Council objects to boundaries change for East Kilbride

Published: Friday 21 February 2025

general view of East Kilbride town centre

South Lanarkshire Council is to formally object to a plan to move East Kilbride into Glasgow for some election purposes.

The decision was unanimously agreed by councillors at a full Council meeting on Wednesday 19 February.

It followed the presentation of proposals by Boundaries Scotland, which is the body responsible for reviewing Scottish Parliament boundaries and making recommendations for both constituencies and also for regions, from which list MSPs are elected.

In a set of amended recommendations for the Scottish Parliament elections in 2026, Boundaries Scotland has suggested East Kilbride constituency should be moved into Glasgow region for list MSP voting.

At their meeting, councillors complained this would separate East Kilbride from its many strong Lanarkshire connections.

The latest recommendation from Boundaries Scotland followed an earlier proposal that East Kilbride, along with the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse constituency, should be moved from Central Scotland region to South Scotland region.

Now, under the revised recommendation, as well as East Kilbride joining Glasgow region, Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse would be included in a new Central Scotland and Lothians West region.

Councillors also expressed concern at that recommendation and authorised officers to submit a counterproposal, following urgent consultation with political group leaders, before a consultation deadline of 24 February 2025.