cox said he thought the proposed seat was the wrong approach: 'There are perfectly fair political arguments for the reduction of seats and I agree with that, but it has been clumsily done and does not recognise the historical, local and geographical character of Tavistock.'

He regretted the loss of Okehampton from the West Devon constituency in the previous boundary shake-up but felt it would be wrong to make Tavistock an 'adjunct' of Plymouth in the next one.

'Tavistock is a unique and idiosyncratic market town and it makes more sense to retain its rural interests, but I am comforted by the thought that these changes will not happen before the next election.'

The shake-up of parliamentary boundaries is aimed at reducing the number of Westminster seats by 50, taking the Commons to 600, and to iron out discrepancies in the number of electors in each constituency.

But there is doubt as to when, if ever, the proposals will move forward since the Liberal Democrats, led by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg say they will not support the changes — their opposition followed the scuppering by Tory and Labour MPs over a crucial timetable for House of Lords reform.

Mr Cox said there were 'Westminster whispers among political apparatchiks' that the Liberal Democrats would be offered state funding of political parties in exchange for support of the Boundary Commission proposals.

He said it would be wrong to aim to achieve principled reform by striking an unprincipled deal, and the coalition parties would incur the 'ridicule and wrath' of the electorate if they struck up such a deal along those lines.

Former West Devon MP and now a Liberal Democrat peer Lord Burnett, who lives in Tavistock, said he 'bitterly opposed' the previous redrawing of the constituency boundaries and if the latest attempt came before the House of Lords he would be in the forefront of opposition to it.

'Tavistock is a unique and great rural town and should not be subsumed into Plymoputh or Plymouth's surroundings,' he said.

In its revised proposals, published this week, the Boundary Commission said it had 'focused attention on rendering the proposed constituency of Tavistock and Plympton, which includes Moor View, more Plymouth-facing and reflective of local ties.'

Highlighting the significant changes to the proposed seat, it added: 'The removal of six wards straddling or north of the A30 from Tavistock and Plympton, balanced by the addition of Ivybridge (seven miles from Plympton and linked to Plymouth by the A38) and other South Hams wards, produces a constituency that is focused on the Plymouth travel to work area and is generally more Plymouth-centred.

'The solution addresses concerns about the urban areas of Plympton and Moor View being linked to areas beyond Dartmoor that look to Exeter and with which there is no community of interest.'