INVERCLYDE'S MP says he is concerned about plans to expand the constituency's boundary lines into a neighbouring area.

The Boundary Commission for Scotland's 2023 review has suggested that that the seat, which covers the entire Inverclyde Council area, should be expanded.

But the SNP's Ronnie Cowan fears this will make it much more difficult to represent constituents.

Officials want it to include both Houston and Bridge of Weir, with the new constituency being called 'Inverclyde and Bridge of Weir'.

It is part of a wider revamp which would reduce the amount of Scottish seats in Westminster.

The recommended change is one of dozens proposed by the review, which would see the number of UK parliamentary seats in Scotland reduced from 59 to 57.

The review would also grant England an additional 10 seats, while Wales would lose eight and Northern Ireland retain the same number of seats.

Mr Cowan says the addition of more constituents will generate extra work and he has also hit out at the proposed reduction in the number of Scottish MPs.

Mr Cowan said: “The UK Government's plans to further reduce Scotland's representation at Westminster, while increasing the number of MPs for England, underscores the lack of respect for Scotland.

“Locally, we’ll see the Inverclyde constituency increased to cover parts of Renfrewshire.

"This will lead to a larger electorate to represent and support.

"This will be challenging, as more people will require assistance because of the rise in the cost of living, the end of furlough, the cut to universal credit and energy prices continuing to rise."

The Boundary Commission has launched an eight-week long consultation on the plans.

The Commission's final proposals are due to be published before July 1 2023.

This is not the first time that officials have proposed changes which would affect the district.

Back in 2017 they announced a plan to create a new constituency called Inverclyde & Erskine.

The proposed new seat would have taken in the current Inverclyde constituency, plus Langbank, Bishopton, Bridge of Weir, Erskine and Inchinnan - increasing the size of the electorate from 58,853 to 77,184.

The move was widely opposed and later dropped.