North MPs show solidarity against Boundary Commission plans to re-draw constituencies
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Highland politicians of all colours have come together to call for plans to redraw the electoral map of the north to be scrapped.
A Boundary Review of Westminster constituencies proposes creating three new constituencies – Highland North, Highland Central and Highland East and Elgin.
The new constituencies reduce Highland representation by one MP as part of the UK government’s reduction of Scottish representation in parliament by two MPs.
Two MPs spoke in person at a public hearing in the Jury’s Inn Hotel in Inverness. Among them was far north MP Jamie Stone who has railed against the proposals since they were first mooted because his already large constituency would become even larger.
"The public has made clear their opinion that the proposed Highland North constituency is too big,” he said.
"In a proper working democracy, constituents like to see their MP face to face. That engagement is part and parcel of how we do things.
"When a constituency is too big it means that, notwithstanding how hard the elected member tries, they cannot cover a huge area as much as they should. It means that people lose out and that is corrosive to democracy in this country.
"At a time when we see democracy under threat in Eastern Europe, this is something we should remember and hold dear to our hearts."
Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey would be cut into three constituencies – something that MP Drew Hendry believes would directly impact the public.
Mr Hendry said: “It is vital that any changes to boundaries in the Highlands reflects the real lives of the people living in our communities, as this is essential for public trust and true representation.
“I have urged the Boundary Commission to reflect on their decisions given the scale of the proposed changes, which will include the creation of the UK’s largest ever constituency in Highland North, which is actually bigger than 49 countries. It is farcical and frankly insulting to people in the Highlands.”
Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross, who retained his Westminster seat after becoming an MSP in May, said the move tramples over local connections in Moray.
“Crucially, I think that the most important point for me is that it’s co-terminus with the Moray council area. We have one MP, one constituency MSP and one local authority with 26 elected members.
“Under the proposals, the Moray seat becomes three separate seats and it also means the MPs for those three constituencies would be dealing not just with Moray Council but with Moray Council and Highland Council for one of the seats and Moray Council and Aberdeenshire Council for two of the other seats.”
He added that there was no need to change Moray at all and it was only imbalances elsewhere that were prompting the changes to the constituency.
The Boundary Commission’s public consultation lasts until March 23.
