List of Scottish Parliament constituencies and electoral regions (1999–2011) explained
The Scottish Parliament (Holyrood) has 73 constituencies, each electing one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the plurality (first past the post) system of election, and eight additional members regions, each electing seven additional MSPs.
Each region is a group of constituencies, and the D'Hondt method of allocating additional member seats from party lists is used to produce a form of proportional representation for each region
The total number of parliamentary seats is 129. For links to lists of MSPs, see Member of the Scottish Parliament.
The constituencies and regions were first used in 1999, for the first election of the Scottish Parliament, and were used also for the 2003 and 2007 elections.
The First Periodic Review of Scottish Parliament Boundaries[1] [2] by the Boundary Commission for Scotland was started in 2007, and the Commission reported to the Secretary of State for Scotland on 26 May 2010. The Commission's recommendations were implemented ahead of the 2011 Scottish Parliament election, to form the Scottish Parliament constituencies and regions from 2011.
Boundaries
The Scottish Parliament constituencies from 1999 were created with the boundaries of the constituencies of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (Westminster) as they were in 1999, apart from Orkney and Shetland, which are separate constituencies, unlike the single Orkney and Shetland Westminster constituency.
Under the Scotland Act 1998, changes to Westminster boundaries were also to be changes to Holyrood boundaries. This link between the two sets of constituencies was broken, however, by the Scottish Parliament (Constituencies) Act 2004, before the results of the fifth periodical review of Westminster constituencies were implemented for the 2005 United Kingdom general election. The fifth Westminster review reduced the number of Westminster constituencies and, therefore, the number of Scottish Members of Parliament, from 72 to 59.
The boundaries of Westminster constituencies, as they existed until 2005, had not been subject to review since the removal of local government regions and districts. Many Holyrood constituencies, retaining those boundaries as they do, now straddle boundaries between the current council areas created in 1996. Newer Westminster constituencies also straddle council area boundaries but, in Westminster representation, there is a clear sense of council areas being grouped into larger areas: the East Ayrshire council area and South Ayrshire council area, for example, are treated as a single area.
Various council areas are divided between two Holyrood electoral regions. One council area, the South Lanarkshire council area, was divided between three different electoral regions.
The Arbuthnott Commission, in its final report, January 2006, recommended that council area boundaries and Holyrood and Westminster constituency boundaries should all be reviewed together. This recommendation has not been implemented.
Constituencies (first past the post seats)
| Constituency | Council area or areas | Additional members region |
|---|
| A |
| Aberdeen Central | Part of Aberdeen City | North East Scotland |
| Aberdeen North | Part of Aberdeen City | North East Scotland |
| Aberdeen South | Part of Aberdeen City | North East Scotland |
| Airdrie and Shotts | Part of North Lanarkshire | Central Scotland |
| Angus | Part of Angus, part of Dundee City, and part of Perth and Kinross | North East Scotland |
| Argyll and Bute | Part of Argyll and Bute | Highlands and Islands |
| Ayr | Part of South Ayrshire | South of Scotland |
| B |
| Banff and Buchan | Part of Aberdeenshire | North East Scotland |
| C |
| Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross | Part of Highland | Highlands and Islands |
| Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley | Part of East Ayrshire, and part of South Ayrshire | South of Scotland |
| Central Fife | Part of Fife | Mid Scotland and Fife |
| Clydesdale | Part of South Lanarkshire | South of Scotland |
| Clydebank and Milngavie | | West of Scotland |
