Prime Minister David Cameron has lost a vote on boundary changes. Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire
The prime minister's hopes of fighting the next election on redrawn constituency boundaries have been dashed after a Commons defeat.
The proposed changes were thought to offer an electoral boost to the Conservatives, but MPs voted by 334 to 292, a majority of 42, to delay the review of boundaries until 2018.
Liberal Democrat MPs voted against their Conservative coalition partners in retaliation for backbench Tories sabotaging House of Lords reform.
However, if implemented the proposed changes could have seen East Anglian Tory MPs having to fight each other to stand in the seats set out under the new boundaries.
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