THE Wee County is set to be a part of an extended Clackmannanshire and Dunblane Scottish Parliament constituency as part of boundary review proposals.

The constituency, currently represented by MSP Keith Brown, could be expanded to the east to also include Doune, Thornhill, Drumvaich and surrounding areas – with an electorate of around 55,000.

Essentially, Clacks and Dunblane would take away an area that currently falls into the Stirling constituency and both would have an electorate of a similar size.

Boundaries Scotland, the independent body responsible for reviewing the boundaries, has launched the first stage in its consultation process on the proposals, which will last until June 17.

MSP Keith Brown said: "Matching natural community boundaries to the numbers game that the Boundary Commission are required to play can sometimes lead to rather odd decisions.

“One area I will certainly be raising with the Boundary Commission is the name of the proposed constituency because, as it stands, it doesn't properly represent the area that it covers."

Altogether, 26 Scottish Parliament constituencies have minor amendments proposed to boundaries but retain their existing names while 25 have proposed name and boundary changes.

Boundaries Scotland is also set to consult on Scottish Parliament regional boundaries in late 2023 or 2024.

CHANGE: The proposals would see the current boundary extended to the west, accomodating Doune and Thornhill. Picture provided by Boundaries Scotland.

CHANGE: The proposals would see the current boundary extended to the west, accomodating Doune and Thornhill. Picture provided by Boundaries Scotland.

MSP Alexander Stewart, regional representative in Mid Scotland and Fife which covers Clackmannanshire, explained that the Clacks and Dunblane changes do not appear to be "as bad as the case of some long-established constituencies in Scotland which are being described as ‘ripped apart’."

He said: “I also acknowledge that the review is also in place to ensure that members of the Scottish Parliament are elected by approximately the same number of people, thus ensuring that the Scottish Parliament is as representative as it can be to the wider Scottish population.

"It is with this in mind, that I say it is especially important that residents of Doune, Deanston, Blair Drummond and wider rural Stirlingshire – and indeed across Clacks and Dunblane – should feel empowered to stand up and make representations to Boundaries Scotland via their website, in order for the body to make its decisions based on the feelings of those it will be affecting, whilst there is still time before this consultation closes on June 17.”

The changes reflect the movements of the electorate in Scotland since boundaries were last reviewed, explained Ronnie Hinds, chair of Boundaries Scotland.

He said: “We have reduced the variation in electorate between the largest and smallest constituencies by over a third and increased the number of constituencies sitting within a single council area from 51 to 59.

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

The proposed changes do not affect council or ward boundaries and nor do they affect Westminster constituencies which are also set to change – as reported last October .

Visit consult.boundaries.scot to give views until June 17.