The fight is on. Today the Boundary Commission is announcing the shake-up of Scottish constituencies, and it is clear that a number of MPs are going to lose out.
One Westminster seat is going to go from Glasgow, while another will be lost in Edinburgh. One Highland MP is going to go in a raft of Scottish-wide changes so sweeping that only one mainland constituency – East Lothian – will remain exactly as it is now.
Under the proposals, the number of Scottish Westminster seats is to go down from 59 to 52.
Seven MPs will lose their jobs as a result of the boundary changes, which will lead to a scramble within parties as MPs seek to either oust fellow parliamentarians from their seats or curry enough favour with party leaders to earn a boot up to the House of Lords.
Whatever happens, it promises to be a messy, backbiting business.
However, as far as the actual plans are concerned, the Boundary Commission is proposing a number of changes, including:
● Six constituencies exactly covering Glasgow City in place of the current seven.
● Four constituencies exactly covering the City of Edinburgh in place of the current five.
● Two constituencies exactly covering Aberdeen City.
● Four constituencies exactly covering the combined extent of the Highland, Argyll and Bute, and Moray council areas, in place of the current five.
● Three re-configured constituencies exactly covering the combined extent of Falkirk and West Lothian council areas, as at present.
● The largest constituency will be Caithness, Sutherland, Ross and Cromarty, at 12,830 square kilometres. The largest current constituency is Ross, Skye and Lochaber, which is 12,779 square kilometres.
Across the UK, the number of constituencies is being reduced from 650 to 600. In Scotland there will be a decrease from 59 to 52 constituencies, with similar reductions in each part of the UK: England 502 in place of the current 533; Wales 30 in place of the current 40; and Northern Ireland 16 in place of the current 18.
The smallest permitted electorate for a constituency is 72,810 and the largest permitted electorate is 80,473. In Scotland, however, exceptions to these electorate limits apply for Na h-Eileanan an Iar constituency (the Western Isles), and Orkney and Shetland constituency, each of which are defined in the legislation.
An exception to the minimum electorate requirement can be made if a constituency is larger than 12,000 square kilometres, which can only occur in very sparsely populated areas.
Information on the proposals is available on the Boundary Commission's website, and is being distributed to more than 170 libraries and council offices around the country. Five Public Hearings are being held around Scotland during November.
The new constituencies – ● Aberdeen North; Aberdeen South; Airdrie and Coatbridge South; Angus East and Kincardine; Argyll, Bute and Lochaber ● Banff and Buchan; Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk ● Caithness, Sutherland, Ross and Cromarty; Clackmannanshire and Dunfermline West; Clydesdale and Larkhall; Cumbernauld and Coatbridge North; Cupar and St Andrews ● Deeside and Gordon; Dumfries; Dundee East and the Glens; Dundee West and Gowrie; Dunfermline East ● East Dunbartonshire and Kilsyth; East Kilbride and Rutherglen; East Lothian; East Renfrewshire and Hairmyres; Edinburgh Central and Leith; Edinburgh East; Edinburgh South West; Edinburgh West ● Falkirk ● Galloway and Carrick; Glasgow Central; Glasgow East; Glasgow North East; Glasgow North West; Glasgow South East; Glasgow South West ● Hamilton ● Inverclyde; Inverness and Skye ● Kilmarnock and Loudoun; Kirkcaldy and Glenrothes; Kyle and Cumnock ● Linlithgow and Falkirk East; Livingston ● Midlothian and Tweeddale; Moray and Strathspey; Motherwell, Wishaw and Bellshill ● Na h-Eileanan an Iar; North Ayrshire and Arran ● Orkney and Shetland ● Paisley and Renfrew; Perth and Kinross-shire ● Renfrewshire South and Largs ● Stirling and Crieff ● West Dunbartonshire and BearsdenAmong the changes to specific council areas are the following: ● Aberdeen City – Aberdeen North and Aberdeen South constituencies exactly cover the council area. ● Aberdeenshire – Banff and Buchan constituency and Deeside and Gordon constituency are wholly within Aberdeenshire council area, Angus East and Kincardine constituency covers parts of Aberdeenshire south of Aberdeen City and the eastern part of Angus council area. ● Angus – Angus East and Kincardine constituency covers the eastern part of Angus and parts of Aberdeenshire south of Aberdeen City, Dundee East and the Glens constituency covers the western part of Angus and the eastern part of Dundee City. ● Argyll and Bute – Argyll, Bute and Lochaber constituency covers all of Argyll and Bute and Lochaber (ward 22) of Highland council area. ● Clackmannanshire – Clackmannanshire and Dunfermline West constituency covers all of Clackmannanshire and western part of Fife, including western part of Dunfermline. ● Dumfries and Galloway – Dumfries constituency covers the eastern part