Ayrshire was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1708 to 1800 and of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 until 1868, when it was divided into North Ayrshire and South Ayrshire.
Ayrshire | |
---|---|
Former county constituency for the House of Commons | |
Subdivisions of Scotland | Ayrshire |
1708–1868 | |
Seats | 1 |
Created from | Ayrshire |
Replaced by | North Ayrshire South Ayrshire. |
It elected one Member of Parliament (MP), using the first-past-the-post voting system.
Creation
editThe British parliamentary constituency was created in 1708 following the Acts of Union 1707 and replaced the former Parliament of Scotland shire constituency of Ayrshire.
Boundaries
editThe Ayrshire constituency represented the county of Ayrshire, minus the parliamentary burghs of Ayr and Irvine, which were components of the Ayr Burghs constituency.
History
editThe constituency elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system until it was divided into North Ayrshire and South Ayrshire for the 1868 general election.[1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
Members of Parliament
editElection results
editElections in the 1830s
editParty | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tory | William Blair (Ayrshire MP) | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | 185 | ||||
Tory hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tory | William Blair (Ayrshire MP) | 73 | 67.0 | ||
Whig | Richard Alexander Oswald | 36 | 33.0 | ||
Majority | 37 | 34.0 | |||
Turnout | 109 | 58.9 | |||
Registered electors | 185 | ||||
Tory hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Whig | Richard Alexander Oswald | 2,152 | 86.9 | +53.9 | |
Tory | William Blair (Ayrshire MP) | 324 | 13.1 | −53.9 | |
Majority | 1,828 | 73.8 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 2,476 | 78.6 | +19.7 | ||
Registered electors | 3,150 | ||||
Whig gain from Tory | Swing | +53.9 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Whig | Richard Alexander Oswald | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | 3,171 | ||||
Whig hold |
Oswald's resignation caused a by-election.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Radical | John Dunlop | 1,435 | 63.4 | ||
Conservative | John Cathcart | 829 | 36.6 | ||
Majority | 606 | 26.8 | |||
Turnout | 2,264 | 71.4 | |||
Registered electors | 3,171 | ||||
Radical gain from Whig |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Radical | John Dunlop | 1,559 | 53.2 | ||
Conservative | James Carr-Boyle | 1,370 | 46.8 | ||
Majority | 189 | 6.4 | |||
Turnout | 2,929 | 73.5 | |||
Registered electors | 3,985 | ||||
Radical gain from Whig |
Dunlop's death caused a by-election.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | James Carr-Boyle | 1,758 | 56.7 | +9.9 | |
Whig | James Campbell | 1,296 | 41.8 | New | |
Chartist | Hugh Craig[15] | 46 | 1.5 | New | |
Majority | 462 | 14.9 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 3,100 | 73.1 | −0.4 | ||
Registered electors | 4,242 | ||||
Conservative gain from Radical |
Elections in the 1840s
editParty | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | James Carr-Boyle | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | 4,274 | ||||
Conservative gain from Radical |
Carr-Boyle succeeded to the peerage, becoming 5th Earl of Glasgow and causing a by-election.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Alexander Haldane Oswald | Unopposed | |||
Conservative hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Alexander Haldane Oswald | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | 4,305 | ||||
Conservative hold |
Elections in the 1850s
editParty | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | James Hunter-Blair | 1,301 | 52.0 | N/A | |
Peelite | Edward Cardwell[16] | 1,200 | 48.0 | New | |
Majority | 101 | 4.0 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 2,501 | 65.4 | N/A | ||
Registered electors | 3,823 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | N/A |
Blair's death caused a by-election.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | James Fergusson | 1,510 | 52.2 | +0.2 | |
Peelite | Alexander Haldane Oswald | 1,381 | 47.8 | −0.2 | |
Majority | 129 | 4.4 | +0.4 | ||
Turnout | 2,891 | 75.6 | +10.2 | ||
Registered electors | 3,823 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | +0.2 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Whig | Patrick Crichton-Stuart | 1,663 | 53.3 | New | |
Conservative | James Fergusson | 1,458 | 46.7 | −5.3 | |
Majority | 205 | 6.6 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 3,121 | 78.5 | +13.1 | ||
Registered electors | 3,976 | ||||
Whig gain from Conservative | Swing | +5.3 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Patrick Crichton-Stuart | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | 3,939 | ||||
Liberal hold |
Crichton-Stuart's death caused a by-election.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | James Fergusson | 1,687 | 50.7 | New | |
Liberal | James Campbell[17] | 1,641 | 49.3 | N/A | |
Majority | 46 | 1.4 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 3,328 | 81.7 | N/A | ||
Registered electors | 4,072 | ||||
Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | N/A |
Elections in the 1860s
editParty | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | James Fergusson | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | 4,642 | ||||
Conservative gain from Liberal |
References
edit- ^ "Ayrshire". History of Parliament Online (1690–1715). Retrieved 27 March 2019.
- ^ "Ayrshire". History of Parliament Online (1715–1754). Retrieved 27 March 2019.
- ^ "Ayrshire". History of Parliament Online (1754–1790). Retrieved 27 March 2019.
- ^ "Ayrshire". History of Parliament Online (1790–1820). Retrieved 27 March 2019.
- ^ "Ayrshire". History of Parliament Online (1820–1832). Retrieved 27 March 2019.
- ^ Jenkins, Terry. "MONTGOMERIE, James (1755-1829), of Wrighthill, Ayr". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Smith, Henry Stooks (1842). The Register of Parliamentary Contested Elections (Second ed.). Simpkin, Marshall & Company. p. 196. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
- ^ Churton, Edward (1838). The Assembled Commons or Parliamentary Biographer. p. 78. Retrieved 17 August 2019 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Leicester Herald". 11 July 1835. p. 5. Retrieved 17 August 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ Smith, Henry Stooks (1841). The Register of Parliamentary Contested Elections (Second ed.). Simpkin, Marshall & Company. pp. 196–197. Retrieved 1 September 2018 – via Google Books.
- ^ Churton, Edward (1836). The Assembled Commons or Parliamentary Biographer: 1836. p. 216. Retrieved 1 September 2018 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Election Prospects". Morning Post. 22 June 1841. pp. 3–4. Retrieved 1 September 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ a b Jenkins, Terry. "Ayrshire". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (e-book) (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.
- ^ "Ayrshire Election". Yorkshire Gazette. p. 5. Retrieved 7 May 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Polls on Wednesday". Greenock Advertiser. 10 July 1852. p. 2. Retrieved 5 September 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Ayrshire County Election". Glasgow Herald. 27 October 1859. p. 2. Retrieved 5 September 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.