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Liberal Democrats back unified Rutherglen/Cambuslang seat
The Parliamentary Boundary Commission proposal to create a new East Kilbride and Rutherglen seat for the Westminster Parliamentary elections is badly flawed. The new seat excludes the Cambuslang East Ward which is proposed to become part of the new Hamilton seat.
This was the view of former Liberal Democrat MSP Robert Brown in giving evidence on behalf of the Scottish Liberal Democrats to the Boundary Commission hearing under Sheriff Principal Brian Lockhart at New Lanark this week.
Robert Brown asked the Boundary Commission to look at the possibility of linking Rutherglen and Cambuslang to Bothwell and Uddingston which, he said, would make more sense. The Boundary Commission has in fact prepared a map showing how this could be done.
Robert Brown said:
“It is already clear that the proposals for South Lanarkshire are one of the most controversial. They result in the unnecessary splitting up of both Rutherglen/Cambuslang and East Kilbride. It is true that drawing Parliamentary boundaries is challenging and that, for example, Hamilton is split under the current boundaries, but this proposal could be better.
I have contested elections in Rutherglen constituency as a Councillor, MSP candidate and a candidate for Westminster. Over the years there have been various changes – for example Mount Vernon, Carmunnock, Castlemilk and Toryglen have at different times been added to the seat. But the core areas of Rutherglen and Cambuslang have always been at the heart of the seat. The idea of removing Cambuslang East is highly unsatisfactory. The proposed new seat is a curious banana shaped seat with no coherence.
The Boundary Commission must look again at this. It makes things unnecessarily difficult for local people and groups if the community is split.”kes things unnecessarily difficult for local people and groups if the community is split.”