62-635: East Dunbartonshire was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom ( Westminster ). It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. The seat is possibly best known for formerly being the constituency of Jo Swinson , the former Leader of the Liberal Democrats who was defeated at the 2019 general election. This version of
124-620: A change to the boundaries of the burgh of Clydebank. The results of the First Periodical Review of the Boundary Commission were implemented for the 1955 general election , but there was no change to the boundaries of East Dunbartonshire, and the boundaries of 1951 and 1955 were used also in the general elections of 1959 , 1964 , 1966 and 1970 . The results of the Second Periodical Review were implemented for
186-496: A collection of complete wards may not give an electorate that is within the required electoral range. The law specifies that the electorate used during a review is the registered electorate at the time of the start of the review, and not the electorate at the end of a review, or the total population. Boundary changes can have a significant effect on the results of elections, but boundary commissions do not take any account of voting patterns in their deliberations, or consider what
248-420: A few cases one). From 1535 each Welsh county and borough was represented, by one knight or burgess. The franchise was restricted differently in different types of constituency; in county constituencies forty shilling freeholders (i.e. landowners) could vote, while in boroughs the franchise varied from potwallopers , giving many residents votes, to rotten boroughs with hardly any voters. A county borough
310-666: A form or degree of mixed-member proportional representation . The existing constituencies were created, effectively, for the first general election of the Scottish Parliament, in 1999. When created, all but two had the names and boundaries of Westminster constituencies. The two exceptions were the Orkney Holyrood constituency , covering the Orkney Islands council area , and the Shetland Holyrood constituency , covering
372-448: A more suitable label cannot be found. Where used, "The compass point reference used will generally form a prefix in cases where the rest of the constituency name refers to the county area or a local council, but a suffix where the rest of the name refers to a population centre." This is the reason for the difference in naming between, for example, North Shropshire (a county constituency ) and Reading West (a borough constituency ). In
434-586: A number of single-member first-past-the Post constituencies, matching the way Westminster MPs are elected. Following the decision that all MEPs should be elected by some form of proportional representation , the Labour government passed the European Parliamentary Elections Act 1999 , creating eleven constituencies on Great Britain, which were first used in 1999 . The South West England constituency
496-589: A set series of rules when devising constituencies . These rules are set out in the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986 , as amended by the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011 and subsequently by the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 2020 . Firstly, each proposed constituency has to comply with two numerical limits: There are a small number of exceptions to the numerical limit on electorate which are specified in
558-668: Is in the Holyrood area of Edinburgh , while the main meeting place of the Parliament of the United Kingdom is the Palace of Westminster , in the City of Westminster . There are 73 Holyrood constituencies covering Scotland , and each elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the first-past-the-post system . Also, the constituencies are grouped into eight electoral regions, and each of these regions elects seven additional members , to produce
620-401: Is the only seat to have been represented by the three main parties and the nationalists. The October 1974 result was particularly unusual since it produced both the smallest majority in the country at that election, and the closest three-way result since 1945. 55°58′34″N 4°12′40″W / 55.976°N 4.211°W / 55.976; -4.211 County constituency In
682-513: The 2005 United Kingdom general election , the House of Commons had 646 constituencies covering the whole of the United Kingdom. This rose to 650 in the 2010 election following the Fifth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies . Each constituency elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the " first-past-the-post " system of election. The House of Commons is one of the two chambers of
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#1733085381613744-601: The Acts of Union 1707 , Scottish burghs were grouped into districts of burghs in the Parliament of Great Britain , except that Edinburgh was a constituency in its own right . After the Acts of Union 1800 , smaller Irish boroughs were disenfranchised, while most others returned only one MP to the United Kingdom Parliament. The Reform Act 1832 reduced the number of parliamentary boroughs in England and Wales by eliminating
806-718: The East Dunbartonshire council area and one of five covering the East Dunbartonshire council area and the North Lanarkshire council area . The East Dunbartonshire constituency is entirely within the East Dunbartonshire council area, and the rest of the council area is covered by the Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East constituency, which also covers part of the North Lanarkshire council area. The rest of
