Changes in Scotland |
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Scotland cut down to size
The historic over-representation of Scotland in the House of Commons has been addressed in part by changes that come into being in 2005, with the number of Scottish constituencies falling from 72 to 59 at the election. The periodic changes to parliamentary constituencies south of the border are on their way, but will not occur until the election 2009/10 so for now the number of seats in the Commons will be reduced from 659 to 646, with the figure required for an overall majority falling to 324 seats.
The revisions were prompted by the arrival of devolution in Scotland, bringing to an end arrangements that ensured Scotland had a minimum of seats at Westminster. The Boundary Commission of Scotland's work in reducing the number of constituencies now means that electorates in most seats have increased to the average size of electorates in England, at least for the time being, and goes someway to answering the critics who point to Scotland's disproportionate presence in the UK Parliament.
Of the thirteen seats that are abolished, Labour currently holds eleven. The SNP and the Liberal Democrats both lose a seat in the changes, in Tayside and the Borders respectively. The Conservatives are also affected. While their only seat in Scotland in 2001 has not been abolished, it has taken on a fair proportion of Labour voters from neighbouring town of Dumfries - enough to suggest that this constituency would now have had a slim Labour majority in 2001. (See the table of seats below for more information)
Virtually all the remaining Scottish seats have undergone changes to their boundaries, and a majority of constituency names have been changed by the Commission, in some cases even if the seat's borders remain untouched.
The Boundary Commission's knife also impacts upon each party's prospects of winning additional seats. Although this is not easy to calculate, notional estimates have been made by David Denver, Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher in their Media Guide to the new Scottish Westminster Constituencies (Local Government Chronicle Elections Centre, University of Plymouth, 2004). For each constituency voting data has been used to generate figures indicating how the new constituencies might have voted in the 2001 general election.
'Please, take my seat . . .'
The reduction in seats has also led a highly political game of musical chairs being played out in Scotland over the last year - particularly within the Scottish Labour Party. Some sitting Members of Parliament, faced with the prospect of a contest with parliamentary colleagues to become the party's candidate in a new seat, decided that discretion was the better part of valour' and chose to stand down.
With a number of high-profile Cabinet Ministers affected by their disappearance of their seats, their adoption as candidates in other seats somewhat smoother by the departure or retirement of colleagues. Former Scottish Law Officer Lynda Clark QC's departure made way for Alistair Darling to contest the new seat of Edinburgh South West which takes in part of his old electorate and makes it considerably better territory for Labour than the old Edinburgh Pentlands held by Malcolm Rifkind until 1997.
Helen Liddell's departure for the Canberra sunshine as the UK's High Commissioner to Australia, conveniently allowed John Reid to fight the redrawn Airdrie & Shotts, which subsumes some of his old Hamilton electorate. Lib Dem MP Sir Archie Kirkwood has retired, handing on his party's candidacy in the expanded seat of Berwickshire, Roxburgh & Selkirk to fellow MP Michael Moore, who will fancy his chances here rather more than the alternative borders seat of Dumfrieshire, Clydesdale & Tweedale, which in 2001 would have had a reasonably large notional Labour majority.
In Fife, Dr Lewis Moonie stood aside in Kirkaldy and Cowdenbeath, providing his neighbour Gordon Brown with the opportunity to seamlessly move next door - a manoeuvre he will hope to repeat in a certain Westminster street during the next parliament.
Only one pair of MPs from opposing parties have been thrown together to fight it out over the same constituency, with Labour MP Russell Brown and Conservative Peter Duncan both contesting the new Dumfries and Galloway constituency, which would have had a small Labour majority in over the Conservatives and the SNP in 2001. In what will be a hard fought contest, one MP will not be coming back.
