United Kingdom constituencies

Last updated

There are 650 constituencies for the UK House of Commons. UK Constituencies 2024 (blank).svg
There are 650 constituencies for the UK House of Commons.

In the United Kingdom (UK), each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one member to the House of Commons.

Contents

Within the United Kingdom there are five bodies with members elected by electoral districts called "constituencies" as opposed to "wards":

Between 1921 and 1973 the following body also included members elected by constituencies:

Electoral areas called constituencies were previously used in elections to the European Parliament, prior to the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union (see European Parliament constituency).

In local government elections (other than for the London Assembly) electoral areas are called wards or electoral divisions.

County constituencies and borough constituencies

House of Commons, Scottish Parliament, Senedd and Northern Ireland Assembly constituencies are designated as either county or borough constituencies, except that in Scotland the term burgh is used instead of borough. Since the advent of universal suffrage, the differences between county and borough constituencies are slight. Formerly (see below) the franchise differed, and there were also county borough and university constituencies.

Borough constituencies are predominantly urban while county constituencies are predominantly rural. There is no definitive statutory criterion for the distinction; the Boundary Commission for England has stated that, "as a general principle, where constituencies contain more than a small rural element they should normally be designated as county constituencies. Otherwise they should be designated as borough constituencies." [1] In Scotland, all House of Commons constituencies are county constituencies except those in the cities of Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Dundee and three urban areas of Lanarkshire. [2]

In England and Wales, the position of returning officer in borough constituencies is held ex officio by the mayor or chairman of the borough or district council, and the high sheriff of the county in county constituencies. [3] The administration of elections is carried out by the acting returning officer, who will typically be a local council's chief executive [4] or Head of Legal Services. The role, however, is separate from these posts, and can be held by any person appointed by the council. The spending limits for election campaigns are different in the two, the reasoning being that candidates in county constituencies tend to need to travel farther.

Spending limits for election campaigns
Elected bodyConstituency type
borough/burghcounty
House of Commons [5] [6] £11,390 + 8p per elector£11,390 + 12p per elector
Northern Ireland Assembly£5,483 + 4.6p per elector£5,483 + 6.2p per elector
Scottish Parliament and Senedd£5,761 + 4.8p per elector£5,761 + 6.5p per elector

For by-elections to any of these bodies, the limit in all constituencies is £100,000. [5] [7]

History

In the House of Commons of England, each English county elected two "knights of the shire" while each enfranchised borough elected "burgesses" (usually two, sometimes four, and in a few cases one). [8] From 1535 each Welsh county and borough was represented, by one knight or burgess. [9] The franchise was restricted differently in different types of constituency; in county constituencies forty shilling freeholders (i.e. landowners) could vote, while in boroughs the franchise varied from potwallopers, giving many residents votes, to rotten boroughs with hardly any voters. A county borough was the constituency of a county corporate, combining the franchises of both county and borough. Until 1950 there were also university constituencies, which gave graduates an additional representation.

Similar distinctions applied in the Irish House of Commons, while the non-university elected members of the Parliament of Scotland were called Shire Commissioners and Burgh Commissioners. After the Acts of Union 1707, Scottish burghs were grouped into districts of burghs in the Parliament of Great Britain, except that Edinburgh was a constituency in its own right. After the Acts of Union 1800, smaller Irish boroughs were disenfranchised, while most others returned only one MP to the United Kingdom Parliament.

The Reform Act 1832 reduced the number of parliamentary boroughs in England and Wales by eliminating the rotten boroughs. It also divided larger counties into two two-seat divisions, the boundaries of which were defined in the Parliamentary Boundaries Act 1832, and gave seven counties a third member. Similar reforms were also made for Scotland and for Ireland. The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 (48 & 49 Vict. c. 23) equalised the population of constituencies; it split larger boroughs into multiple single-member constituencies, reduced smaller boroughs from two seats each to one, split each two-seat county and division into two single-member constituencies, and each three-seat county into single-member constituencies.

The House of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) Act 1958, eliminated the previous common electoral quota for the whole United Kingdom and replaced it with four separate national minimal seat quotas for the respective Boundaries commissions to work to, as a result the separate national electoral quotas came into effect: England 69,534; Northern Ireland 67,145, Wales 58,383 and in Scotland only 54,741 electors.

Naming

The Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011 gives the Boundary Commissions for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland the power to create names for constituencies, and does not provide a set of statutory guidelines for the Commissions to follow in doing so.

