Border Telegraph | News | Concern over 'flawed' boundary changes

Monday, 8th September, 2008

Published: Wednesday, 20th February, 2008 11:30

Concern over 'flawed' boundary changes

By Campbell Hutcheson

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AN MSP has hit out at “very flawed” proposals to revise constituency boundaries.

Jeremy Purvis is concerned about the Boundary Commission for Scotland’s plans to alter constituencies for the Scottish Parliament.

He is challenging the removal of Selkirk and the Valleys from his constituency and the addition of South Midlothian to create South Midlothian, Tweeddale and Lauderdale.

This would also lead to the formation of the Roxburgh, Selkirk and Berwickshire constituency.

The Commission’s comprehensive review has been prompted by changes in the distribution of population and changes to local government areas, which were last defined in 1995.

Mr Purvis said: “To change the name of the constituency, to divide up the county of Midlothian further, to divide up the county of Selkirkshire and place Galashiels and Selkirk in different parliamentary constituencies is a very flawed proposal.

“The only aim of the Commission appears to be to make the seat slightly larger.

“However, they have totally ignored the recent figures from the Registrar General which suggest that the population of the Borders is one of the few in Scotland that will continue to rise anyway.”

The Commission established the theoretical entitlement of seats at the Scottish Parliament for each local authority area by dividing the number of electors by the electoral quota of 54,728.

In the East Lothian, Midlothian and Scottish Borders Council areas, the electorate is 223,580, giving an entitlement to four constituencies, two of which cover the Borders.

Mr Purvis said: “The fiasco of the previous election should have made the Commission pause for thought before adding even further confusion to the electorate for the next election.

“A time of stability in boundaries would have been welcomed.

“It is also wrong that it will not be the Scottish Parliament that will make the ultimate decisions about the proposed changes across Scotland, but the Scotland Office.

“Their record in electoral procedures is not a good one.

“The whole process should now be paused and no more boundary upheavals should occur in the Borders for the time being.”

John Lamont, the MSP for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, also queried the rationale.

He said: “It is concerning that the Commission, in its wisdom, is insisting that all parliamentary seats should be the same population, regardless of their rural character.

“In practice, this will result in rural seats being made up of even bigger geographical areas.

“My constituency already stretches from the North Sea coast at Cockburnspath to Newcastleton in the south, just a few miles from the Dumfriesshire border.”

The proposed changes have been issued for public consultation, which ends on March 14.

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