Perthshire (UK Parliament constituency)

Perthshire
Former County constituency
for the House of Commons
Subdivisions of Scotland Perthshire
1708–1885
Number of members One
Replaced by Eastern Perthshire
Western Perthshire

Perthshire was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1708 to 1801 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 until 1885, representing a seat for one Member of Parliament (MP).

Boundaries

The constituency was created to cover the county of Perth, minus the burgh of Perth, which was a component of the Perth Burghs constituency.

In 1832, as a result of the Representation of the People (Scotland) Act 1832, the Perth Burghs constituency was abolished, the Perth burgh constituency was created, and five detached parishes of the county were merged into the Clackmannanshire and Kinross-shire constituency.[1]

In 1885, as a result of the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, the Perthshire constituency was divided to create Eastern Perthshire and Western Perthshire.[1]

Members of Parliament

ElectionMemberPartyNotes
15 June 1708 Dougal Stewart Tory Also sat for Buteshire [2]
25 October 1710 Lord James Murray
10 February 1715 Lord James Murray Later 2nd Duke of Atholl
By-election, 31 December 1724 David Graeme
By-election, 28 April 1726 Mungo Haldane Previously MP for Stirlingshire 1715–22, and for Dunbartonshire 1722–25
12 October 1727 John Drummond
9 May 1734 Lord John Murray
21 April 1761 John Murray
By-election, 23 March 1764 David Graeme Diplomat and British Army general
By-election, 11 June 1773 James Murray of Strowan
By-election, 11 April 1794 Thomas Graham
19 May 1807 Lord James Murray Later 1st Baron Glenlyon
By-election, 19 March 1812 James Drummond Tory
By-election, 6 April 1824 Sir George Murray Tory
29 December 1832 The Earl of Ormelie Whig Later 2nd Marquess of Breadalbane
By-election, 5 May 1834 Sir George Murray Conservative
17 January 1835 Hon. Fox Maule
4 August 1837 Viscount Stormont Conservative
By-election, 9 March 1840 Henry Home-Drummond Conservative
1846 Peelite[3]
16 July 1852 Sir William Stirling, Bt Conservative Changed name to Sir William Stirling-Maxwell in March 1866
23 November 1868 Charles Stuart Parker Liberal MP for Perth 1878–92
12 February 1874 Sir William Stirling-Maxwell, Bt Conservative
By-election, 4 February 1878 Henry Home-Drummond-Moray Conservative
5 April 1880 Sir Donald Currie Liberal subsequently MP for Western Perthshire
1885 constituency divided. See Eastern Perthshire and Western Perthshire

Election results

Elections in the 1850s

General Election 1852: Perthshire[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative William Stirling Unopposed
Registered electors 4,938
Conservative gain from Peelite
General Election 1857: Perthshire[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative William Stirling Unopposed
Registered electors 3,415
Conservative hold
General Election 1859: Perthshire[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative William Stirling Unopposed
Registered electors 3,368
Conservative hold

Elections in the 1860s

General Election 1865: Perthshire[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative William Stirling Unopposed
Registered electors 3,448
Conservative hold
General Election 1868: Perthshire[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal Charles Stuart Parker 2,046 53.7 N/A
Conservative William Stirling-Maxwell 1,767 46.3 N/A
Majority 279 7.3 N/A
Turnout 3,813 78.2 N/A
Registered electors 4,876
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing N/A

Elections in the 1870s

General Election 1874: Perthshire[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative William Stirling-Maxwell 2,554 55.4 +9.1
Liberal Charles Stuart Parker 2,060 44.6 −9.1
Majority 494 10.7 N/A
Turnout 4,614 83.8 +5.6
Registered electors 5,505
Conservative gain from Liberal Swing +9.1

Stirling-Maxwell's death caused a by-election.

Perthshire by-election, 1878[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Henry Home-Drummond-Moray 2,439 52.0 -3.4
Liberal Algernon Greville-Nugent[5] 2,255 48.0 +3.4
Majority 184 3.9 -6.8
Turnout 4,694 83.6 -0.2
Registered electors 5,613
Conservative hold Swing -3.4

Elections in the 1880s

General Election 1880: Perthshire[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal Donald Currie 2,764 52.8 +8.2
Conservative Henry Home-Drummond-Moray 2,472 47.2 −8.2
Majority 292 5.6 N/A
Turnout 5,236 88.5 +4.7
Registered electors 5,918
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing +8.2

Notes and references

  1. 1 2 Boundaries of Parliamentary Constituencies 1885-1972 ( ISBN 0-900178-09-4), F. W. S. Craig 1972
  2. ↑ Dougal Stewart was also returned for Buteshire at the general election in 1708 and appears to have been permitted to sit for both seats until his appointment as a Lord of Session on 7 Jun 1709. No writ for a fresh election appears to have been issued before the general election in 1710
  3. ↑ "Perthshire". Montrose, Arbroath and Brechin review; and Forfar and Kincardineshire advertiser. 13 August 1847. p. 2. Retrieved 14 September 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive. (Subscription required (help)).
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (e-book)|format= requires |url= (help) (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. p. 599. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.
  5. ↑ "The Perthshire Election". Dundee Evening Telegraph. 26 January 1878. p. 4. Retrieved 15 January 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive. (Subscription required (help)).
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