Dave Doogan MP has railed against the Boundary Commission’s new proposals for Angus, published today. As part of ongoing efforts to further reduce Scotland’s representation at Westminster, Scottish seats will be cut from 59 to 57 with boundaries having to be redrawn.

The proposals drawn up by the independent body would see Angus split between two new seats; North Tayside and Dundee East & Arbroath. (See maps attached).

This would effectively erase Angus as a county from the Westminster political map and perhaps most controversially remove Arbroath and most of the Angus coastline from the constituency of Angus.

Angus MP Dave Doogan reports he has witnessed only negative comment from constituents regarding these proposals.

Commenting, Dave Doogan MP said:

“These proposals to erase the historic county of Angus are a disgrace and Angus constituents have made this clear in the consultation as I have myself.

“Across Angus, people share a unique sense of identity, and my constituency is currently almost perfectly coterminous with the borders of Angus Council.

“Scone and Montrose are both fine places, but they share absolutely nothing with one looking next door to Perth and the other sharing much with communities in both Angus and Aberdeenshire.

“Angus is not a bucket of voters to be sloshed around by the commission to other constituencies where the numbers don’t add up. This suggestion of dismembering parts of Angus and stitching them together with Highland Perthshire, in the West, and Dundee City in the South, shows an abject failure by the commission to abide by their own criteria of respecting established natural and community boundaries.”

The MP concluded:

“My constituency currently has 65,125 electors with a new target now of approximately 75,000. All this required was the inclusion of Carnoustie Ward’s 11,000 electors and this could have been achieved and moreover, well within the commission’s upper limit.

“These plans show a complete disregard for established communities in Angus, Dundee and Perthshire, and I encourage every Angus constituent to make their views known in the next consultation which I will be publishing so that together, we can work to stop this outrageous plan.”

Constituents wishing to discuss this proposal should contact Dave Doogan MP via: dave.doogan.mp@parliament.uk