PLANNED parliamentary boundary changes in East Renfrewshire are “not acceptable”, the council has said, ahead of an expected call for an inquiry to find a “better” solution.
Boundaries Scotland has drawn up plans for Scottish Parliament constituencies which would see the current Eastwood seat replaced.
A new Glasgow Priesthill and Giffnock constituency would include Giffnock, Thornliebank, Clarkston and Busby as well as Carnwadric, Kennishead and Priesthill.
Changes to the current Renfrewshire South seat boundaries would see Barrhead, Neilston and Uplawmoor joined by Newton Mearns South, Eaglesham, Kilbarchan, Lochwinnoch and an area of south-west Paisley.
Johnstone, Elderslie, Howwood and Newton Mearns North would remain part of Renfrewshire South.
A draft council response to the proposals suggests scrapping the new constituency, retaining and amending the Eastwood seat and making revisions to Renfrewshire South.
It recommends a local inquiry so the council and its neighbours can “establish if there is a better boundary configuration”.
Councillors are recommended to agree to submitting the response when they meet tomorrow [Wednesday].
Boundaries Scotland, an independent body funded by the Scottish Government, is carrying out a review of constituencies. If approved, changes would come in for the next Scottish Parliament election which is expected to be in May 2026.
East Renfrewshire’s draft response acknowledges the need for a review given “the steady growth in population and electorate and the extension of voting rights to those aged 16+”.
It states the area has “too many voters to be one constituency and is too small to become two, without overlapping at least one neighbouring local authority”.
But it adds the planned “significant change” is “not acceptable” as it “does not recognise the local authority area, does not relate to local ties and includes areas outside the responsibility of our ERO [Electoral Registration Office]”.
The council could propose the Eastwood constituency be retained with the current boundaries or “alternatively it could include the part of ward 2 [Newton Mearns North and Neilston] which is excluded from the present constituency”.
This would mean the Eastwood constituency would include four of East Renfrewshire Council’s five wards.
“The Eastwood constituency serves a culturally diverse population with the Jewish community the most prominent but with rapidly growing Muslim and Hindu populations,” the draft response adds.
“Equalities issues should be taken into consideration when considering constituency change as the artificial splitting of communities may lessen effective representation.
The response states that sharing a constituency with Renfrewshire is “not unreasonable”. “However, it should be noted that the areas that have been linked in the present Renfrewshire South constituency have limited local ties, no easy transport route and are separated by hilly terrain with small local roads.”
It describes the proposed new Renfrewshire South as “not practical” and adds the change would make “the division into two separate communities greater”. Any MSP serving the constituency “would essentially be serving two very distinct geographical areas”, the draft states.
A revised Renfrewshire South constituency should “reflect natural ties between communities”. “Ward 1 [Barrhead, Liboside and Uplawmoor] which is presently part of Renfrewshire South has historical and transport links into Paisley and this would seem to be a more natural fit than with Lochwinnoch,” the response suggests.
It states Glasgow Priesthill and Giffnock “does not reflect council boundaries” and there are “only limited local ties between communities”.
Council chief executive Lorraine McMillan, in her role as returning officer, has also responded to the consultation, with the “same key messages” as the council’s draft response.
A meeting with political group leaders on the council found “broad agreement” about the “challenges presented by the proposals”, a council report stated.
Any local inquiries will be held in autumn this year while Boundaries Scotland is set to send a report to Scottish Ministers in May 2025. The current boundaries have been used in the elections of 2011, 2016 and 2021.
