New Highland constituency plans slammed as a 'ridiculous' numbers exercise
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Proposals to redraw the electoral map of the UK has been described as likely to 'weaken Scotland’s voice in the UK Parliament'.
The latest plans will see the Highland Council area divided between four MPs, three local authorities and two health boards.
The plans calls for Badenoch and Strathspey to join part of Moray, Inverness to join Wester Ross, Easter Ross now reaches Loch Ness and Lochaber becomes part of Argyll and Bute.
That could present significant difficulties when it comes to lobbying in parliament on any issue that could potentially conflict across some of those boundaries.
The aim of the Boundary Commission of Scotland under a UK-wide review of constituencies is to balance electorates.
That is particularly difficult in the Highlands – and perhaps ill-advised – which suffers from not just low population but depopulation as well.
For many MPs it means they have to travel much further, for much longer across a broad swathe of the UK making them inadvertently more remote from voters.
The Highland Council area is generally seen as a reasonable boundary for the mainland Highlands – accepting of local ties for the most part.
So what is planned?
Three new constituencies will be created:
Nairn, Strathspey and Moray West is the most changed as Badenoch and Strathspey now join the Moray Council area and starting from Culloden goes as far as the eastern edge of Elgin. It also takes in Dufftown, Aberlour and others.
Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross now starts at Abriachan north of Loch Ness and Strathcarron in a zig zag north west to Lochinver and everything north of that.
Inverness-shire and Wester Ross absorbs Inverness and all of the Great Glen, Skye running north as far as Elphin and to the south of Fort William.
'Ridiculous'
The Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey MP Drew Hendry branded the plans 'ridiculous' as he hit out at the commission.
“The Boundaries Commission has doggedly refused to listen to sense, with these latest proposals even more bizarre than the ones before,” he said.
“There has been no attempt to understand our communities and they continue to just draw lines on a map to make the numbers fit.
“The latest plans are that ridiculous they have banded folk in Nairn, Badenoch & Strathspey with Moray communities. Meanwhile, families in Inverness will share an MP with folk living in Ullapool, while their friends and family in Culloden and Smithton have been seemingly kicked out of Inverness and have been lumped with Moray also.
“Children going to the same school and families who share the same GP will be in different constituencies – how does that make any sense to anyone?
“That Highland communities are now losing more seats to accommodate ten new ones for the Southeast of England is so far from supposedly balancing things up.
He added: “The entire process is just making Westminster more unequal and less democratic – not to mention utterly devoid of sense”
Cut to Scottish representation
The news was not warmly welcomed by the current crop of MPs with Ross, Skye and Lochaber MP Ian Blackford described the proposed changes as an attack on democracy.
“The proposed boundary reforms will weaken Scotland’s voice at Westminster, with the loss of two MPs,” he said.
“Glasgow and the North of Scotland would both lose seats, while widespread changes would see boundaries shift and constituencies renamed across the country.
“Meanwhile, England would see an increase of 10 MPs, while Wales will lose eight, if the changes are implemented. The net result is that Scotland’s representation will be cut even further under these plans.”
The SNP’s Westminster Leader added: “The SNP will strongly oppose any attempt to weaken Scotland’s voice in the UK Parliament but the reality is that, until we gain Independence, Scotland will always be outvoted under the broken Westminster system.”
Some improvement
While far north MP Jamie Stone said: “Although the present Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross will increase in size, at least adding on the vast expanse of Wester Ross is now off the agenda.
“This is a welcome decision by the Boundary Commission for Scotland. It makes the constituency much more manageable and it means the constituents will be able to more easily access their MP.
“Having been a Ross & Cromarty and Highland Councillor, I know the areas being added to the constituency very well and I intend to vigorously contest the enlarged seat at the next General Election.”
