Fourth periodic review of Westminster constituencies

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The fourth periodic review of Westminster constituencies was undertaken in the United Kingdom between 1991 and 1995 by the four boundary commissions. [1] As well as changes to constituency boundaries, the reviews recommended an increase of five seats in England (524 to 529), two in Wales (38 to 40) and one in Northern Ireland (17 to 18), with Scotland continuing to have 72 seats. The number of MPs in the House of Commons therefore increased from 651 to 659. [2] 144 new constituencies were created, offset by 136 which were abolished. The new boundaries were first used for the 1997 general election.

Contents

Review process

Under the terms of the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986, as enacted, the boundary commissions were required to present their final recommendations between 10 and 15 years after the submission of their previous reports. [3] As the final reports for the third periodic review had been submitted between October 1982 and February 1983, the final reports for the fourth review were due to be submitted no later than February 1998. Accordingly, the English Commission had commenced their review in February 1991 and the Scottish commission had commenced theirs in February 1992. In the meantime, reflecting concerns that the period between reviews was too long, the Government proposed that the gap between reviews should be reduced to between 8 and 12 years and that the deadline for the fourth review should be brought forward to 31 December 1994. [2] This was legislated through the Boundary Commissions Act 1992. [4]

The final reports were submitted as follows:

Changes

As a result of changes to the names of seats, it is not always easy to clearly identify newly created constituencies or those abolished during the review process. One way of considering this is to link each proposed seat with an existing seat which contributes the most voters to that new seat. Any proposed seat which cannot be linked to an existing seat is then considered to be a "new" constituency. Conversely, any existing seat which is not linked to a proposed seat is considered to have been abolished.

The tables below list the names of existing seats which were not replicated in the final proposals for the fourth review ("old seats"), and links them with proposed seats which did not exist prior to the review ("new seats"). Those seats which are not linked can be regarded as being genuinely abolished or newly created. There are a number of instances where existing seats are effectively abolished and re-created under the same name, as set out in the notes.

England

The number of seats in England increased by five. 19 non-metropolitan counties gained one seat each, with Hampshire gaining two. This was offset by a reduction of ten seats in Greater London, two each in Greater Manchester and West Midlands, and one each in Lancashire and Merseyside.

In Greater London, the Commission, for the first time, decided to pair some London Boroughs together to reduce the variation in the size of electorates. These are detailed in the table below.

