WESTMINSTER plans to slash the number of Scottish MPs must be scrapped, opposition parties say.
The Boundary Commission today revealed its vision of a revised political map of Scotland, with just 53 MPs instead of 59.
The blueprint – revised following a consultation – is part of efforts to cut the total number of UK constituencies from 650 to 600 by the 2022 General Election. A fresh eight-week consultation will now begin.
If approved, only East Lothian and the protected islands constituencies of the Western Isles and Orkney and Shetland will remain unchanged.
Glasgow will lose one representative, with Stewart Hosie’s Dundee East seat largely absorbed into the proposed Angus South and Dundee East constituency.
Highland seats would drop to two, with Ian Blackford’s Ross, Skye and Lochaber seat and SNP business spokesman Drew Hendry’s Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey seat mostly merged into a new Highland South constituency.
Major changes are also planned in the Paisley area, where some residents would elect a new Inverclyde and Erskine MP.
The Edinburgh South constit- uency held by Labour MP Ian Murray would be split in half, with the expansion of a new Edinburgh East constituency. Murray could face a choice of standing in the newly-redrawn Edinburgh Southside constituency or taking on Edinburgh East SNP MP Tommy Sheppard. Responding to the proposals, Sheppard, the SNP spokesperson on the House of Lords, Scotland and Cabinet Offices, said support for reducing headcount had gone with the Tory majority at the snap General Election.
He added: “When the whole country faces the huge threat of an extreme Tory Brexit, fiddling the boundaries of MPs’ constituencies is the last thing the UK Government should be wasting its time on.
“The Tories must now scrap their completely unacceptable plans to slash Scotland’s representation at Westminster. The proposals to reduce the number of Scottish MPs by 10 per cent would significantly weaken Scotland’s ability to hold the UK Government to account and defend our national interests.
“If the UK Government is looking to reduce the cost of politics, the first priority must be abolishing the unelected, undemocratic House of Lords.”
Liberal Democrat chief whip Alistair Carmichael, who represents Orkney and Shetland, said the “dead duck” proposal is unlikely to win the support of either the DUP or Tory backbenchers, adding: “The Government should stop wasting public funds and bow to the inevitable.”
Meanwhile, Scottish Labour said: “At a time of significant constitutional upheaval it makes no sense to cut the number of MPs there to hold the government to account and represent the interest of their constituencies. Scottish Labour opposes any proposals to cut the number of Scottish MPs.”
Lord Matthews, deputy chairman of the Boundary Commission for Scotland, said the plans had been drawn after “careful consideration” but were constrained by new rules stating seats should be within five per cent of the UK electoral average or “quota” of 74,769, with exceptions made when the constituency is larger than 12,000 square kilometres.
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