Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom

United Kingdom parliamentary constituencies
Map of current UK Parliament constituencies
Category	Electoral district
Location	United Kingdom
Number	650 (as of 2021)
Populations	20,887 (Na h-Eileanan an Iar) - 113,021 (Isle of Wight)
Government	House of Commons

This article is part of a series on
Politics of the United Kingdom
Constitution Magna Carta Treaty of Union (Acts of Union) Anglo-Irish Treaty Parliamentary sovereignty Rule of law Separation of powers Other constitutional principles
The Crown The Monarch (list) Elizabeth II Heir apparent Charles, Prince of Wales Royal family Succession Prerogative Counsellors of State
Executive Privy Council Elizabeth II (Queen-in-Council) HM Government Prime Minister (list) Boris Johnson (C) Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab (C) Cabinet (List) Departments Ministers Agencies
Legislature UK Parliament Elizabeth II (Queen-in-Parliament) House of Lords Lord Speaker The Lord McFall of Alcluith House of Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle Leader of the Opposition Sir Keir Starmer (L) Act of Parliament 58th Parliament Opposition List of MPs
Judiciary Elizabeth II (Queen-on-the-Bench) Supreme Court President The Lord Reed Deputy President The Lord Hodge Justices of the Supreme Court UK England and Wales Scotland NI
Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey Deputy Governors Monetary Policy Committee Currencies Banknotes Coins
Elections & Referendums UK Parliament constituencies (2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies) Political parties Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 Scottish Parliament constituencies and electoral regions Senedd constituencies and electoral regions UK general elections 1801 co-option 1802 1806 1807 1812 1818 1820 1826 1830 1831 1832–33 1835 1837 1841 1847 1852 1857 1859 1865 1868 1874 1880 1885 1886 1892 1895 1900 1906 1910 (Jan–Feb) 1910 (Dec) 1918 1922 1923 1924 1929 1931 1935 1945 1950 1951 1955 1959 1964 1966 1970 1974 (Feb) 1974 (Oct) 1979 1983 1987 1992 1997 2001 2005 2010 2015 2017 2019 Next European Parliament elections (1979–2019) 1979 1984 1989 1994 1999 2004 2009 2014 2019 Scottish Parliament elections 1999 2003 2007 2011 2016 2021 Next Northern Ireland Assembly elections 1998 2003 2007 2011 2016 2017 2022 Senedd elections 1999 2003 2007 2011 2016 2021 Next UK referendums 1975 2011 2016
Devolution Joint Ministerial Committee Legislative consent motions  England Governance of England English votes for English laws Greater London Authority 1998 referendum Greater London Authority Act 1999 (2007 Act) Mayor of London Sadiq Khan Mayoral cabinet London Assembly London Plan Combined authorities Metro mayors Cornwall Council Northern Ireland Northern Ireland Act 1998 (2006 Act) First Minister Paul Givan deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill Executive Assembly Act of the Northern Ireland Assembly Law of Northern Ireland  Scotland 1997 referendum Scotland Act 1998 (2012 Act, 2016 Act) First Minister Nicola Sturgeon Government Scottish Parliament Act of the Scottish Parliament Scottish statutory instrument Scots law  Wales 1997 referendum (2011 referendum on law-making powers) Government of Wales Act 1998 (2006 Act, Wales Act 2014, Wales Act 2017) First Minister Mark Drakeford Government Senedd Measure of the National Assembly for Wales (1999–2011) Act of Senedd Cymru Welsh law
Administration England History Subdivisions: Regions Ceremonial counties (list) Metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties Metropolitan county Non-metropolitan county Greater London Unitary authorities (list) Districts (list) Metropolitan Borough Non-metropolitan District London Borough Civil parishes (list) Historic counties Northern Ireland History Subdivisions: Counties Districts Scotland History Subdivisions: Sheriffdoms Council areas Community council areas Civil parishes Shires of Scotland Wales History Preserved counties Principal areas Communities (list) Historic counties
Crown Dependencies Bailiwick of Guernsey ( Guernsey  Alderney  Sark)  Bailiwick of Jersey  Isle of Man British Islands Common Travel Area
Overseas Territories  Akrotiri and Dhekelia  Anguilla  Bermuda  British Antarctic Territory  British Indian Ocean Territory  British Virgin Islands  Cayman Islands  Falkland Islands  Gibraltar  Montserrat  Pitcairn Islands  Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha ( Saint Helena  Ascension Island  Tristan da Cunha)  South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands  Turks and Caicos Islands British Overseas Territories citizen Visa requirements Visa policies British Overseas Territories Act 2002 Chagos Archipelago sovereignty dispute Gibraltar sovereignty dispute Falkland Islands sovereignty dispute
Foreign relations Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Foreign policy (history) Diplomatic missions of / in the United Kingdom UK passport British National (Overseas) passport Visa requirements UK–CD Customs Union Visa policy Trade agreements Australia Belgium Belize Brunei Canada China Hong Kong Cyprus Denmark France Germany India Israel Italy Japan Kenya Malaysia Malta Netherlands New Zealand Norway Russia Saudi Arabia Singapore Spain South Africa Palestine Pakistan Portugal United States Ireland Politics of Northern Ireland Good Friday Agreement UK–Ireland border Northern Ireland Protocol British–Irish Council European Union (history) Brexit Post-Brexit United Kingdom relations with the European Union UK–EU withdrawal agreement The Commonwealth member states United Kingdom and the United Nations United Nations Security Council P5 NATO G20 G7
United Kingdom portal England Northern Ireland Scotland Wales Other countries
v t

