The fourth periodic review of Westminster constituencies was undertaken in the United Kingdom between 1991 and 1995 by the four boundary commissions.Rossiter 1999, The Boundary Commissions: Redrawing the UK's Map of Parliamentary Constituencies As well as changes to constituency boundaries, the reviews recommended an increase of five seats in England (524 to 529), two in Wales (38 to 40) and one in Northern Ireland (17 to 18), with Scotland continuing to have 72 seats. The number of MPs in the House of Commons therefore increased from 651 to 659. 144 new constituencies were created, offset by 136 which were abolished. The new boundaries were first used for the 1997 general election.

Review process Under the terms of the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986, as enacted, the boundary commissions were required to present their final recommendations between 10 and 15 years after the submission of their previous reports. As the final reports for the third periodic review had been submitted between October 1982 and February 1983, the final reports for the fourth review were due to be submitted no later than February 1998. Accordingly, the English Commission had commenced their review in February 1991 and the Scottish commission had commenced theirs in February 1992. In the meantime, reflecting concerns that the period between reviews was too long, the Government proposed that the gap between reviews should be reduced to between 8 and 12 years and that the deadline for the fourth review should be brought forward to 31 December 1994. This was legislated through the Boundary Commissions Act 1992.

The final reports were submitted as follows:

Scotland - 15 December 1994

Wales - 16 December 1994 England - 12 April 1995 Northern Ireland - 20 June 1995

Changes As a result of changes to the names of seats, it is not always easy to clearly identify newly created constituencies or those abolished during the review process. One way of considering this is to link each proposed seat with an existing seat which contributes the most voters to that new seat. Any proposed seat which cannot be linked to an existing seat is then considered to be a "new" constituency. Conversely, any existing seat which is not linked to a proposed seat is considered to have been abolished.

The tables below list the names of existing seats which were not replicated in the final proposals for the fourth review ("old seats"), and links them with proposed seats which did not exist prior to the review ("new seats"). Those seats which are not linked can be regarded as being genuinely abolished or newly created. There are a number of instances where existing seats are effectively abolished and re-created under the same name, as set out in the notes.

England The number of seats in England increased by five. 19 non-metropolitan counties gained one seat each, with Hampshire gaining two. This was offset by a reduction of ten seats in Greater London, two each in Greater Manchester and West Midlands, and one each in Lancashire and Merseyside.