868-668: The European Parliament , prior to the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union (see European Parliament constituency ). In local government elections (other than for the London Assembly) electoral areas are called wards or electoral divisions . House of Commons, Scottish Parliament, Senedd and Northern Ireland Assembly constituencies are designated as either county or borough constituencies, except that in Scotland
930-588: The February 1974 general election . The review took account of population growth in the county of Dunbarton, caused by overspill from the city of Glasgow into the new town of Cumbernauld and elsewhere, and East Dunbartonshire became one of three constituencies covering the county. East Dunbartonshire now covered the Kirkintilloch and Cumbernauld districts of the county and the burghs of Bearsden , Cumbernauld, and Kirkintilloch, but it lost Clydebank and Milngavie to
992-514: The House of Commons . There are four boundary commissions: one each for England , Scotland , Wales and Northern Ireland . Each commission comprises four members, three of whom take part in meetings. The speaker of the House of Commons chairs each of the boundary commissions ex officio but does not play any part in the review, and a High Court judge is appointed to each boundary commission as deputy chair. The boundary commissions, which are required to report every eight years, must apply
1054-530: The North Clyde and Croy railway corridors. Since 1974, the constituency has had the unusual distinction of having been represented by all four of the main political parties in Scotland, typically with small majorities (under 10%) at each general election. The existing constituency was created as a result of the Fifth Periodical Review of the Boundary Commission for Scotland , as one of two covering
1116-614: The Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986 , the terms of review were significantly different: The review that gave rise to most of the constituency boundaries currently in force is the Fifth Periodic Review , which was given effect in Wales by an Order made in 2006, in England by an Order from 2007 and in Northern Ireland by an Order from 2008, with the new boundaries used for the May 2010 general election . The most recent general review in Scotland
1178-584: The Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011 . They were first established as permanent bodies under the House of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) Act 1944 . The 1944 Act was amended in 1947 and then replaced by the House of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) Act 1949 . The 1949 Act was amended in 1958 and 1979 and replaced by the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986 ; changes in legislation from 1944 to 1986 were generally incremental in nature. The Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 under PM Tony Blair's government envisaged that
1240-518: The Scottish Parliament (Constituencies) Act 2004 , which enabled the creation of a new set of Westminster constituencies without change to Holyrood constituencies. The new Westminster boundaries became effective for the 2005 United Kingdom general election . There are 40 Senedd constituencies covering Wales , and each elects one Member of the Senedd (MS) by the first-past-the-post system . Also,
1302-562: The Shetland Islands council area . For Westminster elections, these council areas were covered (and still are covered) by the Orkney and Shetland Westminster constituency . In 1999, under the Scotland Act 1998 , the expectation was that there would be a permanent link between the boundaries of Holyrood constituencies and those of Westminster constituencies. This link was broken, however, by
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#17330853816131364-506: The United Kingdom (UK), each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one member to the House of Commons . Within the United Kingdom there are five bodies with members elected by electoral districts called " constituencies " as opposed to " wards ": Between 1921 and 1973 the following body also included members elected by constituencies: Electoral areas called constituencies were previously used in elections to
1426-539: The bicameral Parliament of the United Kingdom , the other being the House of Lords . There are fourteen London Assembly constituencies covering the Greater London area, and each constituency elects one member of the assembly by the first-past-the-post system . Eleven additional members are elected from Greater London as a whole to produce a form or degree of mixed-member proportional representation . Constituency names and boundaries remain now as they were for
1488-488: The first general election of the assembly, in 2000. The assembly is part of the Greater London Authority and general elections of the assembly are held at the same time as election of the mayor of London . There are 18 Northern Ireland Assembly Constituencies : four borough (for Belfast ) and 14 county constituencies elsewhere (see below). Each elects five MLAs to the 90 member NI Assembly by means of
1550-424: The single transferable vote system. Assembly Constituency boundaries are identical to their House of Commons equivalents. The constituencies below are not used for the election of members to the 11 district councils . Scottish Parliament constituencies are sometimes called Holyrood constituencies, to distinguish them from Westminster (House of Commons) constituencies. The Scottish Parliament Building
