For the three celtic nations of Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, I have recorded the 2010 General Election electorate total for each Westminster constituency.
Northern Ireland:(18 seats; should be 14)
Belfast East – 60,050
Belfast North – 66,825
Belfast South – 60,726
Belfast West – 60,520
East Antrim – 61,253
East Londonderry – 64,546
Fermanagh and South Tyrone – 68,979
Foyle – 67,810
Lagan Valley – 66,327
Mid Ulster – 65,655
Newry and Armagh – 75,856
North Antrim – 74,094
North Down – 61,615
South Antrim – 64,254
South Down – 72,092
Strangford – 61,566
Upper Bann – 76,209
West Tyrone – 62,258
TOTAL: 1,190,635
There should be fourteen House of Commons constituencies of approximately 85,000 voters each in the six counties of Northern Ireland, which represents a reduction of four seats. Belfast would be amended to comprise three constituencies, namely Belfast Central, Belfast North, and Belfast South. This boundary change ought to be automatically replicated for the Northern Ireland Assembly at Stormont, meaning that there should be fourteen constituencies returning six [or better still five] MLAs each. This would represent a vastly more sensible and realistic total of seventy or eighty-four MLAs instead of the grossly outrageous amount of 108 MLAs, thereby enabling a huge saving to public expenses on behalf of the hard-pressed taxpayer.
Wales:(40 seats; should be 28)
Aberavon – 51,233
Aberconwy – 45,407
Alyn and Deeside – 62,196
Arfon – 41,138
Blaenau Gwent – 53,791
Brecon and Radnorshire – 53,882
Bridgend – 59,533
Caerphilly – 61,876
Cardiff Central – 64,225
Cardiff North – 67,194
Cardiff South and Penarth – 75,175
Cardiff West – 64,295
Carmarthen East and Dinefwr – 54,557
Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire – 58,994
Ceredigion – 56,942
Clwyd South – 54,895
Clwyd West – 58,544
Cynon Valley – 52,372
Delyn – 54,405
Dwyfor Meirionnydd – 45,006
Gower – 62,389
Islwyn – 54,792
Llanelli – 59,266
Merthyr Tidfil and Rhymney – 55,409
Monmouth – 65,432
Montgomeryshire – 48,910
Neath – 57,823
Newport East – 55,224
Newport West – 63,056
Ogmore – 55,851
Pontypridd – 60,275
Preseli Pembrokeshire – 58,343
Rhondda – 52,862
Swansea East – 60,809
Swansea West – 62,769
Torfaen – 61,806
Vale of Clwyd – 56,585
Vale of Glamorgan – 71,585
Wrexham – 53,733
Ynys Mon – 49,721
TOTAL: 2,302,300
Under my proposed boundary review, there would in future be 28 Welsh constituencies comprising just over 82,000 voters each. This would represent a reduction of twelve seats. There would, for example be three Cardiff constituencies, instead of four.
Scotland:(59 seats; should be 49)
Aberdeen North – 64,753
Aberdeen South – 64,330
Airdrie and Shotts – 62,789
Angus – 64,178
Argyll and Bute – 67,692
Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock – 73,708
Banff and Buchan – 65,183
Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk – 74,115
Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross – 47,572
Central Ayrshire – 69,243
Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill – 70,537
Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East – 65,317
Dumfries and Galloway – 74,414
Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale – 67,066
Dundee East – 65,702
Dundee West – 63,065
Dunfermline and West Fife – 74,621
East Dunbartonshire – 64,186
East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow – 77,985
East Lothian – 74,320
East Renfrewshire – 68,117
Edinburgh East – 60,594
Edinburgh North and Leith – 69,580
Edinburgh South – 59,285
Edinburgh South West – 66,262
Edinburgh West – 65,526
Falkirk – 82,473
Glasgow Central – 67,521
Glasgow East – 66,482
Glasgow North – 54,620
Glasgow North East – 64,171
Glasgow North West – 64,522
Glasgow South – 69,122
Glasgow South West – 62,378
Glenrothes – 68,393
Gordon – 74,394
Inverclyde – 61,038
Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey – 72,764
Kilmarnock and Loudoun – 75,001
Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath – 74,247
Lanark and Hamilton East – 76,190
Linlithgow and East Falkirk – 81,756
Livingston – 76,580
Midlothian – 61,986
Moray – 66,726
Motherwell and Wishaw – 66,949
Na h-Eileanan an lar – 21,837
North Ayrshire and Arran – 75,201
North East Fife – 63,349
Ochil and South Perthshire – 75,848
Orkney and Shetland – 33,755
Paisley and Renfrewshire North – 65,847
Paisley and Renfrewshire South – 63,268
Perth and North Perthshire – 73,064
Ross, Skye and Lochaber – 52,064
Rutherglen and Hamilton West – 77,729
Stirling – 66,743
West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine – 67,060
West Dunbartonshire – 66,738
TOTAL: 3,929,956
In Scotland there ought to be forty-nine constituencies, with just over eighty thousand voters each. This would represent a reduction of ten seats. Obviously, there are constituencies such as Orkney and Shetland as well as the Western Isles of Na h-Eileanan an lar which cover a huge expanse of territory, both land and water. However, even such remote localities still benefit from their own councils, as well as MSPs and MEPs.