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 12 December 2019.

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.^[1][2][3][4] 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 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).^[5]

Overview[]

The table below gives the number of eligible voters broken down by constituent country, including the average constituency size in each country.

Geographical size of constituencies[]

Size of electorate in each constituency

The constituencies vary considerably in size. The one with the greatest geographical area is Ross, Skye and Lochaber, at about 12,000 square kilometres (4,600 sq mi).^[8] The largest in Wales is Brecon and Radnorshire.^[9] The smallest constituency by area is Islington North at 7.35 square kilometres (2.84 sq mi).^[8]

Parliamentary constituencies in the United Kingdom[]

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.

As of the 2019 election there are 533 constituencies in England, 40 in Wales, 59 in Scotland and 18 in Northern Ireland.

England[]

Scotland[]

Wales[]

Northern Ireland[]

Summary of main boundary changes for the 2010 general election[]

• Scotland – No changes from 2005 election.
• Wales – Number of seats unchanged: three seats were abolished and three were created: Aberconwy, Arfon, and Dwyfor Meirionnydd.
• Northern Ireland – No extra or fewer seats allocated.
• England:

• The non-metropolitan counties of Cornwall, Derbyshire, Devon, Essex, Hampshire, Lancashire, Norfolk, Northamptonshire, Warwickshire and Wiltshire each gained one seat.
• Following the abolition of the county of Avon, each of the four successor authorities (Bristol, South Gloucestershire, Bath and North East Somerset, and North Somerset) were considered separately, resulting in significant changes, gaining one seat overall.
• The metropolitan counties of Greater Manchester, Merseyside, Tyne and Wear, South Yorkshire, West Midlands and West Yorkshire each lost a seat.
• Inner London gained one seat while northern and eastern parts of Outer London each lost one.
• The City of York was reviewed separately and was divided into two seats, neither overlapping part of North Yorkshire.
• Herefordshire and Worcestershire, to reflect their full reinstatement as separate counties, were considered in separate reviews, leading to Herefordshire being split into two constituencies, each entirely within the county.
• Isle of Wight maintained its status as one constituency, the largest by electorate.

Current boundary reviews[]

Following the abandonment of the Sixth Periodic Review (the 2018 review), the Boundary Commission for England formally launched the 2023 Review on 5 January 2021. It is due to be completed by July 2023.^[10]

See 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies for further details.

See also[]

• List of former United Kingdom Parliament constituencies
• Member of Parliament
• Lists of electoral districts by nation
• United Kingdom general elections overview

References[]

Bibliography[]

• Boundary Commission for N.I. Fifth Periodical Report (HM Command Paper 73) – Parliamentary Constituencies of Northern Ireland. Retrieved 2013-07-19.