Changes that will radically alter the political map of Scotland are devoid of common sense, according to the Electoral Reform Society.

In Scotland, the number of constituencies will drop from 59 to 52.

The redrawn boundaries’ proposals, currently out for consultation, are a result of the Coalition’s agreement to reduce the number of seats in Westminster by 50 to 600 and make constituencies more evenly balanced with about 75,000 voters each.

Ministers say the changes will save £12m a year and make Westminster fairer by standardising the size of constituencies.

The proposals have thrown up some difficult personal competitions, including Liberal Democrat Chief Treasury Secretary Danny Alexander against former party leader Charles Kennedy.

Edinburgh and Glasgow will each also lose a seat.

Scotland’s only Tory MP, David Mundell’s seat in Scottish Borders, has been absorbed into three other constituencies.

The Boundary Commission for Scotland is now beginning a 12-week consultation on the proposals.

The Electoral Reform Society criticised the “thankless task” handed to the Boundary Commission.

“If Scotland’s new boundaries seem as ‘mad and insane’ as England’s then responsibility must lie with the British Government,” said Willie Sullivan, the director of the Electoral Reform Society Scotland.

He added: “The Boundary Commission for Scotland was given a thankless task. This Government’s rigid ‘one size fits all’ approach was never going to fit Scotland – its cold mathematical vision of equality flies in the face of real communities, simple geography and common sense.

“The call for equal size seats dates back to the Chartists, but we doubt they would recognise the results.

Instead, the Government risks making the constituency link a thing of the past.”