Consultation begins on revised boundaries for Falkirk area seats at Westminster

The latest proposals have been drafted after the commission considered the responses to its consultations on initial proposals published last October and again in February when five public hearings were held.

For the 2023 review, Scotland has been allocated 57 constituencies – two fewer than at present. Under these latest proposals which are now out for consultation, Bo’ness and Blackness would become part of a new Bathgate and Linlithgow constituency with an electorate of 71,650.

Denny, Carron, Carronshore, Airth, Larbert and Stenhousemuir would become part of the new Clackmannanshire and Forth Valley constituency along with Alloa, Clackmannan, Tillicoultry and Auchterarder. Its electorate would be 77,046. While Grangemouth, Avonbridge, Slamannan, Limerigg and Maddiston would be part of the Falkirk constituency under the latest proposals, with an electorate of 76,734.

The initial proposals put forward for Falkirk district were met with opposition from local councillors and Falkirk Council rejected the proposals. New constituencies which had been drawn up included Mid Forth Valley and Forth Valley South. It was feared that the proposals would “tear the Falkirk Council area apart” as the council area would be split into three different Westminster parliamentary constituencies.

However, the latest draft shows some changes have been made to the locally suggested constituencies but the council district would still be split. The new proposals would still see the Linlithgow and Falkirk East constituency disappear, but the Falkirk name would remain albeit with some different communities falling within its boundaries.

Lord Matthews, Deputy Chair of the Boundary Commission for Scotland, said: “We are grateful for the responses received during our previous consultations including those presented at the five public hearings that we held across Scotland earlier this year. We have considered all representations very carefully and, where possible, have tried to respond positively to suggestions.

"The legislative requirements of the review do mean we are not always able to incorporate alternatives and sometimes of course we receive conflicting views or suggestions with unintended consequences for other parts of Scotland. We very much look forward to receiving views on the Revised Proposals after which we will finalise our proposals before submitting them to the Speaker of the House of Commons by July 1 next year.”

The UK Parliament has retained 650 constituencies, with England allocated 543 – an increase of 10 – Northern Ireland stays on 18 and Wales loses eight constituencies for a total of 32.

Each constituency the Boundary Commission recommends must contain no fewer than 69,724 parliamentary electors, and no more than 77,062. If it considers it necessary, the commission can recommend a constituency with an electorate lower than the minimum if it is larger than 12,000 square kilometres. No constituency can be larger than 13,000 square kilometres.

The four week public consultation on the revised proposals runs until Monday, December 5. Anyone interested can view the revised proposals and submit comments on The Boundary Commission for Scotland’s consultation site at www.bcs2023review.com