Boundary Commissions (United Kingdom) - Previous Reviews of UK Parliament Constituencies

Previous Reviews of UK Parliament Constituencies

Previously, 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 the general reviews generally did. The most recent general review in Wales was given effect 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 was given effect in 2005, and the resulting constituencies were used in the May 2005 general election.

Under the previous rules, 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 16-18 constituencies.

Under the earlier legislation for reviews, the rules for reviews were significantly different:

• the total number of constituencies was not fixed (see above): each Commission had limited discretion to specify the number in its part of the United Kingdom;
• electorate was just one of several rules, rather than being a numerical limit which overrides other factors;
• there was not previously a limit on the area of a constituency, but in practice no constituency has ever exceeded the 13,000 square kilometre limit introduced by the 2011 Act;
• the consultation mechanism was significantly different: consultation periods only lasted 4 weeks, and could be followed by Local Inquiries;
• reviews were only carried out every 8 to 12 years instead of every 5 years.

At the 2010 general election there were 533 constituencies in England, 40 constituencies in Wales, 59 constituencies in Scotland and 18 constituencies in Northern Ireland giving a total of 650.