A boundary review, based on the premise of a minimum of eighty thousand voters per constituency would lead to a total reduction of 26 seats from the celtic nations who already benefit from the extra layer of a national assembly. Of course, such a boundary review for Scotland would be rendered obsolete if the Scots vote yes for independence, which seems slightly unlikely but by no means impossible. Ultimately, independence might sound good, in an idealistic sense, but when push comes to shove, I suspect that the Scots are no different from most other peoples in recognizing that change equates to upheaval. It’s surprising how often people’s conservative instincts come rushing to the surface when confronted by the potential turmoil of political and constitutional reform.
In short, the celtic nations are over-governed by four main layers of representation, namely local councillors, members of the national assembly, members of the House of Commons [and House of Lords], and members of the European Parliament. There are clearly far too many public representatives being delegated by small populations and at considerable expense to the over-stretched public purse. In Northern Ireland for example, an electorate of less than 1.2 million is paying for 108 MLAs. This ludicrously amounts to little more than one MLA per every ten thousand of the populace! This is scandalous in the extreme. Surely it is pure logic to cut back on the huge volume of excessive representation, thereby enabling the savings in salaries and expenses to be diverted to the real and urgent need for more doctors and more schoolteachers, or is that just too sensible to be entertained by political parties whose own interests and hidden agenda frequently bypasses the need for fairness.
Northern Ireland:(18 seats; should be 14)
Belfast East – 60,050
Belfast North – 66,825
Belfast South – 60,726
Belfast West – 60,520
East Antrim – 61,253
East Londonderry – 64,546
Fermanagh and South Tyrone – 68,979
Foyle – 67,810
Lagan Valley – 66,327
Mid Ulster – 65,655
Newry and Armagh – 75,856
North Antrim – 74,094
North Down – 61,615
South Antrim – 64,254
South Down – 72,092
Strangford – 61,566
Upper Bann – 76,209
West Tyrone – 62,258
TOTAL: 1,190,635
There should be fourteen House of Commons constituencies of approximately 85,000 voters each in the six counties of Northern Ireland, which represents a reduction of four seats. Belfast would be amended to comprise three constituencies, namely Belfast Central, Belfast North, and Belfast South. This boundary change ought to be automatically replicated for the Northern Ireland Assembly at Stormont, meaning that there should be fourteen constituencies returning six [or better still five] MLAs each. This would represent a vastly more sensible and realistic total of seventy or eighty-four MLAs instead of the grossly outrageous amount of 108 MLAs, thereby enabling a huge saving to public expenses on behalf of the hard-pressed taxpayer.
Wales:(40 seats; should be 28)
Aberavon – 51,233
Aberconwy – 45,407
Alyn and Deeside – 62,196
Arfon – 41,138
Blaenau Gwent – 53,791
Brecon and Radnorshire – 53,882
Bridgend – 59,533
Caerphilly – 61,876
Cardiff Central – 64,225
Cardiff North – 67,194
Cardiff South and Penarth – 75,175
Cardiff West – 64,295
Carmarthen East and Dinefwr – 54,557
Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire – 58,994
Ceredigion – 56,942
Clwyd South – 54,895
Clwyd West – 58,544
Cynon Valley – 52,372
Delyn – 54,405
Dwyfor Meirionnydd – 45,006
Gower – 62,389
Islwyn – 54,792
Llanelli – 59,266
Merthyr Tidfil and Rhymney – 55,409
Monmouth – 65,432
Montgomeryshire – 48,910
Neath – 57,823
Newport East – 55,224
Newport West – 63,056
Ogmore – 55,851
Pontypridd – 60,275
Preseli Pembrokeshire – 58,343
Rhondda – 52,862
Swansea East – 60,809
Swansea West – 62,769
Torfaen – 61,806
Vale of Clwyd – 56,585
Vale of Glamorgan – 71,585
Wrexham – 53,733
Ynys Mon – 49,721
TOTAL: 2,302,300
Under my proposed boundary review, there would in future be 28 Welsh constituencies comprising just over 82,000 voters each. This would represent a reduction of twelve seats. There would, for example be three Cardiff constituencies, instead of four.