In Greater London, the Commission, for the first time, decided to pair some London Boroughs together to reduce the variation in the size of electorates. These are detailed in the table below. CountyNo. of seatsOld seatNew seatNotesBeforeAfterAvon1010Bedfordshire56Bedfordshire NorthBedfordBedfordshire North EastComprised the largest part of the existing Bedfordshire Mid seat, which was reconfigured and effectively formed a new constituency.Berkshire78Berkshire EastBracknellWindsor and MaidenheadMaidenheadWindsorBuckinghamshire77Cambridgeshire67Cambridgeshire North WestCambridgeshire South WestCambridgeshire SouthCheshire1011Weaver ValeCleveland66LangbaurghMiddlesbrough South and Cleveland EastCornwall55TruroTruro and St AustellName change only.Cumbria66Derbyshire1010Devon1111HonitonDevon EastPlymouth DrakePlymouth, Drake was absorbed into Plymouth Sutton, with the bulk of the old Plymouth Sutton seat now forming the majority of the new seat of Devon South West.Devon South WestSouth HamsTotnesTivertonTiverton and HonitonDorset78Dorset Mid and Poole NorthDurham77East Sussex88Essex1617Essex NorthMajor reconfiguration.Colchester NorthColchesterColchester South and MaldonMaldon and Chelmsford EastChelmsfordChelmsford WestRochfordRayleighSouthend EastRochford and Southend EastGloucestershire56Cirencester and TewksburyCotswoldTewkesburyGloucestershire WestForest of DeanGreater London8474Hendon NorthHendonLondon borough of BarnetHendon SouthFinchleyFinchley and Golders GreenGreenwichGreenwich and WoolwichLondon boroughs of Bexley and GreenwichWoolwichErith and CrayfordErith and ThamesmeadBexleyheathBexleyheath and CrayfordChislehurstBromley and ChislehurstLondon borough of BromleyRavensbourneCroydon North EastLondon borough of CroydonCroydon North WestCroydon NorthEaling ActonEaling, Acton and Shepherd's BushLondon boroughs of Ealing and Hammersmith and FulhamHammersmithFulhamHammersmith and FulhamCity of London and Westminster SouthCities of London and WestminsterRoyal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and Cities of London and WestminsterWestminster NorthRegent's Park and Kensington NorthKensingtonChelseaKensington and ChelseaRichmond and BarnesRichmond ParkRoyal Borough of Kingston upon Thames and borough of Richmond upon ThamesKingston upon ThamesSurbitonKingston and SurbitonSouthwark and BermondseyNorth Southwark and BermondseyLondon boroughs of Lambeth and SouthwarkPeckhamCamberwell and PeckhamDulwichDulwich and West NorwoodNorwoodBethnal Green and StepneyBethnal Green and BowLondon boroughs of Newham and Tower HamletsBow and PoplarPoplar and Canning TownNewham SouthNewham North EastEast HamNewham North WestWest HamChingfordChingford and Woodford GreenLondon boroughs of Redbridge and Waltham ForestWanstead and WoodfordLeytonLeyton and WansteadGreater Manchester3028StretfordDavyhulmeStretford and UrmstonAltrincham and SaleAltrincham and Sale WestManchester WythenshaweWythenshawe and Sale EastLittleborough and SaddleworthOldham East and SaddleworthOldham Central and RoytonOldham West and RoytonOldham WestSalford EastSalfordHampshire1517Hampshire North EastComprised the majority of the existing Hampshire East seat, which was reconfigured and effectively formed a new constituency.New ForestNew Forest WestNew Forest EastRomsey and WatersideRomseyHereford and Worcester78RedditchComprised the majority of the existing Worcestershire Mid seat, which was reconfigured and effectively formed a new constituency.Worcestershire SouthWorcestershire WestHertfordshire1011Hertfordshire NorthHertfordshire North EastHitchin and HarpendenHertfordshire WestHemel HempsteadHumberside910Kingston upon Hull WestKingston upon Hull West and HessleBridlingtonYorkshire EastMajor reconfigurationBeverley and HoldernessBeverleyHaltemprice and HowdenBoothferryBrigg and GooleGlanford and ScunthorpeScunthorpeBrigg and CleethorpesCleethorpesIsle of Wight11Kent1617FavershamSittingbourne and SheppeyFaversham and Kent MidKent MidChatham and AylesfordMaidstoneMaidstone and The WealdLancashire1615LancasterLancaster and WyreWyreBlackpool NorthBlackpool North and FleetwoodLeicestershire910CharnwoodLincolnshire67Gainsborough and HorncastleGainsboroughLindsey EastLouth and HorncastleHolland with BostonBoston and SkegnessStamford and SpaldingSouth Holland and The DeepingsGrantham and StamfordGranthamSleaford and North HykehamMerseyside1716Knowsley NorthKnowsley North and Sefton EastLiverpool BroadgreenLiverpool WavertreeLiverpool Mossley HillNorfolk88North Yorkshire67HarrogateHarrogate and KnaresboroughVale of YorkYorkCity of YorkName change onlyScarboroughScarborough and WhitbyName change onlyNorthamptonshire66Northumberland44Nottinghamshire1111Oxfordshire66Shropshire45TelfordComprised the majority of the existing The Wrekin seat, which was reconfigured and effectively formed a new constituency.Somerset55South Yorkshire1515Barnsley EastBarnsley East and MexboroughStaffordshire1112StoneMajor reconfigurationStaffordshire MidLichfieldCannock and BurntwoodCannock ChaseStaffordshire South EastTamworthSuffolk67Suffolk CentralSuffolk Central and Ipswich NorthSuffolk WestComprised the majority of the existing Bury St Edmunds seat, which was reconfigured and effectively formed a new constituency.Surrey1111Surrey North WestSurrey HeathChertsey and WaltonRunnymede and WeybridgeEsherEsher and WaltonTyne and Wear1313WallsendTyneside NorthNewcastle upon Tyne EastNewcastle upon Tyne East and WallsendGateshead EastGateshead East and Washington WestHoughton and WashingtonHoughton and Washington EastWarwickshire55West Midlands3129Dudley EastDudley NorthDudley WestDudley SouthHalesowen and StourbridgeStourbridgeElectorate of Halesowen and Stourbridge distributed more-or-less equally between two new constituencies.Halesowen and Rowley RegisWarley WestWarley EastWarleyBirmingham Small HeathBirmingham SparkbrookBirmingham Sparkbrook and Small HeathCoventry South EastCoventry SouthCoventry South WestWest Sussex78ArundelBognor Regis and LittlehamptonArundel and South DownsShorehamWorthing East and ShorehamWorthingWorthing WestWest Yorkshire2323Morley and Leeds SouthMorley and RothwellWiltshire56Swindon NorthSwindonSwindon South

Wales The number of seats in Wales was increased from 38 to 40 through the creation of an additional seat in the counties of Clwyd and Dyfed. CountyNo of seatsOld seatNew seatBeforeAfterClwyd56Clwyd North WestClwyd WestVale of ClwydClwyd South WestClwyd SouthDyfed45Ceredigion and Pembroke NorthCeredigionPembrokePreseli PembrokeshireCarmarthen West and South PembrokeshireCarmarthenCarmarthen East and DinefwrGwent66Gwynedd44Mid Glamorgan77Powys22South Glamorgan55West Glamorgan55

Scotland The number of seats in Scotland remained at 72, with an additional seat in Grampian region being offset by the loss of a seat in the City of Glasgow in Strathclyde region. RegionNo of seatsOld seatNew seatBeforeAfterBorders22Central44ClackmannanOchilDumfries and Galloway22Fife55Grampian67Aberdeen CentralKincardine and DeesideAberdeenshire West and KincardineHighland33Caithness and SutherlandCaithness, Sutherland and Easter RossRoss, Cromarty and SkyeRoss, Skye and Inverness WestInverness, Nairn and LochaberInverness East, Nairn and LochaberLothian1010Edinburgh EastEdinburgh East and MusselburghEdinburgh, LeithEdinburgh North and LeithStrathclyde3332Monklands EastAirdrie and ShottsMonklands WestCoatbridge and ChrystonMotherwell NorthHamilton North and BellshillMotherwell SouthMotherwell and WishawHamiltonHamilton SouthGreenock and Port GlasgowGreenock and InverclydeRenfrew West and InverclydeRenfrewshire WestGlasgow GarscaddenGlasgow AnnieslandGlasgow HillheadGlasgow KelvinGlasgow CentralGlasgow ProvanGlasgow BailliestonTayside55Angus EastAngusPerth and KinrossPerthIslands Areas22

Northern Ireland The number of seats in Northern Ireland was increased from 17 to 18 through the creation of West Tyrone. This comprised the majority of the existing Mid Ulster seat, which was reconfigured and effectively formed a new constituency.

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