Constituency names are geographic, and "should normally reflect the main population centre(s) contained in the constituency". Compass points are used to distinguish constituencies from each other when a more suitable label cannot be found. Where used, "The compass point reference used will generally form a prefix in cases where the rest of the constituency name refers to the county area or a local council, but a suffix where the rest of the name refers to a population centre." This is the reason for the difference in naming [10] between, for example, South Northamptonshire (a county constituency) and Northampton South (a borough constituency).

House of Commons constituencies

In the 2005 United Kingdom general election, the House of Commons had 646 constituencies covering the whole of the United Kingdom. This rose to 650 in the 2010 election following the Fifth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies. Each constituency elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the "first-past-the-post" system of election. [11]

The House of Commons is one of the two chambers of the bicameral Parliament of the United Kingdom, the other being the House of Lords. [12]

See also

London Assembly constituencies

There are fourteen London Assembly constituencies covering the Greater London area, and each constituency elects one member of the assembly by the first-past-the-post system. Eleven additional members are elected from Greater London as a whole to produce a form or degree of mixed-member proportional representation.

Constituency names and boundaries remain now as they were for the first general election of the assembly, in 2000.

The assembly is part of the Greater London Authority and general elections of the assembly are held at the same time as election of the mayor of London.

Northern Ireland Assembly constituencies

There are 18 Northern Ireland Assembly Constituencies: four borough (for Belfast) and 14 county constituencies elsewhere (see below).

Each elects five MLAs to the 90 member NI Assembly by means of the single transferable vote system. Assembly Constituency boundaries are identical to their House of Commons equivalents. [13]

The constituencies below are not used for the election of members to the 11 district councils. [14]

NameCurrent boundariesName
  1. Belfast East BC
  2. Belfast North BC
  3. Belfast South BC
  4. Belfast West BC
  5. East Antrim CC
  6. East Londonderry CC
  7. Fermanagh & South Tyrone CC
  8. Foyle CC
  9. Lagan Valley CC
Parliamentary constituencies in Northern Ireland NorthernIrelandParliamentaryConstituenciesNumbered.svg
Parliamentary constituencies in Northern Ireland
  1. Mid Ulster CC
  2. Newry & Armagh CC
  3. North Antrim CC
  4. North Down CC
  5. South Antrim CC
  6. South Down CC
  7. Strangford CC
  8. Upper Bann CC
  9. West Tyrone CC

Scottish Parliament constituencies

Scottish Parliament constituencies are sometimes called Holyrood constituencies, to distinguish them from Westminster (House of Commons) constituencies. [15] The Scottish Parliament Building is in the Holyrood area of Edinburgh, while the main meeting place of the Parliament of the United Kingdom is the Palace of Westminster, in the City of Westminster. [16]

There are 73 Holyrood constituencies covering Scotland, and each elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the first-past-the-post system. Also, the constituencies are grouped into eight electoral regions, and each of these regions elects seven additional members, to produce a form or degree of mixed-member proportional representation. [17]

The existing constituencies were created, effectively, for the first general election of the Scottish Parliament, in 1999. When created, all but two had the names and boundaries of Westminster constituencies. The two exceptions were the Orkney Holyrood constituency, covering the Orkney Islands council area, and the Shetland Holyrood constituency, covering the Shetland Islands council area. For Westminster elections, these council areas were covered (and still are covered) by the Orkney and Shetland Westminster constituency.

In 1999, under the Scotland Act 1998, [18] the expectation was that there would be a permanent link between the boundaries of Holyrood constituencies and those of Westminster constituencies. This link was broken, however, by the Scottish Parliament (Constituencies) Act 2004, [19] which enabled the creation of a new set of Westminster constituencies without change to Holyrood constituencies. The new Westminster boundaries became effective for the 2005 United Kingdom general election.

Senedd constituencies

There are 40 Senedd constituencies covering Wales, and each elects one Member of the Senedd (MS) by the first-past-the-post system. Also, the constituencies are grouped into five electoral regions, and each of these regions elects four additional members, to produce a form or degree of mixed-member proportional representation.

The current set of Senedd constituencies is the second to be created. The first was created for the first general election of the National Assembly for Wales, in 1999.

European Parliament constituencies

Before its withdrawal from the European Union in 2020, the United Kingdom elected its Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) through twelve multimember European Parliament constituencies. One, Northern Ireland, used single transferable vote, while the eleven covering Great Britain used the d'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation.