Scotland:(59 seats; should be 49)
Aberdeen North – 64,753
Aberdeen South – 64,330
Airdrie and Shotts – 62,789
Angus – 64,178
Argyll and Bute – 67,692
Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock – 73,708
Banff and Buchan – 65,183
Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk – 74,115
Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross – 47,572
Central Ayrshire – 69,243
Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill – 70,537
Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East – 65,317
Dumfries and Galloway – 74,414
Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale – 67,066
Dundee East – 65,702
Dundee West – 63,065
Dunfermline and West Fife – 74,621
East Dunbartonshire – 64,186
East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow – 77,985
East Lothian – 74,320
East Renfrewshire – 68,117
Edinburgh East – 60,594
Edinburgh North and Leith – 69,580
Edinburgh South – 59,285
Edinburgh South West – 66,262
Edinburgh West – 65,526
Falkirk – 82,473
Glasgow Central – 67,521
Glasgow East – 66,482
Glasgow North – 54,620
Glasgow North East – 64,171
Glasgow North West – 64,522
Glasgow South – 69,122
Glasgow South West – 62,378
Glenrothes – 68,393
Gordon – 74,394
Inverclyde – 61,038
Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey – 72,764
Kilmarnock and Loudoun – 75,001
Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath – 74,247
Lanark and Hamilton East – 76,190
Linlithgow and East Falkirk – 81,756
Livingston – 76,580
Midlothian – 61,986
Moray – 66,726
Motherwell and Wishaw – 66,949
Na h-Eileanan an lar – 21,837
North Ayrshire and Arran – 75,201
North East Fife – 63,349
Ochil and South Perthshire – 75,848
Orkney and Shetland – 33,755
Paisley and Renfrewshire North – 65,847
Paisley and Renfrewshire South – 63,268
Perth and North Perthshire – 73,064
Ross, Skye and Lochaber – 52,064
Rutherglen and Hamilton West – 77,729
Stirling – 66,743
West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine – 67,060
West Dunbartonshire – 66,738
TOTAL: 3,929,956
In Scotland there ought to be forty-nine constituencies, with just over eighty thousand voters each. This would represent a reduction of ten seats. Obviously, there are constituencies such as Orkney and Shetland as well as the Western Isles of Na h-Eileanan an lar which cover a huge expanse of territory, both land and water. However, even such remote localities still benefit from their own councils, as well as MSPs and MEPs.
A boundary review, based on the premise of a minimum of eighty thousand voters per constituency would lead to a total reduction of 26 seats from the celtic nations who already benefit from the extra layer of a national assembly. Of course, such a boundary review for Scotland would be rendered obsolete if the Scots vote yes for independence, which seems slightly unlikely but by no means impossible. Ultimately, independence might sound good, in an idealistic sense, but when push comes to shove, I suspect that the Scots are no different from most other peoples in recognizing that change equates to upheaval. It’s surprising how often people’s conservative instincts come rushing to the surface when confronted by the potential turmoil of political and constitutional reform.
In short, the celtic nations are over-governed by four main layers of representation, namely local councillors, members of the national assembly, members of the House of Commons [and House of Lords], and members of the European Parliament. There are clearly far too many public representatives being delegated by small populations and at considerable expense to the over-stretched public purse. In Northern Ireland for example, an electorate of less than 1.2 million is paying for 108 MLAs. This ludicrously amounts to little more than one MLA per every ten thousand of the populace! This is scandalous in the extreme. Surely it is pure logic to cut back on the huge volume of excessive representation, thereby enabling the savings in salaries and expenses to be diverted to the real and urgent need for more doctors and more schoolteachers, or is that just too sensible to be entertained by political parties whose own interests and hidden agenda frequently bypasses the need for fairness.
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