A local inquiry has been arranged to deliberate on plans to discontinue the Eastwood constituency at the next Scottish Parliament Elections.
In May, Boundaries Scotland published proposals for future constituencies, starting from the scheduled Holyrood Election in May 2026 and if implemented, Eastwood would be deleted as a distinct parliamentary seat.
The Eastwood communities of Clarkston, Busby, Giffnock and Thornliebank would be merged with areas such as Carnwadric, Kennishead and Priesthill in a new Glasgow Priesthill and Giffnock constituency.
Newton Mearns, Waterfoot and Eaglesham would be amalgamated into an amended Renfrewshire South constituency with communities including Howwood, Kilbarchan and Lochwinnoch.
The proposed constituencies of Glasgow Priesthill and Giffnock, Renfrewshire South, Paisley and Renfrew and Renfrewshire West will be the subject of local inquiries to take place on Thursday 14th December.
An evening meeting will be held at the Busby Hotel in Eastwood from 6pm-8pm. There will also be an earlier session at Lynnhurst Hotel in Paisley between 2pm and 4pm.
During a consultation period in May and June of this year, Eastwood MSP Jackson Carlaw formally opposed the proposals to break-up Eastwood and he is included on the list of speakers for the inquiry to be held in Busby.
Should Boundaries Scotland choose to revise any of the constituency proposals, a further consultation will take place in Spring 2024.
Scottish Conservative MSP for Eastwood, Jackson Carlaw said:
“Earlier in the year, I was dismayed to learn of the proposals to remove Eastwood from the map of Scottish Parliamentary constituencies.
“Eastwood is a distinct geographical territory in it’s own right as emphasised by the widespread use of the name in our local communities from Eastwood Park Theatre in Giffnock to the Eastwood Health and Care Centre in Clarkston and Eastwood High School in Newton Mearns.
“Local businesses in Eastwood are widely supported by people and families living in all corners of the constituency and not only by those who are resident in the immediate local area including at Fenwick Road, Busby Road and the Avenue Shopping Centre.
“All of Eastwood’s localities are part of East Renfrewshire Council and it makes little sense to change the current situation where they belong to the same Holyrood constituency to one where they would be broken up and grouped with communities that are based in different local authorities.
“I look forward to speaking at the inquiry in December and to set out why in my view the plans to dismantle Eastwood must be revisited.”