1612-545: The Boundary Commission for Scotland, the Boundary Commission for Wales and the Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland. The Sixth Review would have resulted in 600 constituencies for the United Kingdom Parliament : a reduction from the 650 constituencies in existence at the 2010 general election . In January 2013, parliamentary opposition to proposed legislative amendments because of a lack of consensus in
1674-544: The Boundary Commissions for England , Wales , Scotland and Northern Ireland the power to create names for constituencies, and does not provide a set of statutory guidelines for the Commissions to follow in doing so. Constituency names are geographic, and "should normally reflect the main population centre(s) contained in the constituency". Compass points are used to distinguish constituencies from each other when
1736-611: The North Lanarkshire area is covered by the Airdrie and Shotts , Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill , and Motherwell and Wishaw constituencies. The East Dunbartonshire constituency replaced most of the Strathkelvin and Bearsden constituency and some of the Clydebank and Milngavie constituency and some of the Coatbridge and Chryston constituency. The Fifth Periodical Review did not affect
1798-548: The SNP leapfrogged Labour to defeat the Conservatives, and in 1979 Labour leapfrogged the Conservatives to beat the SNP. Furthermore, the constituency went the opposite way to the nation in two consecutive changes of government. In February 1974, the Conservatives gained it from Labour, though losing nationally, while in 1979 Labour regained the seat from the SNP, though losing nationally. Apart from Ynys Môn in Wales, East Dunbartonshire
1860-621: The Scottish Parliament: Na h-Eileanan an Iar , the Orkney Islands, the Shetland Islands and 70 others. The Act also specifies that the constituencies are grouped into eight regions to allow the return of list members elected by proportional representation to the parliament. The Boundary Commission for Scotland conducted a review of these boundaries between 2007 and 2010, and their recommendations were implemented from 2011 . Since
1922-549: The Sixth Review was formally abandoned. Following the passing of the 2020 Act, which reinstated the number of constituencies to 650, a new review, known as the 2023 Review , was launched by the four commissions on 5 January 2021. Under the new rules governing the number of constituencies in each nation, England would have 543 constituencies (+10), Wales 32 (-8), Scotland 57 (-2) and Northern Ireland 18 (unchanged). The final consultation for England began on 8 November 2022 with
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1984-466: The United Kingdom elected its Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) through twelve multimember European Parliament constituencies . One, Northern Ireland , used single transferable vote , while the eleven covering Great Britain used the d'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation . For its first European Parliamentary elections in 1979 Great Britain was divided into
2046-419: The boundaries of Scottish Parliament constituencies , which retain the boundaries of Westminster constituencies prior to implementation of the results of the review. The historic constituency was created under the House of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) Act 1949 , and first used in the 1950 general election . As created in 1950, the constituency was one of two covering the county of Dunbarton . The other
2108-522: The boundary commissions' work is limited to areas for election to the UK House of Commons. Local authority areas and electoral areas are reviewed by the separate: Changes to parliamentary boundaries do not themselves impact on which local councils are responsible for any area. The procedure for reviews of constituencies and regions for the Scottish Parliament is set down by the Scotland Act 1998 . That Act specifies that there are 73 constituencies for
2170-593: The coalition resulted in the review being suspended. Following the Conservative victory at the 2015 general election , the review was recommenced in 2016 and final recommendations were submitted by the four commissions in September 2018 and laid before Parliament. However the revised proposals were never brought forward by the Government for approval and, further to the passing of the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 2020 ,
2232-591: The commissions' recommendations unless specifically requested to do so by the relevant commission. On approval by the Privy Council, the new constituencies come into effect for the next general election . Any by-elections before then use the pre-existing boundaries. These provisions were brought in by the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 2020 . Previously, Parliament voted on the recommendations and, although it could not make any alterations to them, it could reject them in their entirety. In addition, although this power
2294-485: The constituencies are grouped into five electoral regions, and each of these regions elects four additional members , to produce a form or degree of mixed-member proportional representation . The current set of Senedd constituencies is the second to be created. The first was created for the first general election of the National Assembly for Wales, in 1999. Before its withdrawal from the European Union in 2020,
2356-440: The constituency was first used at the 2005 general election . There was also an earlier East Dunbartonshire constituency, from 1950 to 1983. Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies , the seat was expanded and renamed Mid Dunbartonshire , and was first contested at the 2024 general election . The constituency covers the northern edge of Greater Glasgow, and includes commuter towns on