| Coatbridge and Chryston | Part of East Dunbartonshire, and part of North Lanarkshire | Central Scotland |
| Cumbernauld and Kilsyth | Part of North Lanarkshire | Central Scotland |
| Cunninghame North | Part of North Ayrshire | West of Scotland |
| Cunninghame South | Part of North Ayrshire | South of Scotland |
| D |
| Dumbarton | | West of Scotland |
| Dumfries | Part of Dumfries and Galloway | South of Scotland |
| Dundee East | Part of Dundee City | North East Scotland |
| Dundee West | Part of Dundee City | North East Scotland |
| Dunfermline East | Part of Fife | Mid Scotland and Fife |
| Dunfermline West | Part of Fife | Mid Scotland and Fife |
| E |
| East Kilbride | | Central Scotland |
| East Lothian | Part of East Lothian | South of Scotland |
| Eastwood | East Renfrewshire | West of Scotland |
| Edinburgh Central | Part of City of Edinburgh | Lothians |
| Edinburgh East and Musselburgh | Part of East Lothian, and part of City of Edinburgh | Lothians |
| Edinburgh North and Leith | Part of City of Edinburgh | Lothians |
| Edinburgh Pentlands | Part of City of Edinburgh | Lothians |
| Edinburgh South | Part of City of Edinburgh | Lothians |
| Edinburgh West | Part of City of Edinburgh | Lothians |
| F |
| Falkirk East | Part of Falkirk | Central Scotland |
| Falkirk West | Part of Falkirk | Central Scotland |
| G |
| Galloway and Upper Nithsdale | Part of Dumfries and Galloway | South of Scotland |
| Glasgow Anniesland | Part of Glasgow City | Glasgow |
| Glasgow Baillieston | Part of Glasgow City | Glasgow |
| Glasgow Cathcart | Part of Glasgow City | Glasgow |
| Glasgow Govan | Part of Glasgow City | Glasgow |
| Glasgow Kelvin | Part of Glasgow City | Glasgow |
| Glasgow Maryhill | Part of Glasgow City | Glasgow |
| Glasgow Pollok | Part of Glasgow City | Glasgow |
| Glasgow Rutherglen | Part of Glasgow City, and part of South Lanarkshire | Glasgow |
| Glasgow Shettleston | Part of Glasgow City | Glasgow |
| Glasgow Springburn | Part of Glasgow City | Glasgow |
| Gordon | | North East Scotland |
| Greenock and Inverclyde | Part of Inverclyde | West of Scotland |
| H |
| Hamilton North and Bellshill | Part of North Lanarkshire, and part of South Lanarkshire | Central Scotland |
| Hamilton South | | Central Scotland |
| I |
| Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber | Part of Highland | Highlands and Islands |
| K |
| Kilmarnock and Loudoun | | Central Scotland |
| Kirkcaldy | Part of Fife | Mid Scotland and Fife |
| L |
| Linlithgow | Part of West Lothian | Lothians |
| Livingston | Part of West Lothian | Lothians |
| M |
| Midlothian | Part of Midlothian | Lothians |
| Moray | Part of Moray | Highlands and Islands |
| Motherwell and Wishaw | Part of North Lanarkshire | Central Scotland |
| N |
| North East Fife | Part of Fife | Mid Scotland and Fife |
| North Tayside | Part of Angus, and part of Perth and Kinross | Mid Scotland and Fife |
| O |
| Ochil | | Mid Scotland and Fife |
| Orkney | Orkney Islands | Highlands and Islands |
| P |
| Paisley North | Part of Renfrewshire | West of Scotland |
| Paisley South | Part of Renfrewshire | West of Scotland |
| Perth | Part of Perth and Kinross | Mid Scotland and Fife |
| R |
| Ross, Skye and Inverness West | Part of Highland | Highlands and Islands |
| Roxburgh and Berwickshire | Part of Scottish Borders | South of Scotland |
| S |
| Shetland | Shetland Islands | Highlands and Islands |
| Stirling | Part of Stirling | Mid Scotland and Fife |
| Strathkelvin and Bearsden | Part of East Dunbartonshire | West of Scotland |
| T |
| Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale | Part of Midlothian, and part of Scottish Borders | South of Scotland |
| W |
| West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine | Part of Aberdeenshire | North East Scotland |
| Western Isles | Na h-Eileanan Siar | Highlands and Islands |
| West Renfrewshire | | West of Scotland | |
Additional member regions
External links
Notes and References
- Web site: First Periodic Review of Scottish Parliament Boundaries . Boundary Commission for Scotland website. 3 July 2016.
- News: Constituency boundaries reviewed . BBC News . 3 July 2007 . 3 July 2016.
