Number of Scottish MPs in Westminster to be cut under boundary changes

The number of Scottish MPs in Westminster is set to be cut under changes to constituency boundaries.

On Tuesday, the Boundary Commission for Scotland opened its four-week-long public consultation of proposals that would see two fewer constituencies and major changes to their shapes and sizes.

The 2023 Review recommends 57 constituencies in Scotland, while it currently has 59.

The changes are designed to make the constituencies more equal in population and not cover an area any greater than 13,000 square kilometres.

The existing constituencies have remained unchanged since 2005 and were used in the 2005, 2010, 2015, 2017 and 2019 General Elections.

The idea is that members of parliament should represent roughly the same number of voters (within 5% either way of 73,393) to provide a balance across the UK.

Some of the current constituencies are too big, such as Linlithgow and East Falkirk with 88,506 voters, but others are too small, such as Glasgow North with 55,722.

So to make them more even, thousands of people will have their Westminster constituency changed.

One seat will disappear from Glasgow while another will go from the northeast.

The current Moray constituency, home to Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross, will be cut in two.

Elgin will become part of the new Nairn, Strathspey and Moray West constituency, while Keith and Buckie join the likes of Peterhead as part of Aberdeenshire North and Moray East.

Ross, who has already confirmed he will stand down as an MP at the next General Election, said the proposals were “completely wrong”.

“They would carve up the Moray seat into two different constituencies and completely dilute Moray’s identity,” he said.

Proposed changes from the Boundary Commission for Scotland. Current constituency boundaries shown with black lines while new proposals are colours. Boundary Commission for Scotland

Moray’s SNP MSP Richard Lochhead said he was “extremely disappointed” by the plans.

Elsewhere, the new seat of Aberdeenshire Central will be created by combining inland parts of Banff and Buchan with Gordon.

In Scotland’s biggest city, Glasgow Central will be split up with different parts assimilated into surrounding constituencies.

Southeast of Glasgow, the new Motherwell and Clydesdale North seat will expand eastwards, while across the Clyde the constituency of Hamilton and Clyde Valley will incorporate Lanark.

East Dunbartonshire will cease to exist as the boundary stretches north and is renamed Bearsden and Campsie Fells.

Two of the 57 constituencies in Scotland, Na h-Eileanan an Iar (the Western Isles) and Orkney and Shetland, are protected in the legislation and so will not be changed.