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| Old Scottish Constituency |
New Scottish Constituency |
Boundary Change? |
| Aberdeen Central |
Abolished |
Abolished |
| Aberdeen North |
Aberdeen North |
New boundary |
| Aberdeen South |
Aberdeen South |
New boundary |
| Airdrie and Shotts |
Airdrie and Shotts |
New boundary |
| Angus |
Angus |
New boundary |
| Argyll & Bute |
Argyll and Bute |
New boundary |
| Ayr |
Abolished |
Abolished |
| Banff & Buchan |
Banff and Buchan |
New boundary |
| Caithness Sutherland and Easter Ross |
Caithness Sutherland and Easter Ross |
New boundary |
| Carrick Cumnock & Doon Valley |
Ayr Carrick and Cumnock |
New boundary |
| Clydebank & Milngavie |
Abolished |
Abolished |
| Clydesdale |
Lanark and Hamilton East |
New boundary |
| Coatbridge & Chryston |
Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill |
New boundary |
| Cumbernauld & Kilsyth |
Cumbernauld, Kilsyth & Kirkintilloch E |
New boundary |
| Cunnighame South |
Central Ayrshire |
New boundary |
| Cunninghame North |
North Ayrshire and Arran |
New boundary |
| Dumbarton |
West Dunbartonshire |
New boundary |
| Dumfries |
Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale & Tweeddale |
New boundary |
| Dundee East |
Dundee East |
New boundary |
| Dundee West |
Dundee West |
New boundary |
| Dunfermline East |
Abolished |
Abolished |
| Dunfermline West |
Dunfermline and West Fife |
New boundary |
| East Kilbride |
East Kilbride, Strathaven & Lesmahagow |
New boundary |
| East Lothian |
East Lothian |
New boundary |
| Eastwood |
East Renfrewshire |
Unchanged |
| Edinburgh Central |
Abolished |
Abolished |
| Edinburgh East & Musselburgh |
Edinburgh East |
New boundary |
| Edinburgh North & Leith |
Edinburgh North and Leith |
New boundary |
| Edinburgh Pentlands |
Edinburgh South West |
New boundary |
| Edinburgh South |
Edinburgh South |
New boundary |
| Edinburgh West |
Edinburgh West |
New boundary |
| Falkirk East |
Abolished |
Abolished |
| Falkirk West |
Falkirk |
New boundary |
| Fife Central |
Glenrothes |
New boundary |
| Galloway & Upper Nithsdale |
Dumfries and Galloway |
New boundary |
| Glasgow Anniesland |
Glasgow North West |
New boundary |
| Glasgow Baillieston |
Glasgow East |
New boundary |
| Glasgow Cathcart |
Glasgow South |
New boundary |
| Glasgow Govan |
Abolished |
Abolished |
| Glasgow Kelvin |
Abolished |
Abolished |
| Glasgow Maryhill |
Glasgow North |
New boundary |
| Glasgow Pollok |
Glasgow South West |
New boundary |
| Glasgow Rutherglen |
Rutherglen and Hamilton West |
New boundary |
| Glasgow Shettleston |
Glasgow Central |
New boundary |
| Glasgow Springburn |
Glasgow North East |
New boundary |
| Gordon |
Gordon |
New boundary |
| Greenock & Inverclyde |
Inverclyde |
New boundary |
| Hamilton North & Bellshill |
Abolished |
Abolished |
| Hamilton South |
Abolished |
Abolished |
| Inverness East, Nairn & Lochaber |
Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch, & Strathspey |
New boundary |
| Kilmarnock & Loudon |
Kilmarnock & Loudoun |
New boundary |
| Kirkaldy |
Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath |
New boundary |
| Linlithgow |
Linlithgow and East Falkirk |
New boundary |
| Livingston |
Livingston |
New boundary |
| Midlothian |
Midlothian |
New boundary |
| Moray |
Moray |
New boundary |
| Motherwell & Wishaw |
Motherwell and Wishaw |
New boundary |
| North East Fife |
North East Fife |
New boundary |
| Ochil |
Ochil and South Perthshire |
New boundary |
| Orkney & Shetland |
Orkney and Shetland |
Unchanged |
| Paisley North |
Paisley and Renfrewshire North |
New boundary |
| Paisley South |
Paisley and Renfrewshire South |
New boundary |
| Perth |
Perth and North Perthshire |
New boundary |
| Renfrewshire West |
Abolished |
Abolished |
| Ross Skye & Inverness West |
Ross Skye and Lochaber |
New boundary |
| Roxburgh & Berwickshire |
Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk |
New boundary |
| Stirling |
Stirling |
New boundary |
| Strathkelvin & Bearsden |
East Dunbartonshire |
New boundary |
| Tayside North |
Abolished |
Abolished |
| Tweedale Ettrick & Lauderdale |
Abolished |
Abolished |
| West Aberdeenshire & Kincardine |
West Aberdeenshire & Kincardine |
New boundary |
| Western Isles |
Na h-Eileanan An Iar |
New boundary |
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