of the council area, including all of Dumfries; Galloway and Carrick constituency covers the western part of the council area and southern part of South Ayrshire. ● Dundee City – Dundee West and Gowrie constituency covers the western part of the city and the eastern part (wards 1 and 2) of Perth and Kinross, Dundee East and the Glens constituency covers the eastern part of city and the western part of Angus. ● East Ayrshire – Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency is wholly contained in East Ayrshire, Kyle and Cumnock covers the southern part of East Ayrshire and the northern part of South Ayrshire. ● East Dunbartonshire – East Dunbartonshire and Kilsyth constituency covers most of East Dunbartonshire and the northern part (ward 1) of North Lanarkshire, West Dunbartonshire and Bearsden constituency covers ward 2 of East Dunbartonshire and all of West Dunbartonshire. ● East Lothian – no change. East Lothian constituency exactly covers the council area. ● East Renfrewshire – East Renfrewshire and Hairmyres constituency covers all of East Renfrewshire and part (ward 9, East Kilbride West) of South Lanarkshire. ● Edinburgh – four constituencies exactly cover the city. ● Falkirk – Falkirk constituency is wholly contained in the council area, Linlithgow and Falkirk East constituency covers the south-eastern part of council area and the northern part of West Lothian. ● Fife – three constituencies are wholly contained in Fife, Clackmannanshire and Dunfermline West constituency covers the western part of Fife and all of Clackmannanshire. ● Glasgow City – six constituencies exactly cover the city. ● Highland – Caithness, Sutherland, Ross and Cromarty constituency and Inverness and Skye constituency are wholly within Highland council area; Argyll, Bute and Lochaber covers Lochaber (ward 22) of Highland and all of Argyll and Bute; Moray and Strathspey covers Badenoch and Strathspey (ward 21) of Highland and all of Moray. ● Inverclyde – Inverclyde constituency covers all of Inverclyde council area and the northern part of Renfrewshire. ● Midlothian – Midlothian and Tweeddale constituency covers all of Midlothian and the western part (wards 1 and 2) of Scottish Borders. ● Moray - Moray and Strathspey constituency covers all of Moray and part (ward 21 – Badenoch and Strathspey) of Highland council area. ● North Ayrshire – North Ayrshire and Arran constituency is wholly contained in North Ayrshire, Renfrewshire South and Largs constituency covers the northern part of North Ayrshire and the southern part of Renfrewshire. ● North Lanarkshire – Airdrie and Coatbridge South constituency, Cumbernauld and Coatbridge North constituency and Motherwell, Wishaw and Bellshill constituency are wholly contained in North Lanarkshire, East Dunbartonshire and Kilsyth constituency covers ward 1of North Lanarkshire and most of East Dunbartonshire. ● Perth and Kinross – Perth and Kinross-shire constituency is wholly contained in the council area, Dundee West and Gowrie constituency covers wards 1 and 2 of the council area and the western part of Dundee City, Stirling and Crieff constituency covers the south-west part of council area and all of Stirling council area. ● Renfrewshire – Paisley and Renfrew constituency is wholly contained in Renfrewshire; Inverclyde constituency covers the northern part of Renfrewshire and all of Inverclyde; Renfrewshire South and Largs covers the southern part of Renfrewshire and the northern part of North Ayrshire. ● Scottish Borders – Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk constituency covers most of the council area, Midlothian and Tweeddale constituency covers wards 1 and 2 and all of Midlothian. ● South Ayrshire – Galloway and Carrick constituency covers the southern part of South Ayrshire and western part of Dumfries and Galloway council area, Kyle and Cumnock covers the northern part of South Ayrshire and southern part of East Ayrshire. ● South Lanarkshire – Clydesdale and Larkhall constituency, Hamilton constituency and East Kilbride and Rutherglen constituency are each wholly contained in South Lanarkshire, East Renfrewshire and Hairmyres constituency covers part of South Lanarkshire (ward 9, East Kilbride West) and all of East Renfrewshire. ● Stirling – Stirling and Crieff constituency covers all of Stirling council area and the south-west part of Perth and Kinross. ● West Dunbartonshire – West Dunbartonshire and Bearsden constituency covers all of West Dunbartonshire and part (ward 2 – Bearsden North) of East Dunbartonshire. ● West Lothian – Livingston constituency is wholly contained in the council area, Linlithgow and Falkirk East constituency covers the northern part of West Lothian and the south-eastern part of Falkirk. ● Na h-Eileanan an Iar (the Western Isles), Orkney Islands and Shetland Islands – no change since the constituencies are defined in the legislation. Map images of the proposals are available on the Boundary Commission website.
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