Background

The Boundary Commission for Scotland submitted their final proposals in respect of the Sixth Periodic Review of Westminster Constituencies (the 2018 review) in September 2018. Although the proposals were immediately laid before Parliament they were not brought forward by the Government for approval. Accordingly, they did not come into effect for the 2019 election which took place on 12 December 2019, and which was contested using the constituency boundaries in place since 2010.

Under the terms of the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011, the Sixth Review was based on reducing the total number of MPs from 650 to 600 and a strict electoral parity requirement that the electorate of all constituencies should be within a range of 5% either side of the electoral quota.

On 24 March 2020, the Minister of State for the Cabinet Office, Chloe Smith, issued a written statement to Parliament setting out the Government's thinking with regard to parliamentary boundaries. Subsequently, the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 2020 ("the Act") was passed into law on 14 December 2020. This formally removed the duty to implement the 2018 review and set out the framework for future boundary reviews. The Act provided that the number of constituencies should remain at the current level of 650, rather than being reduced to 600, while retaining the requirement that the electorate should be no more than +/- 5% from the electoral quota.

Process

The Act specified that the next review had to be completed no later than 1 July 2023 and the Boundary Commission formally launched the 2023 Review on 5 January 2021. In accordance with the provisions of the Act, the number of constituencies allocated to Scotland decreased by 2, from 59 to 57. This includes the protected constituencies of Na h-Eileanan an Iar and Orkney and Shetland.

As part of public consultations for the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the Boundary Commission for Scotland released its initial proposals on 14 October 2021.^[3] Following two periods of public consultation, revised proposals were published on 8 November 2022. Final recommendations were laid before Parliament on 28 June 2023 after they were published and then submitted a day earlier.^[4][5]

Recommended seats

Under the final recommendations the following constituencies for Scotland would come into effect at the next general election:^[4][6]

Percentage votes

Key:

CON - Conservative Party, including the National Liberal Party up to 1966 and the Unionist Party up to 1964

LAB - Labour Party

LIB - Liberal Party up to 1979; SDP-Liberal Alliance 1983 & 1987; Liberal Democrats from 1992

SNP - Scottish National Party

Other - includes Scottish Green Party, UK Independence Party and Brexit Party (2019)

Seats

CON - Conservative Party, including the National Liberal Party up to 1966 and the Unionist Party up to 1964

LAB - Labour Party (2001 & 2005 - includes the Speaker, Michael Martin)

LIB - Liberal Party up to 1979; SDP-Liberal Alliance 1983 & 1987; Liberal Democrats from 1992

OTH - 1945 - Independent Labour Party (3); Communist Party (1); Independent Unionist (John Mackie) (1); 1959 - Independent Unionist (David Robertson)

SNP - Scottish National Party