Boundary Commission for Scotland BCS Paper 2016/28 2018 Review of UK Parliament Constituencies Constituency considerations for Midlothian and Scottish Borders council areas Action required 1. The Commission is invited to consider alternative designs of constituencies for Midlothian and Scottish Borders council areas in furtherance of its 2018 Review of UK Parliament constituencies. Background 2. On 24 February 2016, the Commission began its 2018 Review of UK Parliament constituencies with a view to making its recommendations by October 2018 in tandem with the other UK parliamentary boundary commissions. 3. The review is being undertaken in compliance with the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986, as amended. The Act stipulates a UK electoral quota of 74,769.2 electors and use of the parliamentary electorate figures from the December 2015 Electoral Register. The 5% electorate limits in the Act correspond to an electorate of no less than 71,031 and no more than 78,507. 4. The Act requires the Commission to recommend the name, extent and designation of constituencies in Scotland, of which there are to be 53 in total. 2 Scottish constituencies are prescribed in the Act: Orkney and Shetland Islands constituency and Western isles constituency. 5. The Act provides some discretion in the extent of the Commission’s regard to the size, shape and accessibility of constituencies, existing constituencies and the breaking of local ties. As this review is considered to be the first following enactment of the legislation (the 6th Review was ended before completion in 2013 following enactment of the Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013) the Commission need not have regard to the inconveniences attendant on changes to constituencies. 6. At its meeting of 16 May 2016, the Commission adopted groupings of council areas as part of its approach to constituency design for the 2018 Review, which included a group comprising Midlothian and Scottish Borders council areas. This paper offers some options for constituencies within that group. 7. The 2015 parliamentary electorates of the council areas in this group are as shown in Table 1 below: Council area Parliamentary Constituency electorate entitlement Midlothian 65,308 0.87 Scottish Borders 85,328 1.14 total 150,636 2.01 Table 1: 2015 parliamentary electorates of council areas in the group. Document name 1 BCS2016_28_(Constituency_Design_Midlothian_Scottish_Borders) Boundary Commission for Scotland BCS Paper 2016/28 8. The existing constituencies in the group and their 2015 parliamentary electorates are as shown in Table 2 below: constituency Electorate Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk 70,565 Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale 65,739 Midlothian 65,308 Table 2: 2015 parliamentary electorates of existing constituencies in the group. 9. A map of existing constituencies and council areas in the group can be found at Appendix A. None of the existing constituencies in the group have electorates within acceptable limits in terms of the legislation. 10. The constituency names in this paper are provisional. The Commission will have the opportunity to review all constituency names and designations prior to the publication of its Initial Proposals. Options 11. All constituencies in the following options have electorates that lie within 5% of the electoral quota and have areas of less than 13,000 km2. Option 1 12. Option 1 provides for 1 constituency wholly within Scottish Borders council area and 1 constituency combining parts of both Midlothian and Scottish Borders council areas. A map of option 1 constituencies is at Appendix B1. An overview of option 1 constituencies relative to other electoral boundaries is at Appendix B2. 13. Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk constituency comprises Scottish Borders wards 3 to 11 and part of ward 2 (Tweeddale East). The boundary through ward 2 follows a community council boundary between Peebles and Cardrona. A map of the boundary in ward 2 can be found at Appendix B3. 14. Midlothian and Peebles constituency comprises all of Midlothian council area, Scottish Borders ward 1 and part of ward 2 (Tweeddale East), and places Peebles entirely in a single constituency. 15. The electorate, ward composition, designation and suggested name of each constituency in option 1 is shown in Table 3 below: Constituency name electorate wards Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk CC 74,428 Scottish Borders – 2(pt), 3 to 11 Midlothian and Peebles CC 76,208 Midlothian – all Scottish Borders - 1, 2(pt) Table 3: 2015 parliamentary electorates of option 1 constituencies. 