I love how people brand "How **** HCC is". Everyone of those wards would bring their own councillors in to HCC. Even now, at a highpoint of Tory/Lib Dem unpopularity though the coalition, the vast majority of those seats would return tories or lib dems. Labour's grip on HCC would be very weak. More often than not, the council would be in NOC, and the councillors would actually have to work for their money, because a few lost seats could mean they were out. Dinosaurs like Terry Geraghty would be a thing of the past.
East Riding council is no better. Stick a blue rosette on it, and it has a place on the ER cabinet. Parnaby has been on that gravy train as council leader since 1996. 18 years with one man in charge? That's not healthy. He moved like **** off a shiny shovel to get this referendum in, because he wanted to make sure he didn't lose all those blue wards keeping him stable in Beverley. That second question didn't need asking. That was NIMBY bait, pure and simple.
For my opinion - I think there are alternatives to shifting the boundaries - but it would require the entire country to measure statistics differently. Other cities are measured including the suburbs - those judgements affect inward investment. Hull is measured with no suburbs. That is really the only issue, and that elephant in the room affects both Hull and the ER. If boundaries aren't to be changed - then something else has to be. We can't continue having the region treat like a ****hole, when in actual fact, we as a region hold our own against other conurbations.