Plan to leave Scotland with six fewer MPS attacked.

PROPOSALS: Scotland would have six fewer MPS

A Dundee MP says it makes “absolutely no sense” to slash the number of Westminster seats in Scotland.

Officials have submitted their final proposals for a redrawn constituency map, which would reduce the total number of MPS from 650 to 600.

SNP politicians in Tayside and Fife are among the most exposed under proposals that would leave Scotland with six fewer MPS.

One of the most drastic suggestions is merging large parts of Dundee with Angus, leaving former SNP depute leader Stewart Hosie vulnerable.

Swathes of his Dundee East seat will be absorbed into the new constituency of Angus South and Dundee East, much of which is Tory territory.

Mr Hosie said the plans would be bad news for Scotland amid the turmoil of Brexit.

“Right now Scotland needs the maximum representation,” he told The Courier.

“The idea that we are going to drop the seats by another 10%, including splitting communities, putting parts of communities together that have never been in a constituency themselves before, makes absolutely no sense.”

The Boundary Commission for Scotland said it had made some changes to its revised proposals from last year.

That includes tweaks in Angus to “ward boundaries which were more likely to reflect local ties and be easily identifiable”.

There will still be nine constituencies covering Tayside and Fife, but they will reach out further to the north and west.

The SNP and Labour are opposed to the plans, which are likely to favour Tory MPS.

Lesley Laird, Labour’s Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath MP, said: “It is frankly astonishing that in the midst of their chaotic Brexit negotiations the Tories are still even contemplating pushing this nakedly partisan agenda.”

The UK Parliament voted in principle to reduce the number of MPS in 2011, which includes a decrease in Scotland from 59 down to 53.

In England, Jeremy Corbyn’s seat Islington North will be axed and Boris Johnson’s Uxbridge & Ruislip South seat will take in more Labour areas under the proposed shake-up.

Lord Matthews, deputy chairman of the Boundary Commission for Scotland, said: “We believe our final recommendations meet the requirements of the legislation governing the review and within those constraints fairly reflect the views expressed to us during our consultations.”

It will be up to MPS to decide whether to adopt the proposals.