Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
WILL AIRDRIE BE SPLIT IN HALF?
Boundaries to be redrawn
Airdrie faces being split in half – and represented by two different MPs – under new proposals to redraw Scotland’s parliamentary map.
The town would be divided across the new constituencies of “Cumbernauld, Kilsyth & Monklands East” and an “Airdrie South & Shotts” seat also containing much of Motherwell, Wishaw and Mossend if the proposals, now out for public consultation, go ahead.
Coatbridge’s constituency would remain largely unchanged but the town’s name would disappear from the UK electoral map, with the seat – also including areas such as Viewpark and Tannochside – being renamed “Monklands West”.
It is the result of a review of Westminster constituencies intended to reduce the number of seats north of the border by six to 53 in time for the planned 2020 general election, as part of the overall reduction of MP numbers from 650 to 600.
Airdrie & Shotts MP Neil Gray told the Advertiser: “Airdrie would be cut in half and its representation at Westminster divided between two constituencies; I would encourage anyone who is concerned by this proposal to submit their views to the consultation, as I will be doing.”
Plans published this week by the Boundary Commission for Scotland would see two of Airdrie’s three existing council wards move into the new Cumbernauld, Kilsyth & Monklands East constituency.
The town’s Central and North areas – which include the town centre and surrounding residential areas reaching to Caldercruix and Greengairs – would be combined with the two other North Lanarkshire towns in a constituency stretching as far as the Carron Valley reservoir.
However, electors in the current Airdrie South council ward would be grouped not only with those in Shotts but also the Murdostoun half of Wishaw plus Mossend and two of the three Motherwell wards in the seat named Airdrie South & Shotts, stretching as far as Strathclyde Park and the Cambusnethan area of Wishaw.
The proposed new parliamentary boundary would run through Cairnhill, south of Gartlea, along part of Carlisle Road and the railway line; and see those areas plus Drumgelloch fall into Cumbernauld, Kilsyth & Monklands East; while neighbouring Sikeside, Brownsburn and Craigneuk would be among the areas in the wider Airdrie South constituency.
Coatbridge would feature in the renamed Monklands West, gaining a part of the Cliftonville area around Quarry Street and losing sections of Bellshill and Mollinsburn but otherwise
would have an electorate of 74,961; Monklands West 74,263; and Airdrie South & Shotts 73,109.
These compare to the 2015 Westminster electorates of 66,715 in Airdrie & Shotts and 73,813 in Coatbridge, Chryston & Bellshill.
closely resembling the existing Coatbridge, Chryston & Bellshill seat.
Mr Gray told the Advertiser: “This is about the Tory government looking to cut the number of MPs elected in Scotland, and increasing the electorate for each constituency, causing geographic and community disconnect across Scotland.
“The proposals to cut the number of elected representatives in Scotland are unacceptable, especially when the Tory Government has been stuffing the unelected and unaccountable House of Lords to over 800 members, and the process has drawn strong criticism among opposition parties at Westminster.”
Now a 12-week public consultation on the review is underway, ending on January 11. Five public hearings on the proposals will also take place across Scotlyand, including one in Glasgow next month.
Consultation responses will be published in the spring and “any revised proposals” will be consulted on next autumn, ahead of being finalised in September 2018.
Boundary Commission deputy chair Lord Matthews said: “We have set out proposals which are, we believe, a good implementation of the rules set by Parliament.
“This is the start of a process, and we now want to hear the views of the public; we will reflect on responses to the consultation and makes changes if needed where the legislation allows us to do so.”
In June this year, Cairnhill constituents won a battle against proposals to move part of their community into a Coatbridge council ward; while in 2009, hundreds signed a petition successfully opposing proposals to divide the town between “Coatbridge & Central Airdrie” and “Cumbernauld & Airdrie East” seats in a Scottish Parliament review.
Views on the Westminster proposals can be submitted and more information obtained at www.bcs2018.org.uk
As well as the reduction in the number of MPs, the redrawn boundaries are intended to ensure that each constituency falls within five per cent of the required average of 74,769 voters.
Cumbernauld, Kilsyth & Monklands East