Scotland to lose two Commons seats in latest Boundary Commission proposals | Scotland

Revised proposals have been published for Scottish constituencies in the House of Commons as part of a plan to reduce the number of seats for the country.

Scotland will have 57 constituencies under the latest review by the Boundary Commission, two fewer than at present.

Meanwhile, England has been allocated 543 seats – a rise of 10 – Northern Ireland will remain unchanged at 18, and Wales will lose eight, leaving it with 32 MPs. The total number of MPs at Westminster will remain at 650.

Two Scottish constituencies: the Western Isles, and Orkney and Shetland, are protected by legislation and cannot be changed.

The remaining 55 seats must have between 69,724 and 77,062 voters, unless they are larger than 12,000 sq km, where a smaller number is allowed.

But constituencies are also not allowed to exceed the maximum permitted area of 13,000 sq km.

Of the 55 mainland constituencies, 20 are unchanged from those put forward in the initial proposals.

However, three constituencies have had their proposed name changed; 35 have had their boundaries changed; and 20 have had both their proposed name and boundaries altered.

The changes will see the proposed Inverness-shire and Wester Ross seat become the largest constituency in terms of area, at 11,066 sq km – smaller than the current Ross, Skye and Lochaber, which is 12,678 sq km.

The smallest constituency in terms of area will be Glasgow West, which is just 19 sq km – larger than the smallest existing seat, Glasgow North, which is 17 sqe km.

The changes could see Glasgow South East become the seat with fewest voters, with the proposed constituency having 69,748 electors – 20,000-plus electors more than the 46,924 in Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, which is now the seat with fewest voters.

Clackmannanshire and Forth Valley would be the seat with most voters under the revised plans, with 77,046 electors living within its boundaries – less than the 88,506 living with the current Linlithgow and East Falkirk constituency.

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