For its first European Parliamentary elections in 1979 Great Britain was divided into a number of single-member first-past-the Post constituencies, matching the way Westminster MPs are elected. Following the decision that all MEPs should be elected by some form of proportional representation, the Labour government passed the European Parliamentary Elections Act 1999, creating eleven constituencies on Great Britain, which were first used in 1999. [20]

The South West England constituency was expanded from the 2004 elections onward to include Gibraltar, the only British overseas territory that was part of the European Union, following a court case. [21]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Politics of the United Kingdom</span>

The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy which, by legislation and convention, operates as a unitary parliamentary democracy. A hereditary monarch, currently King Charles III, serves as head of state while the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, currently Sir Keir Starmer since 2024, serves as the elected head of government.

The legislatures of the United Kingdom are derived from a number of different sources. The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body for the United Kingdom and the British overseas territories with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland each having their own devolved legislatures. Each of the three major jurisdictions of the United Kingdom has its own laws and legal system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Law of the United Kingdom</span>

The United Kingdom has three distinctly different legal systems, each of which derives from a particular geographical area for a variety of historical reasons: English law, Scots law, Northern Ireland law, and, since 2007, calls for a fourth type, that of purely Welsh law as a result of Welsh devolution, with further calls for a Welsh justice system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Administrative geography of the United Kingdom</span>

The administrative geography of the United Kingdom is complex, multi-layered and non-uniform. The United Kingdom, a sovereign state to the northwest of continental Europe, consists of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. For local government in the United Kingdom, England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales each have their own system of administrative and geographic demarcation. Consequently, there is "no common stratum of administrative unit encompassing the United Kingdom".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Senedd</span> Devolved parliament of Wales

The Senedd, officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and Senedd Cymru in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, it makes laws for Wales, agrees to certain taxes, and scrutinises the Welsh Government. It is a bilingual institution, with both Welsh and English being the official languages of its business. From its creation in May 1999 until May 2020, the Senedd was officially known as the National Assembly for Wales and was often simply called the Welsh Assembly.

In the United Kingdom, the boundary commissions are non-departmental public bodies responsible for determining the boundaries of parliamentary constituencies for elections to the House of Commons. There are four boundary commissions: one each for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Politics of England</span>

Politics of England forms the major part of the wider politics of the United Kingdom, with England being more populous than all the other countries of the United Kingdom put together. As England is also by far the largest in terms of area and GDP, its relationship to the UK is somewhat different from that of Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. The English capital London is also the capital of the UK, and English is the dominant language of the UK. Dicey and Morris (p26) list the separate states in the British Islands. "England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, and Sark.... is a separate country in the sense of the conflict of laws, though not one of them is a State known to public international law." But this may be varied by statute.

Over the history of the House of Commons, the number of Members of Parliament (MPs) has varied for assorted reasons, with increases in recent years due to increases in the population of the United Kingdom. There are currently 650 constituencies, each sending one MP to the House of Commons, corresponding to approximately one for every 92,000 people, or one for every 68,000 parliamentary electors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monmouth (UK Parliament constituency)</span> UK Parliamentary constituency, 1918–2024

Monmouth was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The seat was created for the 1918 general election. From 2005 until 2024 the Member of Parliament (MP) was David Davies of the Conservative Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scottish Parliament constituencies and electoral regions</span> Scottish Parliament constituencies and regions

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Llanelli (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1918 onwards

Llanelli is a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. From 1918 to 1970 the official spelling of the constituency name was Llanelly. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. Since 2005, it is currently represented by Nia Griffith of the Labour Party.

Historically, the single transferable vote (STV) electoral system has seen a series of relatively modest periods of usage and disusage throughout the world; however, today it is seeing increasing popularity and proposed implementation as a method of proportional representation and a goal of electoral reform. STV has been used in many different local, regional and national electoral systems, as well as in various other types of bodies, around the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Senedd constituencies and electoral regions</span> Electoral constituencies and regions of the Senedd, the Welsh Parliament

The Senedd constituencies and electoral regions are the electoral districts used to elect members of the Senedd to the Senedd, and have been used in some form since the first election of the then National Assembly for Wales in 1999. New boundaries were introduced for the 2007 elections and currently consist of forty constituencies and five regions. The five electoral regions are: Mid and West Wales, North Wales, South Wales Central, South Wales East, and South Wales West, with the forty constituencies listed below. Voting last took place in all districts in the 2021 Senedd election, and is not used for local government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Wales East (Senedd electoral region)</span> Electoral region of the Senedd

South Wales East is an electoral region of the Senedd, consisting of eight constituencies. The region elects 12 members, eight directly elected constituency members and four additional members. The electoral region was first used in 1999, when the National Assembly for Wales was created.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Wales West (Senedd electoral region)</span> Electoral region of the Senedd

South Wales West is an electoral region of the Senedd, consisting of seven constituencies. The region elects 11 members, seven directly elected constituency members and four additional members. The electoral region was first used in 1999, when the National Assembly for Wales was created.

