constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
{{short description|Electoral divisions of the parliament of the United Kingdom}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2012}}
{{Infobox subdivision type
| name = United Kingdom parliamentary constituencies
| alt_name =
| map = File:UK House of Commons constituencies 2023, labeled.svg
| caption = Constituencies after the 2023 Periodic Review
| category = Electoral district
| territory = United Kingdom
| start_date =
| current_number = 650
| number_date = 2023
| population_range =
| area_range =
| government = House of Commons
| subdivision =
}}
{{PoliticsUK}}
The Parliament of the United Kingdom currently has 650 parliamentary constituencies across the constituent countries (England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland), each electing a single member of parliament (MP) to the House of Commons by the plurality (first-past-the-post) voting system, ordinarily every five years. Voting last took place in all 650 of those constituencies at the United Kingdom general election on 4 July 2024.
The number of seats rose from 646 to 650 at the 2010 general election after proposals made by the boundary commissions for England, Wales, and Northern Ireland (the Fifth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies) were adopted through statutory instruments.{{Cite web|url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2006/1041/contents/made/data.htm|title=The Parliamentary Constituencies and Assembly Electoral Regions (Wales) Order 2006|website=www.legislation.gov.uk}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2007/1681/contents/made/data.htm|title=The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 2007|website=www.legislation.gov.uk}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2009/698/contents/made/data.htm|title=The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) (Amendment) Order 2009|website=www.legislation.gov.uk}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2008/1486/contents/made/data.htm|title=The Parliamentary Constituencies (Northern Ireland) Order 2008|website=www.legislation.gov.uk}} Constituencies in Scotland remained unchanged, as the Boundary Commission for Scotland had completed a review just before the 2005 general election, which had resulted in a reduction of 13 seats.
Primary legislation provides for the independence of the boundary commissions for each of the four parts of the UK, the number of seats for each of the countries, permissible factors to use in departing from any old boundaries, and a strong duty to consult. The Fifth Review was governed by the Parliamentary Constituencies Act of 1986. Under the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011, as amended by the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 2020, the number of MPs is now fixed at 650. The Sainte-Laguë formula method is used to form groups of seats split between the four parts of the United Kingdom and the English regions (as defined by the NUTS 1 statistical regions of England).[http://assets.boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/406678_Guide-to-the-2013-Review_acc.pdf "A Guide to the 2013 Review" The Boundary Commission for England — retrieved 2012-12-19] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121029101716/http://assets.boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/406678_Guide-to-the-2013-Review_acc.pdf |date=29 October 2012 }}.
Overview
The table below gives the number of eligible voters broken down by constituent country, including the average constituency size in each country.
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:right" | ||||||||
| rowspan=2|Year | colspan=2|2000 | colspan=2| 2010 | colspan=2|2015 | colspan=2|2017{{cite web |title=Electoral statistics, UK: 2017 |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/elections/electoralregistration/bulletins/electoralstatisticsforuk/previousReleases |website=ONS |access-date=7 August 2018}} | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Numbers | % | Numbers | % | Numbers | % | Numbers | %
!Numbers !% | |
| colspan="11" |Total electorate for each constituent country | ||||||||
| align=left | England | 36,994,681 | 83.47% | 38,432,802 | 83.81% | 38,736,146 | 83.57% | 38,693,900 | 83.85%
|39,901,035 |83.88% |
| align=left | Scotland | 3,995,489 | 9.02% | 3,929,956 | 8.57% | 4,099,532 | 8.84% | 3,950,600 | 8.56%
|4,053,056 |8.52% |
| align=left | Wales | 2,225,689 | 5.02% | 2,302,300 | 5.02% | 2,281,754 | 4.92% | 2,261,200 | 4.90%
|2,319,690 |4.88% |
| align=left | Northern Ireland | 1,103,670 | 2.49% | 1,190,635 | 2.60% | 1,236,765 | 2.67% | 1,242,300 | 2.69%
|1,293,971 |2.72% |
| align=left | UK total | 44,319,529 | — | 45,855,693 | — | 46,354,197 | — | 46,148,000 | —
|47,567,752 |— |
| colspan="11" |Average electorate per constituency for each constituent country | ||||||||
| align=left | England | 69,408 | 101.80% | 72,107 | 102.21% | 72,676 | 101.91% | 72,596 | 102.25%
|74,861 |102.30% |
| align=left | Scotland | 67,720 | 99.32% | 66,609 | 94.42% | 69,484 | 97.43% | 66,959 | 94.31%
|68,696 |93.87% |
| align=left | Wales | 55,642 | 81.61% | 57,558 | 81.59% | 57,044 | 79.99% | 56,530 | 79.62%
|57,992 |79.24% |
| align=left | Northern Ireland | 61,315 | 89.93% | 66,146 | 93.76% | 68,709 | 96.35% | 69,017 | 97.21%
|71,887 |98.23% |
| align=left | Overall UK average | 68,184 | — | 70,547 | — | 71,314 | — | 70,997 | —
|73,181 |— |
As of 2023, every recommended constituency must have an electorate as at 2 March 2020 that is no smaller than 69,724 and no larger than 77,062.{{Cite web |title=Guide to the 2023 Review of Parliamentary constituencies {{!}} Boundary Commission for England {{!}} Page 3 |url=https://boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk/2023-review/guide-to-the-2023-review-of-parliamentary-constituencies/page/3/ |access-date=2024-02-01 |website=boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk}} The exceptions to this rule are five 'protected' constituencies for island areas: Orkney and Shetland, Na h-Eileanan an Iar, Ynys Mon, and two constituencies on the Isle of Wight.{{Cite web |title=Guide to the 2023 Review of Parliamentary constituencies {{!}} Boundary Commission for England {{!}} Page 10 |url=https://boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk/2023-review/guide-to-the-2023-review-of-parliamentary-constituencies/page/10/ |access-date=2024-02-01 |website=boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk}} These consequently have smaller electorates than the lower limit for other constituencies.
