MONKLANDS, one of the most infamous names in Scottish politics, should not be resurrected as part of shake-up of Westminster boundaries, an SNP MP has warned.
Phil Boswell has formally objected to his Lanarkshire seat being renamed Monklands West.
Mr Boswell, a central player in a long-running SNP feud dubbed the “Monklands McMafia’ row, said the name had too many “negative connotations”.
He said his seat should instead remain Coatbridge, Chryston & Bellshill.
In the 1990s, Monklands became a byword for sleaze, amid claims Labour councillors skewed public funding to largely Catholic Coatbridge at the expense of protestant Airdrie.
However the Monklands name now haunts the SNP because of infighting between a faction loyal to Mr Boswell and a group tied to SNP MSPs Alex Neil and Richard Lyle.
Mr Boswell raised the issue in a submission to the Boundary Commission for Scotland, which is consulting on plans to cut the number of Scottish seats at Westminster from 59 to 53.
Across the UK, the number of MPs will fall from 650 to 600, if the Tory plans go through.
The Commission yesterday released around 1500 responses to the initial set of maps it produced in October, to allow a further four-week consultation on the proposals.
Scotland’s only Labour MP, Ian Murray, whose Edinburgh South seat is due to disappear, made one of the longest individual submissions.
Mr Boswell, who was elected in 2015, said he saw “no obvious problems” with the tweaking of his seat’s boundaries, which he described as “logical” and helpful to voters.
But he added: “However, I do take issue with the proposed new name of Monklands West. “This name has not been used to describe the area since 1997, and given local history, the name itself has strong negative connotations. At the present time, the only positive use of the term Monklands is in reference to the Monklands Hospital, which lies outwith both the current constituency boundary as well as the proposed new boundary. As such, there is potential for confusion regarding the proposed new change of name to Monklands West.”
Neighbouring SNP MP Stuart McDonald made no objection to his Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East seat being renamed Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Monklands East.
Monklands became national news in 1994 when the death of Labour leader John Smith led to a byelection in Monklands East, and the campaign was dominated by sleaze claims.
Besides alleged sectarian funding, Catholic Labour councillors on the district Council were accused of nepotism and 'jobs for the boys'.
A subsequent judge-led inquiry found no evidence of sectarian funding, and criticised previous "factually incorrect" allegations "based on ignorance and bigotry", but the sleaze tag stuck.
The Boundary Commission releases also revealed the strenuous effort by Labour’s only Scottish MP to tee up a winnable seat once Edinburgh South is split between the new Edinburgh East and Edinburgh South West and Central (SWC) seats.
In a 31-page submission complete with tables and maps, Mr Murray argues Edinburgh SWC ought to be more like the current Edinburgh South, and include the Labour area of Newington.
It suggests he will challenge the SNP’s Joanna Cherry in Edinburgh SWC, rather than the SNP’s Tommy Sheppard in Edinburgh East.
Helpfully for Mr Murray, Mr Sheppard agrees with some of the Labour MP’s suggestions.
Conservative Scottish Secretary David Mundell also complains about changes in the south of Scotland, where his Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale seat is due to be axed.
However, Mr Mundell does not face the same trouble winning a new seat as Mr Murray.
There also numerous objections to two vast new Highlands seats.
Commission Secretary Isabel Drummond-Murray said after more consultation later this year final recommendations will go to the UK government in September 2018.
Under the changes, the average electors per seat will rise from 66,000 to 73,500.
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