Local MP, Amy Callaghan, has said that the people of East Dunbartonshire have delivered a “resounding message” on Boundary Commission plans to divide her constituency.
In a survey run on Ms Callaghan’s website, only 17 percent of local people supported the plans that would split East Dunbartonshire into the new constituencies of Kelvin North and Kelvin South. The controversial proposal was announced last month as part of a wider shake-up of Westminster constituencies, with Scotland set to lose two MPs and England to gain ten.
Ms Callaghan said that the results of her survey will now be used to inform her response to the Boundary Commission’s public consultation which is due to close on Wednesday, 8th December.
The proposals to redraw constituency boundaries across the UK would see the Conservatives gain between five and ten seats, according to Tory peer and polling expert Lord Hayward. He said the corresponding losses would hit Labour due to the redrawing of boundaries in England, as well as the SNP and Plaid Cymru, given the reduction in constituencies in Scotland and Wales.
The Electoral Reform Society has also raised concerns about the impact of the plans. “There should have been more flexibility to help seats reflect actual communities”, a spokesperson for the group said.
Commenting, Amy Callaghan MP said:
“These proposals would split our home in two. I don’t want to see that, and local people have told me they agree. The vast majority of people who took part in my survey were strongly opposed to the plans.
“I will now take that resounding message from my constituents and use it to guide my official response to the proposals.
“Let’s be clear, the Boundary Commission plans are not only ignorant of the impact on local people and our communities, but they treat Scotland like it is any other region of the UK.
“It is not. Scotland is a nation, and this is just the latest attempt to silence our voice. These boundary proposals show once again that Westminster does not work for Scotland. It is time we make these proposals an irrelevance by choosing to become an independent country.”
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