Scottish local governmentcounties and burghs were abolished in 1975. A burgh constituency is now one with a predominantly urban electorate, and a county constituency is one with more than a token rural electorate.
The history of constituency boundaries can be divided into eleven distinct periods, as below, each starting with the date of a general election when a new set of boundaries was first used.
As a result of the union of Scotland with England and Wales and the creation of the Parliament of Great Britain in 1707, Scotland had 48 constituencies representing seats for 45 MPs in the House of Commons of the new parliament at Westminster. Westminster was previously the meeting place for the Parliament of England, which covered both England and Wales.
Scottish Westminster constituencies were first used in the 1708 general election. Prior to that election Scotland was represented in the new parliament by MPs who were co-opted as commissioners of the former Parliament of Scotland.
In the Parliament of Great Britain, Scotland had 15 burgh constituencies and 33 county constituencies, with each representing a seat for one MP. The county constituencies included, however, three pairs of alternating constituencies, so that only one member of a pair was represented at any one time. Therefore, Scotland had more constituencies than seats. With the exception of Edinburgh, the burgh constituencies consisted of districts of burghs.
1708 boundaries were used for all subsequent elections of the Parliament of Great Britain.
The creation of the Parliament of the United Kingdom in 1801 was a merger of the Parliament of Ireland with the Parliament of Great Britain. The first general election of this new parliament was the general election of 1802, and there was at that stage no change to the boundaries of any pre-existing Westminster constituency.
As a result of the legislation, there were 21 burgh constituencies and 30 county constituencies. Except for Edinburgh and Glasgow, which were two-seat constituencies, each Scottish constituency represented a seat for one MP. Therefore, Scotland had 53 parliamentary seats.
The constituencies related nominally to counties and burghs, but boundaries for parliamentary purposes were not necessarily those for other purposes. 14 of the burgh constituencies were districts of burghs.
As a result of the legislation, Scotland had 22 burgh constituencies, 32 county constituencies and two university constituencies. Except for Edinburgh, Dundee and Glasgow, each Scottish constituency represented a seat for one MP. Edinburgh and Dundee represented two seats each, and Glasgow represented three seats. Therefore, Scotland was entitled to 60 MPs.
The constituencies again related nominally to counties and burghs but, again, boundaries for parliamentary purposes were not necessarily those for other purposes.
1868 boundaries were used also in the general elections of 1874 and 1880.
In Scotland, as a result of the legislation, there were 32 burgh constituencies, 37 county constituencies and two university constituencies. Except for Dundee, which was a two-seat constituency, each Scottish constituency represented a seat for one MP. Therefore, Scotland had 72 parliamentary seats.
The 1885 legislation detailed boundary changes but did not detail boundaries for all constituencies. For a complete picture of boundaries in Scotland, it has to be read in conjunction with the Representation of the People (Scotland) Act 1832 and the Representation of the People (Scotland) Act 1868.[1]
As under legislation of 1832 and 1868, constituencies related nominally to counties and burghs, but boundaries for parliamentary purposes were not necessarily those for other purposes. Also, boundaries for other purposes were altered by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889 and by later related legislation.
Scotland had 32 burgh constituencies, 38 county constituencies and one university constituency. One burgh constituency, Dundee, represented seats for two MPs, and the university constituency, Combined Scottish Universities, represented seats for three MPs. Each of the others elected one MP. Therefore, the legislation provided parliamentary seats for a total of 74 Scottish MPs.[1]
For the 1951 general election there were changes to the boundaries of six Scottish constituencies, but there was no change to county groupings, to the total numbers of constituencies and MPs, or to constituency names.[1]
1955 boundaries were used also for the general election of 1959.
There were changes to the boundaries of nine Scottish constituencies for the 1964 general election but there was no change to county groupings, to the total numbers of constituencies and MPs, or to constituency names.[1]
1964 boundaries were used also for the 1966 and 1970 general elections.
The results of the Second Periodical Review, concluded in 1969, and of a subsequent interim review, concluded in 1972, became effective for the February 1974 general election.
The reviews defined 29 burgh constituencies and 42 county constituencies, with each electing one MP. Therefore, Scotland had 71 parliamentary seats.[1][2]
Each constituency was entirely within a county or a grouping of two or three counties.[1][2]
February 1974 boundaries were used also in the October 1974 and 1979 general elections.
The results of the Third Periodical Review became effective for the 1983 general election.
The review defined 30 burgh constituencies and 42 county constituencies, with each electing one MP. Therefore, Scotland had 72 parliamentary seats.[3]
In 1975, Scottish counties and burghs had been abolished for local government purposes, under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, and the Third Periodical Review took account of new local government boundaries, which defined two-tier regions and districts and unitary islands council areas. No new constituency straddled a regional boundary, and no islands council area was divided between two constituencies.[3]
The boundary commission was required to designate each new constituency as either burgh or county but had no predetermined basis on which to do so. The commission took the view that each constituency with more than a token rural electorate would be a county constituency, and others, predominantly urban, would be burgh constituencies.[3]
The review defined 28 burgh constituencies and 44 county constituencies, with each electing one MP. Therefore, Scotland had 72 parliamentary seats.[5]
Constituencies were defined in reference to the boundaries of local government regions and districts and islands areas effective on 1 June 1994, and each constituency was entirely within a region or a grouping of two or entirely within an islands area or a grouping of two. However, under the Local Government etc (Scotland) Act 1994, the regions and districts were abolished in favour of new council areas in 1996, the year before the new constituencies were first used in an election.
