United Kingdom parliamentary constituencies | |
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Category | Electoral district |
Location | United Kingdom |
Number | 650 (as of 2023) |
Populations | 20,887 (Na h-Eileanan an Iar) - 113,021 (Isle of Wight) |
Government |
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The Parliament of the United Kingdom currently has 650 parliamentary constituencies across the constituent countries (England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland), each electing a single member of parliament (MP) to the House of Commons by the plurality (first past the post) voting system, ordinarily every five years. Voting last took place in all 650 of those constituencies at the United Kingdom general election on 12 December 2019.
The number of seats rose from 646 to 650 at the 2010 general election after proposals made by the boundary commissions for England, Wales, and Northern Ireland (the Fifth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies) were adopted through statutory instruments. [1] [2] [3] [4] Constituencies in Scotland remained unchanged, as the Boundary Commission for Scotland had completed a review just before the 2005 general election, which had resulted in a reduction of 13 seats.
Primary legislation provides for the independence of the boundary commissions for each of the four parts of the UK, the number of seats for each of the countries, permissible factors to use in departing from any old boundaries, and a strong duty to consult. The Fifth Review was governed by the Parliamentary Constituencies Act of 1986. Under the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011, as amended by the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 2020, the number of MPs is now fixed at 650. The Sainte-Laguë formula method is used to form groups of seats split between the four parts of the United Kingdom and the English regions (as defined by the NUTS 1 statistical regions of England). [5]
The table below gives the number of eligible voters broken down by constituent country, including the average constituency size in each country.
Year | 2000 | 2010 | 2015 | 2017 [6] | 2019 [7] | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Numbers | % | Numbers | % | Numbers | % | Numbers | % | Numbers | % | |
Total electorate for each constituent country | ||||||||||
England | 36,994,681 | 83.47% | 38,432,802 | 83.81% | 38,736,146 | 83.57% | 38,693,900 | 83.85% | 39,901,035 | 83.88% |
Scotland | 3,995,489 | 9.02% | 3,929,956 | 8.57% | 4,099,532 | 8.84% | 3,950,600 | 8.56% | 4,053,056 | 8.52% |
Wales | 2,225,689 | 5.02% | 2,302,300 | 5.02% | 2,281,754 | 4.92% | 2,261,200 | 4.90% | 2,319,690 | 4.88% |
Northern Ireland | 1,103,670 | 2.49% | 1,190,635 | 2.60% | 1,236,765 | 2.67% | 1,242,300 | 2.69% | 1,293,971 | 2.72% |
UK total | 44,319,529 | — | 45,855,693 | — | 46,354,197 | — | 46,148,000 | — | 47,567,752 | — |
Average electorate per constituency for each constituent country | ||||||||||
England | 69,408 | 101.80% | 72,107 | 102.21% | 72,676 | 101.91% | 72,596 | 102.25% | 74,861 | 102.30% |
Scotland | 67,720 | 99.32% | 66,609 | 94.42% | 69,484 | 97.43% | 66,959 | 94.31% | 68,696 | 93.87% |
Wales | 55,642 | 81.61% | 57,558 | 81.59% | 57,044 | 79.99% | 56,530 | 79.62% | 57,992 | 79.24% |
Northern Ireland | 61,315 | 89.93% | 66,146 | 93.76% | 68,709 | 96.35% | 69,017 | 97.21% | 71,887 | 98.23% |
Overall UK average | 68,184 | — | 70,547 | — | 71,314 | — | 70,997 | — | 73,181 | — |
As of 2023, every recommended constituency must have an electorate as at 2 March 2020 that is no smaller than 69,724 and no larger than 77,062. [8] The exceptions to this rule are five 'protected' constituencies for island areas: Orkney and Shetland, Na h-Eileanan an Iar, Ynys Mon, and two constituencies on the Isle of Wight. [9] These consequently have smaller electorates than the lower limit for other constituencies.
As the number of electors in each constituency is similar, the constituencies themselves vary considerably in area, ranging from Ross, Skye and Lochaber, which occupies a sixth of Scotland, to the densely-populated London constituency of Islington North.
