Our 2023 Review of UK Parliament Constituencies began in January 2021.
The Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986 (as amended), sets out the framework and rules for this review which will recommend the boundaries of the Scottish constituencies in the UK Parliament.
The total UK electorate for the purposes of the 2023 Review is 47,558,398, excluding the electorate of the five protected constituencies. After applying the formula specified in the 1986 Act the allocation of constituencies to each part of the UK is:
Electorate (March 2020) |
Current allocation |
2023 Review allocation |
Difference | |
Scotland | 4,079,612 | 59 | 57 | -2 |
England | 39,860,421 | 533 | 543 | +10 |
Northern Ireland | 1,295,688 | 18 | 18 | - |
Wales | 2,322,677 | 40 | 32 | -8 |
47,558,398 | 650 | 650 |
The electoral quota for the review is 73,393, with the electorate of each constituency required to be within 5% of that, ie between 69,724 and 77,062 electors.
If it is considered 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 two Scottish constituencies of Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Western Isles) and Orkney and Shetland are protected in the legislation, so are not under review. In England, two constituencies are protected on the Isle of Wight and in Wales the constituency of Ynys Môn (Isle of Anglesey) is now protected.
Our rules, policies and procedures and electorate data for this review will be published in due course and we will consult on our initial proposals for constituencies later in 2021.
We will submit our recommendations before 1 July 2023.
Supporting Information
2023 Review - Existing constituency electorates
2023 Review - Existing constituency map with electorate
2023 Review - Electorate by Ward