Stirling Burghs (UK Parliament constituency)

For the current constituency, see Stirling (UK Parliament constituency).

Stirling Burghs was a district of burghs constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1708 to 1918.

Stirling Burghs
Former district of burghs constituency for the House of Commons
Major settlements	Stirling, Dunfermline, Inverkeithing, Queensferry, Culross
1708–1918
Seats	One
Created from	Culross Dunfermline Inverkeithing Queensferry Stirling
Replaced by	Stirling & Falkirk Burghs Dunfermline Burghs and others

Creation

The British parliamentary constituency was created in 1708 following the Acts of Union, 1707 and replaced the former Parliament of Scotland burgh constituencies of Stirling, Culross, Dunfermline, Inverkeithing and Queensferry

Boundaries

The constituency comprised the burghs of Stirling in Stirlingshire, Dunfermline, and Inverkeithing in Fife, Queensferry, in Linlithgowshire (West Lothian), and Culross, which was an exclave of Perthshire, transferring to Fife in 1889. By 1832, the burgh of Queensferry had become the burgh of South Queensferry.

History

The constituency elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system until the seat was abolished for the 1918 general election.^{[1] [2] [3] [4] [5]}

In 1918, Stirling became part of Stirling and Falkirk Burghs and Dunfermline became part of Dunfermline Burghs, with the other burghs being represented as part of their respective counties.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party
	1708	John Erskine
	1710	Henry Cunningham
	1728	Lord Erskine
	1734	Peter Halkett
	1741	James Erskine
	1747	George Haldane
	1758	Robert Haldane
	1761	Francis Holburne
	1768	James Masterton
	1774	Archibald Campbell
	1780	James Campbell
	1789	Archibald Campbell
	1791	Andrew Cochrane (from 1793, Cochrane Johnstone)[6]
	1797	William Tait
	1800	Alexander Cochrane
	1806	Sir John Henderson, Bt
	1807	Alexander Campbell
	1818	John Campbell
	1819	Francis Primrose
	1820	Robert Downie	Non Partisan[7]
	1830	James Johnston	Non Partisan[8]
	1832	Archibald Primrose, Lord Dalmeny	Whig[9][10][11]
	1847	John Benjamin Smith	Radical[12][13][14][15]
	1852	Sir James Anderson	Radical[16]
	1859	James Caird	Liberal
	1865	Laurence Oliphant	Liberal
	1868	John Ramsay	Liberal
	1868	Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman	Liberal
	1908	Arthur Ponsonby	Liberal
1918		constituency abolished

Election results 1708-1885

Elections in the 1830s

General election 1830: Stirling Burghs^[17][18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Nonpartisan	James Johnston (MP)	3	60.0
	Nonpartisan	Robert Downie (MP)	2	40.0
Majority			1	20.0
Turnout			5	c. 4.9
Registered electors			c. 103
	Nonpartisan gain from Nonpartisan		Swing

General election 1831: Stirling Burghs^[17][18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	James Johnston (MP)	Unopposed
Registered electors			c. 103
	Nonpartisan hold

General election 1832: Stirling Burghs^[19][9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	Archibald Primrose	492	57.3
	Whig	James Johnston (MP)	366	42.7
Majority			126	14.6
Turnout			858	89.7
Registered electors			956
	Whig gain from Nonpartisan

General election 1835: Stirling Burghs^[19][9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Archibald Primrose	418	54.8	−2.5
	Radical	John Crawfurd	345	45.2	N/A
Majority			73	9.6	−5.0
Turnout			763	72.0	−17.7
Registered electors			1,060
	Whig hold		Swing	−2.5

Primrose was appointed as a Civil Lord of the Admiralty, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 5 May 1835: Stirling Burghs^[19][9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	Archibald Primrose	Unopposed
	Whig hold

General election 1837: Stirling Burghs^[19][9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Archibald Primrose	455	99.6	+44.8
	Radical	Thomas Perronet Thompson	2	0.4	−44.8
Majority			453	99.2	+89.6
Turnout			457	36.8	−35.2
Registered electors			1,241
	Whig hold		Swing	+44.8

