Musselburgh’s MSP has described proposed changes to the town’s boundary for Westminster elections as “deeply worrying” for all his constituents.

A public consultation on the plan – which would see a bigger section of Musselburgh removed from East Lothian for future General Elections than in last year’s initial proposals – came to an end on Monday.

A spokesperson for the Boundary Commission for Scotland said that the consultation attracted about 750 responses about proposed boundary changes in Scotland.

“The responses, which are Scotland-wide, comment on names and boundaries in many places, including Musselburgh,” they said.

“All those responses will be considered by the commission, who will look to see which may be appropriate and possible to adopt.

“The commission will then agree the final proposals and write its final report, which must be submitted to the Speaker of the House of Commons before July 1 next year.”

Updated proposals from the commission, revealed last month, would mean that about 11,200 electors from Musselburgh, including the town centre and Inveresk, could now join an Edinburgh East constituency – an increase from about 8,500 from the initial proposals announced last autumn.

Changes are being considered to the county’s Westminster constituency – which until now has exactly matched the county boundaries – under proposals being drawn up by the Boundary Commission to take account of changes in population size and distribution.

The initial proposals split Musselburgh between two constituencies, with the boundary following the River Esk. About 8,500 Musselburgh electors living to the west of the river were to be added to an Edinburgh East constituency. The rest of the East Lothian constituency would then have been renamed East Lothian Coast and would have continued to include the part of Musselburgh east of the river.

Now, with the revised proposals, the Edinburgh East constituency would include a larger part of Musselburgh, about 11,200 electors, also incorporating the area west of Goose Green, Loretto School and playing grounds, up through The Grove to the A1.

The rest of the eastern part of the town – Pinkie, Musselburgh Racecourse, Levenhall, Ravensheugh and West Pans, as well as Whitecraig and Wallyford – would be in a constituency renamed East Lothian and Lammermuirs.

The proposed changes would have no effect to the existing Scottish Parliament constituencies, which see Musselburgh, Wallyford and Whitecraig included as part of the Midlothian North and Musselburgh constituency, and the rest of the county in the East Lothian constituency.

Mr Beattie said that he and many residents had concerns about the boundary changes which would affect Musselburgh. He stressed that the proposed changes would see Scotland lose two MPs overall.

Mr Beattie said: “I find the proposals put forward by the Boundary Commission deeply worrying for my constituents – especially those that reside in Musselburgh.

“The revised boundaries put forward which will impact Musselburgh make no logical sense at all. What is proposed is to essentially divide a united community into two.

“I and many residents in Musselburgh feel that their interests are very much aligned with that of East Lothian.

“The interests and needs of Musselburgh hold more local connections and similarities to East Lothian than that of Edinburgh.

“Currently, Musselburgh is facing issues, for example access to healthcare services at Riverside Medical Practice and ongoing consultation of the Musselburgh Flood Protection Scheme. Both issues I am involved with as the local MSP, but it would indeed make issues such as these more complex to deal with having Musselburgh split between two MPs.

“These decisions are often made with lack of insight and understanding of a community and what the potential impact could be.

“It is important that feedback on this is considered very carefully.

“Overall, the proposed boundary changes will see Scotland lose two MPs. These changes purposely reduce our voice getting heard on vital issues that impact Scottish communities.

“It is important Scotland has fair representation to ensure its needs and wants are heard loud and clear in Westminster.”

The Boundary Commission spokesperson previously said: “The 2023 review must recommend 57 UK Parliament constituencies in Scotland and each constituency must be within an electorate quota of between 69,724 and 77,062 electors, except for two preserved constituencies (Western Isles, and Orkney and Shetland).

“The existing East Lothian constituency, which follows the East Lothian council area boundary, contains 82,479 electors and is therefore outwith the electorate quota for the 2023 review. This figure is based on the March 2020 electorate data, which the commission must use for the review.

“The proposed boundary aims to follow an historical UK Parliament constituency boundary in use 1997-2005 and a Scottish Parliament constituency boundary 1999-2011.”