= Geographical size of constituencies =
{{maplink|raw={{Wikipedia:Map data/Islington North (UK Parliament constituency)}}|frame=yes|frame-height=210|frame-width=290|text=The UK's smallest constituency: Islington North}}
As the number of electors in each constituency is similar, the constituencies themselves vary considerably in area, ranging in 2019 from Ross, Skye and Lochaber, which occupies a sixth of Scotland, to the densely-populated London constituency of Islington North.
| class=wikitable
|+ Largest and smallest constituencies by UK nation (2019){{cite web |title=Standard Area Measurements (2019) for Electoral Areas in the United Kingdom |url=https://geoportal.statistics.gov.uk/datasets/ons::standard-area-measurements-2019-for-electoral-areas-in-the-united-kingdom/about |access-date=22 July 2022}} ! ! Largest ! Smallest |
| England
| Penrith and The Border {{convert|3,135|km2}} || Islington North {{convert|7.38|km2}} |
|---|
| Scotland
| Ross, Skye and Lochaber {{convert|12,768|km2}} | Glasgow North {{convert|16.86|km2}} |
| Wales
| Brecon and Radnorshire {{convert|3,015|km2}} | Cardiff Central {{convert|16.83|km2}} |
| Northern Ireland
| Fermanagh and South Tyrone {{convert|2,512|km2}} | Belfast North {{convert|50.34|km2}} |
Parliamentary constituencies in the United Kingdom
{{For|MPs elected in the latest election (also with the party notionally holding the seat in the previous election)|List of MPs elected in the 2024 United Kingdom general election}}
File:Size of electorate in each United Kingdom house of commons constituency 2023.png
As of the 2024 election there are 543 constituencies in England, 32 in Wales, 57 in Scotland and 18 in Northern Ireland.
=England=
The "Region" of the table refers to the NUTS 1 statistical region of England, which coincides with the former European Parliament constituency in which the constituency was included until 31 January 2020.
=Scotland=
{{see also|Scottish Westminster constituencies}}
=Wales=
{{See also|List of parliamentary constituencies in Wales}}
=Northern Ireland=
{{See also|List of parliamentary constituencies in Northern Ireland}}
Recent boundary reviews
Following the abandonment of the Sixth Periodic Review (the 2018 review), the Boundary Commissions formally launched the 2023 Review on 5 January 2021 and published their final proposals on 28 June 2023.{{Cite news |date=2023-06-28 |title=Defence Secretary Ben Wallace to lose seat in Commons boundary changes |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-66045931 |access-date=2023-07-09}}
See 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies and List of United Kingdom Parliament constituencies (2024–present) by region for further details.
= Summary of main boundary changes for the 2024 election =
- Scotland – Lost 2 seats.
- Wales – Lost 8 seats
- Northern Ireland – No extra or fewer seats allocated.
- England – Gained 10 seats
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
Bibliography
- [http://www.official-documents.gov.uk/document/cm73/7321/7321.pdf Boundary Commission for N.I. Fifth Periodical Report (HM Command Paper 73) – Parliamentary Constituencies of Northern Ireland. Retrieved 2013-07-19].
{{UK constituencies}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2017}}
Category:Politics of the United Kingdom
Category:2010 United Kingdom general election
Category:2015 United Kingdom general election