Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986
Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
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The Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986 (c. 56) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is the current[update] legislation defining the constitution and work of the four parliamentary Boundary Commissions in the UK.
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| Act of Parliament | |||||||||||
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| Long title | An Act to consolidate the House of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) Acts 1949 to 1979 and certain related enactments. | ||||||||||
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| Citation | 1986 c. 56 | ||||||||||
| Territorial extent | United Kingdom[b] | ||||||||||
| Dates | |||||||||||
| Royal assent | 7 November 1986 | ||||||||||
| Commencement | 7 February 1987[c] | ||||||||||
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Status: Amended | |||||||||||
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |||||||||||
| Revised text of statute as amended | |||||||||||
| Text of the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk. | |||||||||||
Provisions
The act consolidated earlier legislation, namely the House of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) Act 1949 (12, 13 & 14 Geo. 6. c. 66), the House of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) Act 1958 (6 & 7 Eliz. 2. c. 26) and the House of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) Act 1979.[1]
Repealed enactments
Section 8(1) of the act repealed 8 enactments, listed in schedule 4 to the act.[1]
| Citation | Short title | Extent of repeal |
|---|---|---|
| 11 & 12 Geo. 6. c. 65 | Representation of the People Act 1948 | Section 1(1). Section 81. |
| 12, 13 & 14 Geo. 6. c. 66 | House of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) Act 1949 | The whole act. |
| 6 & 7 Eliz. 2. c. 26 | House of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) Act 1958 | The whole act. |
| 1963 c. 33 | London Government Act 1963 | Section 4(7)(c). Section 8(1). In Schedule 3, in Part II, paragraph 21. |
| 1973 c. 36 | Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973 | Section 28(7). |
| 1973 c. 65 | Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 | In Schedule 3, paragraphs 1 and 19. |
| 1979 c. 15 | House of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) Act 1979 | The whole act. |
| 1986 c. 12 | Statute Law (Repeals) Act 1986 | In Schedule 2, paragraph 4(1). |
Section 8(2) of the act also revoked article 2(7) of the SI 1973/2095 (the Local Government Reorganisation (Consequential Provisions) (Northern Ireland) Order 1973).[1]
Amendment
The Boundary Commissions Act 1992 amended the 1986 act to reduce the intervals between redistributions from 10-15 years to 8-12 years.[2] Thie meant that the commissions had to report by December 1994, but the commissions found this difficult and only the Scottish commission managed to complete this in time.[3] The 1997 election was fought on the boundaries as modified by this review.[4]
In February 2011, the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011 received royal assent, which substantially amended the act. The changes affected the Sixth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies which provides for a review to be laid before Parliament that contains 50 fewer constituencies and less variation in electorates. It also provides for more frequent boundary reviews and a small reduction in the length of the consultation period.[citation needed]
