The Scottish MPs

In the Parliaments elected from 1950 to 1979, there were 71 MPs from Scottish constituencies in the House of Commons. A major redistribution of seats occurred in 198 3, and the total number in Scotland rose to 72. This is an over-representation in terms of the ratio of seats to population. In 1885 Scotland had 72 seats, or 12.7% of the Great Britain total (i.e. excluding Ireland); m 1979 and 1983 it had 11.2%of the GB total. But in the meantime, its population proportion had fallen from 12.1% to 9.4%.

In the 1979 general election, the average electorate per constituency was 53,462 in Scotland and 66,301 in England. Fourteen Scottish constituencies had electorates of under 40,000, including four in the Highlands and six in Glasgow. At the same time, ten constituencies had electorates of over 65,000. The extreme range was from Glasgow Central (19,826) to Midlothian (101.482). In 1983, the average electorate per constituency was 53,985 in Scotland and 67,196 in England. The new constituencies are less disparate in the size of their electorates, although there is still a big difference between the four smallest with under 40,000 (the Western Isles remains the smallest with 22,822). and the largest (Ayr, with 65,010). More than half the new constituencies are within 10% of the mean, compared with only a quarter of the old. It is politically difficult to merge Highland constituencies because of the immense area that would be involved. Scottish MPs are a distinct group in the House of Commons.