Largest | Smallest | |
---|---|---|
England | Penrith and The Border 3,135 square kilometres (1,210 sq mi) | Islington North 7.38 square kilometres (2.85 sq mi) |
Scotland | Ross, Skye and Lochaber 12,768 square kilometres (4,930 sq mi) | Glasgow North 16.86 square kilometres (6.51 sq mi) |
Wales | Brecon and Radnorshire 3,015 square kilometres (1,164 sq mi) | Cardiff Central 16.83 square kilometres (6.50 sq mi) |
Northern Ireland | Fermanagh and South Tyrone 2,512 square kilometres (970 sq mi) | Belfast North 50.34 square kilometres (19.44 sq mi) |
The "Region" of the table refers to the NUTS 1 statistical region of England, which coincides with the former European Parliament constituency in which the constituency was included until 31 January 2020.
As of the 2019 election there are 533 constituencies in England, 40 in Wales, 59 in Scotland and 18 in Northern Ireland.
Following the abandonment of the Sixth Periodic Review (the 2018 review), the Boundary Commissions formally launched the 2023 Review on 5 January 2021 and published their final proposals on 28 June 2023. [11]
See 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies and List of United Kingdom Parliament constituencies (2024 to present) by region for further details.
In the United Kingdom, the boundary commissions are non-departmental public bodies responsible for determining the boundaries of parliamentary constituencies for elections to the House of Commons. There are four boundary commissions: one each for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Over the history of the House of Commons, the number of Members of Parliament (MPs) has varied for assorted reasons, with increases in recent years due to increases in the population of the United Kingdom. There are currently 650 constituencies, each sending one MP to the House of Commons, corresponding to approximately one for every 92,000 people, or one for every 68,000 parliamentary electors.
North West Cambridgeshire is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom since 2005 by Shailesh Vara of the Conservative Party. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.
In the United Kingdom (UK), each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one member to the House of Commons.
East Yorkshire is a county constituency for the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) at least once every five years by the first-past-the-post electoral system. The constituency has been represented by Greg Knight of the Conservative Party since the 2001 general election.
Shrewsbury and Atcham is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2005 by Daniel Kawczynski, a Conservative.
Waveney is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Peter Aldous, a Conservative. It returns one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
Hampstead and Kilburn is a constituency created in 2010 and currently represented in the House of Commons by Tulip Siddiq of the Labour Party. Glenda Jackson was the MP from 2010 to 2015, having served for the predecessor seat since 1992.
Scottish Westminster constituencies were Scottish constituencies of the House of Commons of the Parliament of Great Britain, normally at the Palace of Westminster, from 1708 to 1801, and have been constituencies of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, also at Westminster, since 1801. Constituency boundaries have changed on various occasions, and are now subject to both periodical and ad hoc reviews of the Boundary Commission for Scotland.
The Fifth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies was undertaken between 2000 and 2007 by the four boundary commissions for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland for the UK Parliament. The changes for England, Wales and Northern Ireland took effect at the 2010 United Kingdom general election; that for Scotland took effect at the 2005 election. All of the recommendations were approved.
The 2013 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, also known as the Sixth Review, or just boundary changes, was an ultimately unfruitful cycle of the process by which constituencies of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom are reviewed and redistributed. The four UK boundary commissions carried out their reviews between 2011 and 2013, but their recommendations were not taken up by the government and instead the 2018 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies was carried out from 2016 to 2018. That review was also not implemented and its results were formally laid aside in 2020.
The Second Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies was undertaken between 1965 and 1969 by the four Boundary Commissions for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland for the United Kingdom Parliament as provided by the House of Commons Act 1949 and amended by House of Commons Act 1958. The changes to the constituencies were approved in 1970 and took effect at the February 1974 United Kingdom general election.
The 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies was the most recent cycle of the process to redraw the constituency map for the House of Commons. The new constituency borders were approved by the Privy Council on 15 November 2023 and came into law on 29 November 2023.
The 2018 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies was an ultimately unfruitful cycle of the process by which constituencies of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom are reviewed and redistributed. The four UK boundary commissions carried out their reviews between 2016 and 2018, but their recommendations were not taken up by the government and were formally laid aside in 2020.
The next United Kingdom general election is scheduled to be held no later than 28 January 2025. The election includes Scotland with all 57 Scottish seats to be contested.
This article covers the timeline of the most recent cycle of the process to redraw the constituency map for the House of Commons, namely the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies. The new constituency borders came into law on 29 November 2023. For a summary of the outcome of the review, see 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies.