Our Second Review of the constituencies and regions of the Scottish Parliament commenced on 1 September 2022.
The review is required under the terms of the Scotland Act 1998 and will recommend constituencies, and regions, of similar electorate size while also taking account of local authority areas, special geographical circumstances, maintenance of local ties and any inconveniences caused by the alteration of the existing boundaries.
The review of constituencies will cover the 70 mainland constituencies. The constituencies of Na h-Eileanan an Iar, Orkney Islands and Shetland Islands are protected in legislation and so excluded from this review. The review of the regions will, however, encompass all 73 constituencies at the Scottish Parliament. The overall number of MSPs (129) is fixed in legislation and will not change as a result of this review.
The First Review reported in 2010 and the current boundaries have been used in the Scottish Parliament elections of 2011, 2016 and 2021.
We expect to publish our provisional proposals for consultation in spring 2023.
We will submit a report to Scottish Ministers by 1 May 2025. If subsequently approved by the Scottish Parliament, the new boundaries will be effective at the next Scottish Parliament election, expected in May 2026.
Supporting and background information
Start of Second Review of Scottish Parliament Boundaries News Release