Under the terms of the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011, the Sixth Review was based on reducing the total number of MPs from 650 to 600 and a strict electoral parity requirement that the electorate of all constituencies should be within a range of 5% either side of the electoral quota.
On 24 March 2020, the Minister of State for the Cabinet Office, Chloe Smith, issued a written statement to Parliament setting out the Government's thinking with regard to parliamentary boundaries. Subsequently, the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 2020 was passed into law on 14 December. This formally removed the duty to implement the 2018 review and set out the framework for future boundary reviews. The Act provided that the number of constituencies should remain at the current level of 650, rather than being reduced to 600, while retaining the requirement that the electorate should be no more than +/- 5% from the electoral quota.
The Act specified that the next review had to be completed no later than 1 July 2023 and the Boundary Commission formally launched the 2023 review on 5 January 2021. The Commission calculated that the number of seats allocated to Scotland decreased by 2, from 59 to 57. This includes the protected constituencies of Na h-Eileanan an Iar and Orkney and Shetland.
The number of votes cast for each political party who fielded candidates in constituencies in Scotland at the 2024 general election were as follows:[9]
Edinburgh Leith was a burgh constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1950 to 1997. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.
The Scottish Parliament (Holyrood), created by the Scotland Act 1998, has used a system of constituencies and electoral regions since the first general election in 1999.
In the United Kingdom (UK), each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one member to the House of Commons.
East Dunbartonshire was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (Westminster). It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. The seat is possibly best known for formerly being the constituency of Jo Swinson, the former Leader of the Liberal Democrats who was defeated at the 2019 general election.
Aberdeen South is a burgh constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first-past-the-post system of election.
West Dunbartonshire is a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election and covers the same area as the county of West Dunbartonshire.
Edinburghshire was a Scottish county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1708 to 1801 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1918.
Provisions of the Representation of the People Act 1918 included reorganisation of representation in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (Westminster), with new constituency boundaries being first used in the 1918 general election.
Dunbartonshire was a county constituency of the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1708 to 1801 and of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1950.
Politics in the Dundee Citycouncil area are evident in the deliberations and decisions of Dundee City Council, in elections to the council, and in elections to the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood) and the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (Westminster).
The Scottish Reform Act 1832 was an Act of Parliament that introduced wide-ranging changes to the election laws of Scotland. The act was passed at approximately the same time as the Reform Act 1832, which applied to England and Wales. The chief architects of the Act were Francis Jeffrey and Henry Cockburn. It was subsequently given the official short title of the Representation of the People (Scotland) Act 1832. Prior to the Act, Scotland's electorate was only 0.2% of the population compared to 4% in England. The Scottish electorate overnight soared from 5,000 to 65,000, or 13% of the adult men, and was no longer a private preserve for a few very rich families.
Under the Representation of the People Act 1948 and the House of Commons Act 1949 new constituency boundaries were defined and first used in the 1950 general election of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (Westminster).
The results of the First Periodical Review of the Boundary Commission for Scotland became effective for the 1955 general election of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (Westminster). The review defined 32 burgh constituencies (BCs) and 39 county constituencies (CCs), with each electing one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. Therefore, Scotland had 71 parliamentary seats.
The results of the Second Periodical Review, concluded in 1969, and a subsequent interim review, concluded in 1972, of the Boundary Commission for Scotland, became effective for the February 1974 general election of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (Westminster). The reviews defined 29 burgh constituencies (BCs) and 42 county constituencies (CCs), with each electing one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. Therefore, Scotland had 71 parliamentary seats.
The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 redefined the boundaries of English, Scottish and Welsh constituencies of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and the new boundaries were first used in the 1885 general election. The boundaries of Irish constituencies were not affected.
As a result of the 1707 union of the Kingdom of Scotland with the Kingdom of England to form the Kingdom of Great Britain, within the newly formed Parliament of Great Britain, Scotland had 48 constituencies representing seats for 45 Members of Parliament (MPs) in the House of Commons, normally located at the Palace of Westminster..
The results of the Third Periodical Review of the Boundary Commission for Scotland were implemented for the 1983 general election of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (Westminster).
The Representation of the People (Scotland) Act 1832 redefined the boundaries of Scottish constituencies of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and the new boundaries were first used in the 1832 general election.
The Representation of the People (Scotland) Act 1868 redefined the boundaries of Scottish constituencies of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and the new boundaries were first used in the 1868 general election.
The results of the Fourth Periodical Review of the Boundary Commission for Scotland became effective, as a result of Order in Council SI 1995 No 1037 (S.90), for the 1997 general election of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (Westminster).
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