1 May 2025 was a key date in England’s political calendar due to the impact of Reform on the local and mayoral elections, but in Scotland it was significant for another reason.
It was the date when the final proposals for the boundaries on which next year’s Holyrood election will be fought were submitted to the Scottish government.
A process which started in September 2022, and has encompassed several revisions and local inquiries, now only requires the formality of approval by the Scottish parliament.
The current Scottish constituencies have remained unchanged since 2011, being used in the 2011, 2016 and 2021 Scottish parliament elections.
The rules of the review meant there could be no overall change to the number of constituencies or regions (73 and 8 respectively), so the number of MSPs remains at 129.
Three island constituencies of Na h-Eileanan an Iar, Orkney Islands, and Shetland Islands were protected in law and thus outside of the scope of the review.
The impact is thus far less dramatic than in Wales where the two-tier system of constituencies and regions has been scrapped and replaced with a single tier of super-sized constituencies.
In Scotland, the proposals mean that:
- 28 constituencies remain unchanged from the current arrangements (including three protected constituencies)
- Three constituencies retain their boundaries but with new names
- 22 have new boundaries but retain their existing names
- 20 have new names and new boundaries
By March, the proposals were locked down in all but two constituencies; with changes to the boundary of Almond Valley and Bathgate by Polbeth consulted on and now adopted as part of the final recommendations.
The overall impact of the changes means the range of electors per constituencies has been narrowed. While Argyll & Bute, the smallest constituency (outside of the three protected constituencies), still has 49,535 electors, the largest now has 68,871 (Almond Valley), down from 76,337 (Linlithgow).
N – Name Change, B – Boundary Change, BN – Boundary and Name Change, U – Unchanged
As Holyrood operates with both regional and constituency MSPs, regional boundaries have also been reviewed.
Mid Scotland and Fire is the only region to remain unchanged, while Highlands & Islands and North East Scotland see minimal changes to their boundaries.
Boundary changes have been adopted in South Scotland, West Scotland and Glasgow, but their names remain unchanged..
Central Scotland and Lothians West replaces the former Central Scotland region, while Edinburgh and Lothians East is the new name for the former Lothian region.