There are four types of elections in Wales: elections to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, elections to the devolved Senedd, local elections to community councils and the 22 principal areas, and the police and crime commissioner elections. In addition there are by-elections for each aforementioned election. Elections are held on Election Day, which is conventionally a Thursday. Three of these four types of elections are held after fixed periods; the exception is UK general elections, the timing of which is at the discretion of the prime minister of the United Kingdom. Senedd elections may be postponed to avoid elections to the UK parliament and Senedd coinciding with each other.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">House of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) Act 1949</span> United Kingdom legislation

The House of Commons Act 1949 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that provided for the periodic review of the number and boundaries of parliamentary constituencies.

There are five types of elections in the United Kingdom: elections to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, elections to devolved parliaments and assemblies, local elections, mayoral elections, and Police and Crime Commissioner elections. Within each of those categories, there may also be by-elections. Elections are held on Election Day, which is conventionally a Thursday, and under the provisions of the Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022 the timing of general elections can be held at the discretion of the prime minister during any five-year period. All other types of elections are held after fixed periods, though early elections to the devolved assemblies and parliaments can occur in certain situations. The five electoral systems used are: the single member plurality system (first-past-the-post), the multi-member plurality, the single transferable vote, the additional member system, and the supplementary vote.

References

  1. ↑ Boundary Commission for England (2007), Fifth periodical report (PDF), Norwich: TSO (The Stationery Office), ISBN   978-0-10-170322-2, archived from the original (PDF) on 26 July 2011
  2. ↑ "Boundary Commission for Scotland - Maps - UK Parliament constituencies 2005 onwards". Archived from the original on 4 May 2013. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
  3. ↑ Representation of the People Act 1983, Section 24
  4. ↑ Somerset County Council Regulation Committee (1 November 2012). "Appointment of County Returning Officer" (PDF). Somerset County Council. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 November 2016. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  5. 1 2 "Representation of the People Act: Section 76", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, 1983 c. 2 (s. 76)
  6. ↑ "The Representation of the People (Variation of Election Expenses, Expenditure Limits and Donation etc. Thresholds) Order 2023", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, SI 2023/1235
  7. ↑ "Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000: Section 135", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, 2000 c. 41 (s. 135)
  8. ↑ Tomlins, Thomas Edlyne; Granger, Thomas Colpitts (1835). The Law-dictionary, Explaining the Rise Progress and Present State of the British Law. Vol. II (4th ed.). London. p. 10.
  9. ↑ Welsh Government, Law Wales (3 March 2015). "Historical Timeline of Welsh Law". law.gov.wales. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  10. ↑ "Guide to the 2023 Review of Parliamentary constituencies" (PDF). Boundary Commission for England. 1 May 2021.
  11. ↑ "First Past the Post". Electoral Reform Society . Retrieved 16 May 2020.
  12. ↑ "The two-House system". UK Parliament. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
  13. ↑ "The Electoral Office of Northern Ireland - EONI". www.eoni.org.uk. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
  14. ↑ "Local councils in Northern Ireland". nidirect. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
  15. ↑ McGuire, Anne (24 January 2005). "House of Commons Standing Cttee on Delegated Legislation (pt 1)". Hansard . Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  16. ↑ "Houses of Parliament and The Palace of Westminster, City of Westminster - 1226284 | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
  17. ↑ Macnab, Scott (10 May 2019). "Holyrood voting system 'hard to understand' says top official". The Scotsman. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
  18. ↑ "Scotland Act 1998", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, 1998 c. 46
  19. ↑ "Scottish Parliament (Constituencies) Act 2004", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, 2004 c. 13
  20. ↑ "The Voting System". www.europarl.europa.eu. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
  21. ↑ Gibraltar should join South West for elections to European Parliament, Electoral Commission new release, 28 Aug 2003 Archived December 5, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.