Second Periodic Review of Scottish Parliament Boundaries
The Second Periodic Review of Scottish Parliament Boundaries is being carried out by the Boundaries Scotland. It was announced on 1 September 2022 that the review was taking place.[1] Provisional proposals were published on 15 April 2023,[2] the revised proposals were published on 26 May 2010.[3] Further proposals for constituencies and provisional proposals for.[4] The new constituencies and regions will used for the first time at the 2026 Scottish Parliament election.
The Scotland Act 1998 as amended by the Scottish Elections (Reform) Act 2020 requires the commission to review boundaries of all constituencies except Orkney and Shetland (which cover, respectively, the Orkney Islands council area and the Shetland Islands council area) so that the area covered by the reviewed constituencies will continue to be covered by a total of 71 constituencies.
The Orkney and Shetland constituencies were taken into account, however, in review of boundaries of the additional member regions.
Final recommendations followed public consultations and a series of local inquiries, and the terms of the 1998 act required final recommendations to be submitted in a report to the Scottish Ministers.
The review should have taken place within 12 years of the First Periodic Review of Scottish Parliament Boundaries; however, by the time of the 2021 Scottish Parliament election this had not taken place. A meeting of the Boundary Commission in 2017 indicated that an extension would be sought by the Scottish Government to have the constituencies reviewed by the time of the next proposed election in 2025 (now 2026).[5]
Details
[edit]Provisional proposals
[edit]In the provisional proposals,[6][7]
- 27 remain completely unchanged, keeping both their name and borders, including the protected constituencies
- Two remain unchanged geographically but have new names (Fife North East and Airdrie, to distinguish from the Westminster constituencies of North East Fife and Airdrie and Shotts)
- 23 have newly drawn boundaries but the name has been retained
- 21 completely new constituencies are proposed, with new names and boundaries
Revised proposals
[edit]The revised proposals made changes to 30 seats had new boundaries and new names and 18 had minor changes to boundaries but retained their original names from the initial review.[8]
Further proposals
[edit]In the further proposals to constituencies and revised proposals to constituencies,[9]
- the Mid Scotland and Fife region remains unchanged
- the South Scotland region would now include Hamilton, and loses Stewarton in Ayrshire and the newly formed East Lothian Coast and Lammermuirs
- the Lothian region would now include East Lothian Coast and Lammermuirs
- the West Scotland region would lose Renfrew, Erskine and Bishopton
After several responses opposing the omission of Leith, including a petition with over 750 names, the constituency which would have been called Edinburgh North Eastern would now be called Edinburgh North Eastern and Leith.
References
[edit]- ^ "Second Review of Scottish Parliament Boundaries Second Review of Scottish Parliament Boundaries" (Press release). Boundaries Scotland. 2022-09-01. Retrieved 2024-10-02.
- ^ "Boundaries Scotland consults on new constituency boundaries for the Scottish Parliament" (PDF) (Press release). Boundaries Scotland. 2023-05-16. Retrieved 2024-10-02.
- ^ "Boundaries Scotland consults on new revised constituency boundaries for the Scottish Parliament" (PDF) (Press release). Boundaries Scotland. 2024-04-15. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2024-06-15. Retrieved 2024-10-01.
- ^ "Boundaries Scotland consults on Further Proposals for constituencies and Provisional Proposals for regions of the Scottish Parliament" (PDF) (Press release). Boundaries Scotland. 2024-09-25. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2024-10-02. Retrieved 2024-10-02.
- ^ "Scottish Parliament: timing of 2nd Review of Parliament Boundaries" (PDF). 2017. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2024-10-02. Retrieved 2024-10-02.
- ^ Elliards, Xander (2024-04-16). "Proposed new Scottish Parliament constituencies published". Newsquest Media Group Ltd. Archived from the original on 2024-04-17. Retrieved 2024-10-02.
- ^ Gordon, Tom (2023-05-17). "Third of Holyrood seats face shake-up in boundary review". The Herald. Newsquest Media Group Ltd. Archived from the original on 2023-06-07. Retrieved 2024-10-02.
- ^ "Over two-thirds of proposed Holyrood constituencies changed after feedback". STV News. STV. 2024-04-16. Archived from the original on 2024-05-24. Retrieved 2024-10-02.
- ^ Carmichael, Josh (2024-09-26). "Which voting areas will change before the Scottish election?". The Herald. Newsquest Media Group Ltd. Archived from the original on 2024-09-26. Retrieved 2024-10-02.