2418-441: The consultation periods are specified in the legislation: It has been normal practice for local government electoral wards to be used as building blocks for constituencies, although there is no legislative requirement to do so. In some metropolitan boroughs in England, and in Scotland, following the introduction of multi-member wards in 2007, it is often difficult to do so due to the large electorates in these wards, and therefore
2480-456: The council. The spending limits for election campaigns are different in the two, the reasoning being that candidates in county constituencies tend to need to travel farther. For by-elections to any of these bodies, the limit in all constituencies is £100,000. In the House of Commons of England , each English county elected two " knights of the shire " while each enfranchised borough elected "burgesses" (usually two, sometimes four, and in
2542-496: The distinction; the Boundary Commission for England has stated that, "as a general principle, where constituencies contain more than a small rural element they should normally be designated as county constituencies. Otherwise they should be designated as borough constituencies." In Scotland, all House of Commons constituencies are county constituencies except those in the cities of Glasgow , Edinburgh , Aberdeen , Dundee and three urban areas of Lanarkshire . In England and Wales,
East Dunbartonshire (UK Parliament constituency) - Misplaced Pages Continue
2604-524: The effect of their recommendations on the outcome of an election may be. Once a commission has completed its review, it submits a report to the appropriate Secretary of State who lays it before Parliament . Once all four reports have been submitted, an Order in Council which gives effect to the recommendations must be submitted within four months to the Privy Council . The Government may not modify any of
2666-655: The functions of the boundary commissioners would be transferred to the United Kingdom Electoral Commission , but this never transpired: the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009 repealed the Act of Parliament (of 2000) effective from 1 April 2010. The Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011 passed under the Con-Lib Dem coalition government made substantial changes to
2728-567: The general reviews generally did. Under the rules in force before 2011, the number of constituencies in Great Britain (England, Wales, and Scotland) had to "not be substantially greater or less than 613", of which at least 35 had to be in Wales. The City of London was not to be partitioned and was to be included in a seat that referred to it by name. The Orkney and Shetland Islands were not to be combined with any other areas. Northern Ireland had to have between 16 and 18 constituencies. Under
2790-480: The legislation governing constituency boundary reviews; this was further amended by the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 2020 . Customarily, each commission conducted a complete review of all constituencies in its part of the United Kingdom every eight to twelve years. In between these general reviews, the commissions were able to conduct interim reviews of part of their area of responsibility. The interim reviews usually did not yield drastic changes in boundaries, while
2852-524: The legislation requires different numbers of constituencies in Scotland for the United Kingdom Parliament and the Scottish Parliament , these two sets of areas do not fit together neatly. Responsibility for Scottish Parliament boundary reviews passed to the Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland in May 2017. The Government of Wales Act 2006 specified that the constituencies for
2914-407: The legislation: Having satisfied the electorate and area requirements, each commission can also take into account a number of other factors: As these factors can to an extent be mutually conflicting, each commission has discretion on how it applies them. In so doing, each commission aims for a consistent approach within a review. When a commission publishes its proposals for public consultation ,
2976-716: The link between UK Parliament and Senedd seat boundaries, organisations such as the Electoral Reform Society have indicated a preference for coterminosity (meaning the mirroring of seat boundaries in Wales along the lines of the 2016 proposed reforms to the Welsh seats in the UK Parliament). Section 33 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 provides that the constituencies for the Northern Ireland Assembly are
3038-571: The link with Westminster constituencies, and the Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Act 2024 made the Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru the statutory review body for Senedd boundaries. The Boundary Commission reported in 2016 proposing to reduce the number of UK Parliament constituencies in Wales to 29, on the basis that all constituencies must have at least 71,031 voters. While the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011 removed
3100-540: The new constituency of Central Dunbartonshire . These boundaries were used also for the general elections of October 1974 and 1979 . In 1975, under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 , Scottish counties were abolished in favour of regions and districts and islands council areas , and the county of Dunbarton was divided between several districts of the new region of Strathclyde . The Third Periodical Review took account of new local government boundaries, and