CountyNo. of seatsOld seatNew seatNotes
BeforeAfter
Avon1010
Bedfordshire56 Bedfordshire North Bedford
Bedfordshire North East Comprised the largest part of the existing Bedfordshire Mid seat, which was reconfigured and effectively formed a new constituency.
Berkshire78 Berkshire East Bracknell
Windsor and Maidenhead Maidenhead
Windsor
Buckinghamshire77
Cambridgeshire67 Cambridgeshire North West
Cambridgeshire South West Cambridgeshire South
Cheshire1011 Weaver Vale
Cleveland66 Langbaurgh Middlesbrough South and Cleveland East
Cornwall55 Truro Truro and St Austell Name change only.
Cumbria66
Derbyshire1010
Devon1111 Honiton Devon East
Plymouth Drake Plymouth, Drake was absorbed into Plymouth Sutton, with the bulk of the old Plymouth Sutton seat now forming the majority of the new seat of Devon South West.
Devon South West
South Hams Totnes
Tiverton Tiverton and Honiton
Dorset78 Dorset Mid and Poole North
Durham77
East Sussex88
Essex1617 Essex North Major reconfiguration.
Colchester North Colchester
Colchester South and Maldon Maldon and Chelmsford East
Chelmsford Chelmsford West
Rochford Rayleigh
Southend East Rochford and Southend East
Gloucestershire56 Cirencester and Tewksbury Cotswold
Tewkesbury
Gloucestershire West Forest of Dean
Greater London8474 Hendon North Hendon London borough of Barnet
Hendon South
Finchley Finchley and Golders Green
Greenwich Greenwich and Woolwich London boroughs of Bexley and Greenwich
Woolwich
Erith and Crayford Erith and Thamesmead
Bexleyheath Bexleyheath and Crayford
Chislehurst Bromley and Chislehurst London borough of Bromley
Ravensbourne
Croydon North East London borough of Croydon
Croydon North West Croydon North
Ealing Acton Ealing, Acton and Shepherd's Bush London boroughs of Ealing and Hammersmith and Fulham
Hammersmith
Fulham Hammersmith and Fulham
City of London and Westminster South Cities of London and Westminster Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and Cities of London and Westminster
Westminster North Regent's Park and Kensington North
Kensington
Chelsea Kensington and Chelsea
Richmond and Barnes Richmond Park Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames and borough of Richmond upon Thames
Kingston upon Thames
Surbiton Kingston and Surbiton
Southwark and Bermondsey North Southwark and Bermondsey London boroughs of Lambeth and Southwark
Peckham Camberwell and Peckham
Dulwich Dulwich and West Norwood
Norwood
Bethnal Green and Stepney Bethnal Green and Bow London boroughs of Newham and Tower Hamlets
Bow and Poplar Poplar and Canning Town
Newham South
Newham North East East Ham
Newham North West West Ham
Chingford Chingford and Woodford Green London boroughs of Redbridge and Waltham Forest
Wanstead and Woodford
Leyton Leyton and Wanstead
Greater Manchester3028 Stretford
Davyhulme Stretford and Urmston
Altrincham and Sale Altrincham and Sale West
Manchester Wythenshawe Wythenshawe and Sale East
Littleborough and Saddleworth Oldham East and Saddleworth
Oldham Central and Royton Oldham West and Royton
Oldham West
Salford East Salford
Hampshire1517 Hampshire North East Comprised the majority of the existing Hampshire East seat, which was reconfigured and effectively formed a new constituency.
New Forest New Forest West
New Forest East
Romsey and Waterside Romsey
Hereford and Worcester78 Redditch Comprised the majority of the existing Worcestershire Mid seat, which was reconfigured and effectively formed a new constituency.
Worcestershire South Worcestershire West
Hertfordshire1011 Hertfordshire North Hertfordshire North East
Hitchin and Harpenden
Hertfordshire West Hemel Hempstead
Humberside910 Kingston upon Hull West Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle
Bridlington Yorkshire East Major reconfiguration
Beverley and Holderness
Beverley Haltemprice and Howden
Boothferry Brigg and Goole
Glanford and Scunthorpe Scunthorpe
Brigg and Cleethorpes Cleethorpes
Isle of Wight11
Kent1617 Faversham Sittingbourne and Sheppey
Faversham and Kent Mid
Kent Mid Chatham and Aylesford
Maidstone Maidstone and The Weald
Lancashire1615 Lancaster Lancaster and Wyre
Wyre
Blackpool North Blackpool North and Fleetwood
Leicestershire910 Charnwood
Lincolnshire67 Gainsborough and Horncastle Gainsborough
Lindsey East Louth and Horncastle
Holland with Boston Boston and Skegness
Stamford and Spalding South Holland and The Deepings
Grantham and Stamford
Grantham Sleaford and North Hykeham
Merseyside1716 Knowsley North Knowsley North and Sefton East
Liverpool Broadgreen Liverpool Wavertree
Liverpool Mossley Hill
Norfolk88
North Yorkshire67 Harrogate Harrogate and Knaresborough
Vale of York
York City of York Name change only
Scarborough Scarborough and Whitby Name change only
Northamptonshire66
Northumberland44
Nottinghamshire1111
Oxfordshire66
Shropshire45 Telford Comprised the majority of the existing The Wrekin seat, which was reconfigured and effectively formed a new constituency.
Somerset55
South Yorkshire1515 Barnsley East Barnsley East and Mexborough
Staffordshire1112 Stone Major reconfiguration
Staffordshire Mid Lichfield
Cannock and Burntwood Cannock Chase
Staffordshire South East Tamworth
Suffolk67 Suffolk Central Suffolk Central and Ipswich North
Suffolk West Comprised the majority of the existing Bury St Edmunds seat, which was reconfigured and effectively formed a new constituency.
Surrey1111 Surrey North West Surrey Heath
Chertsey and Walton Runnymede and Weybridge
Esher Esher and Walton
Tyne and Wear1313 Wallsend Tyneside North
Newcastle upon Tyne East Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend
Gateshead East Gateshead East and Washington West
Houghton and Washington Houghton and Washington East
Warwickshire55
West Midlands3129 Dudley East Dudley North
Dudley West Dudley South
Halesowen and Stourbridge Stourbridge Electorate of Halesowen and Stourbridge distributed more-or-less equally between two new constituencies.
Halesowen and Rowley Regis
Warley West
Warley East Warley
Birmingham Small Heath
Birmingham Sparkbrook Birmingham Sparkbrook and Small Heath
Coventry South East Coventry South
Coventry South West
West Sussex78 Arundel Bognor Regis and Littlehampton
Arundel and South Downs
Shoreham Worthing East and Shoreham
Worthing Worthing West
West Yorkshire2323 Morley and Leeds South Morley and Rothwell
Wiltshire56 Swindon North
Swindon Swindon South

