Scotland could lose two MPs
The boundary commission has launched a public consultation which would take effect by 2024 - when the next general election is planned
Last updated 14th Oct 2021
There could be two fewer seats up for grabs in Scotland by the time of the next UK General Election.
The Boundary Commission for Scotland has launched an eight-week public consultation on the proposals, which would see the number of MPs returned to Westminster go from 59 in previous votes to 57.
Glasgow and the North of Scotland would be the two areas to lose out.
Changes would also see boundaries shift and the renaming of various constituencies.
Wales would lose out on eight MPs in these proposals, meaning England would gain 10 members of Parliament in total.
Northern Ireland is set to remain on the same number of seats.
Such changes would need to be approved in Parliament, but the commission hope they would take effect by 2024, when the next election is expected.
These plans have been drawn up to attempt to resolve parity issues with the number of voters in each constituency.
The parameters of the review have said the number of voters in each constituency must fall between about 70,000 and 77,000, unless the area would cover more than 12,000 square kilometres.
Lord Matthews, the deputy chair of the commission and the person leading the review, said: "I believe this is a promising start to delivering the requirements of the new rules that mean the number of constituencies in Scotland will reduce from 59 to 57, and that each mainland constituency must have broadly the same number of electors.
"We have set out proposals today which do that and are, we believe, a good implementation of the rules set by Parliament.
"Today is the beginning of a process, and we now want to hear the views of the public. We will reflect on responses to the consultation and make changes where appropriate and where the legislation allows us to do so. We strongly encourage voters to make their views heard.
"We welcome all comments on our proposals on our consultation site at bcs2023review.com.
In a briefing on the changes, Professor Ailsa Henderson, who is also a commissioner on the review, said shifts in population sizes in different parts of the country had prompted the changes.
"The result of that is that there is a wide range of electors across the existing Scottish constituencies.
"The constituency with the smallest electorate is Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross which has 46,000 - almost 47,000 electors - but the constituency with the largest electorate is in Linlithgow and East Falkirk with 88,000 electors, which is a range of around 41,000 electors.''
According to Prof Henderson, 27 constituencies in Scotland were below the quota set for the number of voters and 12 were above it.
SNP Westminster deputy leader, Kirsten Oswald MP, said: "Tory plans to further reduce Scotland's representation at Westminster, while increasing the number of MPs for England, underlines the need for Scotland to become an independent country - in full control of our own democratic decisions and with the full powers needed to build a stronger, fairer and greener future.
"The SNP will strongly oppose any attempt to weaken Scotland's voice in the UK Parliament but the reality is Scotland will always be outvoted under the broken Westminster system - as we have seen with Tory austerity cuts, Brexit and power grabs imposed against Scotland's will."