3162-465: The position of returning officer in borough constituencies is held ex officio by the mayor or chairman of the borough or district council, and the high sheriff of the county in county constituencies. The administration of elections is carried out by the acting returning officer, who will typically be a local council's chief executive or Head of Legal Services. The role, however, is separate from these posts, and can be held by any person appointed by
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#17330853816133224-413: The previous common electoral quota for the whole United Kingdom and replaced it with four separate national minimal seat quotas for the respective Boundaries commissions to work to, as a result the separate national electoral quotas came into effect: England 69,534; Northern Ireland 67,145, Wales 58,383 and in Scotland only 54,741 electors. The Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011 gives
3286-533: The publication of the Revised Proposals and lasted for four weeks, ending on 5 December. All four Commissions submitted their Final Recommendations Reports to the Speaker of the House of Commons on 27 June 2023. An order in council adopting the recommendations, The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023 (No. 1230 of 2023), was made on 15 November 2023 and came into force on 29 November 2023. The scope of
3348-431: The results were implemented for the 1983 general election . This was the largest constituency turnout, and the smallest SNP majority, at the 2019 general election. This was the highest turnout in the May 2015 general election. The constituency of 1950 to 1983 has an unusual electoral history, in that in two consecutive general elections it was gained by the party in third place at the previous election. In October 1974
3410-788: The rotten boroughs. It also divided larger counties into two two-seat divisions , the boundaries of which were defined in the Parliamentary Boundaries Act 1832 , and gave seven counties a third member. Similar reforms were also made for Scotland and for Ireland . The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 ( 48 & 49 Vict. c. 23) equalised the population of constituencies; it split larger boroughs into multiple single-member constituencies, reduced smaller boroughs from two seats each to one, split each two-seat county and division into two single-member constituencies, and each three-seat county into single-member constituencies. The House of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) Act 1958 , eliminated
3472-430: The term burgh is used instead of borough . Since the advent of universal suffrage , the differences between county and borough constituencies are slight. Formerly (see below ) the franchise differed, and there were also county borough and university constituencies. Borough constituencies are predominantly urban while county constituencies are predominantly rural . There is no definitive statutory criterion for
3534-606: The then National Assembly for Wales were to be the same as those for the UK Parliament at Westminster . The Act required the Boundary Commission for Wales to group the constituencies into electoral regions, to allow the return of list members elected by proportional representation to the Assembly. The Boundary Commission for Wales's Fifth General Review resulted in revised Assembly constituencies and electoral regions . The Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011 removed
3596-456: Was West Dunbartonshire . The two new constituencies replaced the earlier constituencies of Dunbartonshire and Dumbarton Burghs . East Dunbartonshire covered the Cumbernauld, Kirkintilloch, and New Kilpatrick districts of the county and the burghs of Clydebank , Kirkintilloch , and Milngavie . For the 1951 general election the constituency boundaries were adjusted to take account of
3658-460: Was expanded from the 2004 elections onward to include Gibraltar , the only British overseas territory that was part of the European Union , following a court case. Boundary Commissions (United Kingdom) In the United Kingdom , the boundary commissions are non-departmental public bodies responsible for determining the boundaries of parliamentary constituencies for elections to
3720-414: Was given effect in 2005, and the resulting constituencies were used in the May 2005 general election . There are currently 533 constituencies in England, 40 constituencies in Wales, 59 constituencies in Scotland and 18 constituencies in Northern Ireland, providing a total of 650. The Sixth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies was launched on 4 March 2011 by the Boundary Commission for England,
3782-513: Was never exercised, for many years the legislation gave the Secretary of State the power to modify a commission's recommendations. The new procedures further strengthen the separation of the creation of constituency boundaries from those elected for the resulting electoral areas, with the aim of eliminating any scope for gerrymandering . The commissions are currently established under the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986 , most recently amended by
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#17330853816133844-459: Was the constituency of a county corporate , combining the franchises of both county and borough. Until 1950 there were also university constituencies , which gave graduates an additional representation. Similar distinctions applied in the Irish House of Commons , while the non-university elected members of the Parliament of Scotland were called Shire Commissioners and Burgh Commissioners. After
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