Wales

The number of seats in Wales was increased from 38 to 40 through the creation of an additional seat in the counties of Clwyd and Dyfed.

CountyNo of seatsOld seatNew seat
BeforeAfter
Clwyd56 Clwyd North West Clwyd West
Vale of Clwyd
Clwyd South West Clwyd South
Dyfed45 Ceredigion and Pembroke North Ceredigion
Pembroke Preseli Pembrokeshire
Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire
Carmarthen Carmarthen East and Dinefwr
Gwent66
Gwynedd44
Mid Glamorgan77
Powys22
South Glamorgan55
West Glamorgan55

Scotland

The number of seats in Scotland remained at 72, with an additional seat in Grampian region being offset by the loss of a seat in the City of Glasgow in Strathclyde region.

RegionNo of seatsOld seatNew seat
BeforeAfter
Borders22
Central44 Clackmannan Ochil
Dumfries and Galloway22
Fife55
Grampian67 Aberdeen Central
Kincardine and Deeside Aberdeenshire West and Kincardine
Highland33 Caithness and Sutherland Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross
Ross, Cromarty and Skye Ross, Skye and Inverness West
Inverness, Nairn and Lochaber Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber
Lothian1010 Edinburgh East Edinburgh East and Musselburgh
Edinburgh, Leith Edinburgh North and Leith
Strathclyde3332 Monklands East Airdrie and Shotts
Monklands West Coatbridge and Chryston
Motherwell North Hamilton North and Bellshill
Motherwell South Motherwell and Wishaw
Hamilton Hamilton South
Greenock and Port Glasgow Greenock and Inverclyde
Renfrew West and Inverclyde Renfrewshire West
Glasgow Garscadden Glasgow Anniesland
Glasgow Hillhead Glasgow Kelvin
Glasgow Central
Glasgow Provan Glasgow Baillieston
Tayside55 Angus East Angus
Perth and Kinross Perth
Islands Areas22

Northern Ireland

The number of seats in Northern Ireland was increased from 17 to 18 through the creation of West Tyrone. This comprised the majority of the existing Mid Ulster seat, which was reconfigured and effectively formed a new constituency.

References

  1. Rossiter 1999, The Boundary Commissions: Redrawing the UK's Map of Parliamentary Constituencies
  2. 1 2 Johnston, Neil (17 November 2022). "Constituency boundary reviews and the number of MPs" (PDF). House of Commons library. p. 76. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  3. "Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986 (as enacted)". Legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  4. "Boundary Commissions Act 1992 (as enacted)". Legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  5. "The Parliamentary Constituencies (Scotland) Order 1995". legislation.gov.uk. 11 April 1995. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  6. "The Parliamentary Constituencies (Wales) Order 1995". legislation.gov.uk. 11 April 1995. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  7. "The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1995". legislation.gov.uk. 28 June 1995. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  8. "The Parliamentary Constituencies (Northern Ireland) Order 1995". legislation.gov.uk. 23 November 1995. Retrieved 15 December 2022.