THE Wee County could become part of a redrawn Mid Forth Valley constituency at Westminster elections under proposals outlined last week.

The Boundary Commission for Scotland published its initial proposals to update UK Parliament constituencies as part of its 2023 review.

Under the suggested plan, Scotland will be allocated 57 – a reduction of two when compared to the current boundaries.

Clackmannanshire currently sits within the Ochil and South Perthshire area, represented by MP John Nicolson.

The initial proposal would see Clacks form the northern half of Mid Forth Valley and would be joined by the parts of Falkirk to the south, encompassing towns such as Denny, Torwood, Carron and Letham.

The rest of Falkirk, including the the larger town and its villages would form the Forth Valley South constituency.

The proposed Mid Forth Valley area would have an electorate of just over 74,000 – fewer than the around 80,000 in existing Ochil and South Perthshire.

The northern half of the current Ochil and South Perthshire constituency, which combines Clacks with areas around Kinross and up to Crieff in the north – but not including the Fair City itself – would join the Perth and Tay constituency.

Lord Matthews, deputy chair of the Boundary Commission for Scotland, said: “I believe this is a promising start to delivering the requirements of the new rules that mean the number of constituencies in Scotland will reduce from 59 to 57, and that each mainland constituency must have broadly the same number of electors.

“We have set out proposals today which do that and are, we believe, a good implementation of the rules set by parliament.

“Today is the beginning of a process, and we now want to hear the views of the public.

“We will reflect on responses to the consultation and make changes where appropriate and where the legislation allows us to do so.

“We strongly encourage voters to make their views heard.”

The latest rules for constituencies, set out by Westminster in 2020, retain 650 constituencies for the parliament as a whole with strict parameters.

Each must contain no fewer than 69,724 electors and no more than 77,062 – save for the two protected boundaries for Na h-Eileanan an Iar as well as Orkney and Shetland.

Lower than minimum numbers can be recommended only if an area is larger than 12,000 square kilometres but no area can be larger than 13,000.

The commission for Scotland explained that due to these requirements, significant changes to existing constituencies are required.

In terms of consultation, the commission is specifically keen to hear suggestions on two aspects: alternative boundaries that comply with requirements and constituency names.

To comment, visit bcs2023review.com until Wednesday, December 8.