16. The advantages of option 1 are: Of the 3 options in this paper, option 1constituencies most resemble existing constituencies in the area; Document name 2 BCS2016_28_(Constituency_Design_Midlothian_Scottish_Borders) Boundary Commission for Scotland BCS Paper 2016/28 The proportion of Scottish Borders Council area electorate in a Midlothian-based constituency is greatest in this option; The Midlothian-based constituency in option 1 is the largest by area of the 3 options, providing a more equitable distribution of the physical area to be covered by MPs; and There is less risk of disruption to local ties in the central Borders area than in the other options. 17. The disadvantages of option 1 are: Local ties between Peebles and Cardrona may be broken as Priorsford primary school catchment area is divided between constituencies because of the division of ward 2 (Tweeddale East); One ward is divided between constituencies; and Ward 2 is currently divided between constituencies: option 1 would perpetuate that. Option 2 18. Option 2 also provides for 1 constituency wholly within Scottish Borders council area and 1 constituency combining parts of both Midlothian and Scottish Borders council areas. A map of option 2 constituencies is at Appendix C1. An overview of option 2 constituencies relative to other electoral boundaries is at Appendix C2. 19. Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Tweeddale constituency comprises Scottish Borders wards 1, 2, 4 and 6 to 11 and part of ward 3 (Galashiels and District). The boundary through ward 3 follows a community council boundary between Stow and Galashiels. A map of the boundary in ward 3 can be found at Appendix C3. 20. Midlothian and Melrose constituency comprises all of Midlothian council area, Scottish Borders ward 5 and part of ward 3 (Galashiels and District) that includes Stow. 21. The electorate, ward composition, designation and suggested name of each constituency is shown in Table 4 below: Constituency name electorate wards Berwickshire, Roxburgh and 75,989 Scottish Borders – 1, 2, 3(pt), 4, Tweeddale CC 6 to 11 Midlothian and Melrose CC 74,647 Midlothian – all Scottish Borders - 3(pt), 5 Table 4: 2015 parliamentary electorates of option 2 constituencies. 22. The advantage of option 2 is: It avoids the continued division of ward 2 between constituencies. 23. The disadvantages of option 2 are: Stow primary school catchment area is divided between constituencies because of the division of ward 3 (Galashiels and District); One ward is divided between constituencies; The inclusion of part of ward 3 (Galashiels and District) in the Midlothian and Melrose constituency is optional in terms of electoral parity; and There is a risk of broken ties in the central Borders area. Document name 3 BCS2016_28_(Constituency_Design_Midlothian_Scottish_Borders) Boundary Commission for Scotland BCS Paper 2016/28 Option 3 24. Option 3 also provides for 1 constituency wholly within Scottish Borders council area and 1 constituency combining parts of both Midlothian and Scottish Borders council areas. A map of option 3 constituencies is at Appendix D1. An overview of option 3 constituencies relative to other electoral boundaries is at Appendix D2. 25. Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Tweeddale constituency comprises Scottish Borders wards 1, 2 and 4 to 11. 26. Midlothian and Galashiels constituency comprises all of Midlothian council area and Scottish Borders ward 3 (Galashiels and District). 27. The electorate, ward composition, designation and suggested name of each constituency is shown in Table 5 below: Constituency name electorate wards Berwickshire, Roxburgh and 75,380 Scottish Borders – 1, 2, 4 to 11 Tweeddale CC Midlothian and Galashiels CC 75,256 Midlothian – all Scottish Borders - 3 Table 5: 2015 parliamentary electorates of option 3 constituencies. 28. The advantages of option 3 are: No wards are divided between constituencies; It avoids the continued division of ward 2 between constituencies; The electorate is most-evenly distributed between constituencies in this option. 29. The disadvantage of option 3 is: There is a risk of broken ties in and around the central Borders area. Discussion 30. There is little difference between the options in terms of alignment with community council areas. 31. No settlements are divided between constituencies in any of the options in this paper. 32. The division of ward 2 between constituencies in option 1 is not required for electoral parity but allows Peebles to lie within a single constituency. 33. The northern part of ward 3’s inclusion in the Midlothian and Melrose constituency in option 2, whilst not necessary for electoral parity, supports local ties between Lauder and Stow which shared a single-member ward prior to the introduction of multi-member wards in 2007. Document name 4 BCS2016_28_(Constituency_Design_Midlothian_Scottish_Borders) Boundary Commission for Scotland BCS Paper 2016/28 Conclusion 34. The Commission is invited to agree