Elections in the 1840s

General election 1841: Stirling Burghs^[19][11][9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Archibald Primrose	438	51.0	−48.6
	Radical	James Aytoun	420	49.0	+48.6
Majority			18	2.0	−97.2
Turnout			858	75.2	+38.4
Registered electors			1,141
	Whig hold		Swing	−48.6

General election 1847: Stirling Burghs^[19][20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Radical	John Benjamin Smith	345	42.4	−6.6
	Whig	Alexander Ramsay-Gibson-Maitland[21]	312	38.4	−12.6
	Whig	Alexander Alison	156	19.2	N/A
Majority			33	4.0	N/A
Turnout			813	72.3	−2.9
Registered electors			1,125
	Radical gain from Whig		Swing

Elections in the 1850s

General election 1852: Stirling Burghs^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Radical	James Anderson	431	51.2	+8.8
	Whig	John Miller[22]	411	48.8	−8.8
Majority			20	2.4	−1.6
Turnout			842	76.8	+4.5
Registered electors			1,097
	Radical hold		Swing	+8.8

General election 1857: Stirling Burghs^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Radical	James Anderson	Unopposed
Registered electors			1,149
	Radical hold

General election 1859: Stirling Burghs^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	James Caird	Unopposed
Registered electors			1,224
	Liberal hold

Elections in the 1860s

General election 1865: Stirling Burghs^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Laurence Oliphant	Unopposed
Registered electors			1,262
	Liberal hold

Oliphant resigned, causing a by-election.

By-election, 30 April 1868: Stirling Burghs^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Ramsay	565	53.4	N/A
	Liberal	Henry Campbell-Bannerman	494	46.6	N/A
Majority			71	6.8	N/A
Turnout			1,059	84.2	N/A
Registered electors			1,257
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

General election 1868: Stirling Burghs^[23][19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Henry Campbell-Bannerman	2,201	56.7	N/A
	Liberal	John Ramsay	1,682	43.3	N/A
Majority			519	13.4	N/A
Turnout			3,883	88.8	N/A
Registered electors			4,372
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1870s

General election 1874: Stirling Burghs^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Henry Campbell-Bannerman	Unopposed
Registered electors			4,779
	Liberal hold

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: Stirling Burghs^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Henry Campbell-Bannerman	2,906	95.7	N/A
	Conservative	James Gibson-Maitland[24]	132	4.3	New
Majority			2,774	91.4	N/A
Turnout			3,038	63.2	N/A
Registered electors			4,807
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

Campbell-Bannerman was appointed Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 31 Oct 1884: Stirling Burghs^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Henry Campbell-Bannerman	Unopposed
	Liberal hold

Election results 1885-1918

Decades:

1880s 1890s 1900s 1910s

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1885: Stirling Burghs^[25][26]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Henry Campbell-Bannerman	Unopposed
	Liberal hold

A by-election was called after Campbell-Bannerman accepted office as Secretary of State for War as at that time Cabinet Ministers were required on appointment to submit themselves for re-election.^[25]

By-election, 10 Feb 1886: Stirling Burghs^[25][26]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Henry Campbell-Bannerman	Unopposed
	Liberal hold

Campbell-Bannerman

General election 1886: Stirling Burghs^[25][26]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Henry Campbell-Bannerman	2,440	62.4	N/A
	Liberal Unionist	John Pender	1,471	37.6	New
Majority			969	24.8	N/A
Turnout			3,911	74.8	N/A
Registered electors			5,228
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1890s

General election 1892: Stirling Burghs^[27][26]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Henry Campbell-Bannerman	2,791	62.2	−0.2
	Liberal Unionist	Walter Hughes	1,695	37.8	+0.2
Majority			1,096	24.4	−0.4
Turnout			4,486	80.3	+5.5
Registered electors			5,590
	Liberal hold		Swing	-0.2

Campbell-Bannerman was appointed Secretary of State for War requiring a by-election.^[27]

By-election, 25 Aug 1892: Stirling Burghs^[26]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Henry Campbell-Bannerman	Unopposed
	Liberal hold

General election 1895: Stirling Burghs^[28][26]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Henry Campbell-Bannerman	2,783	62.7	+0.5
	Conservative	Stuart Cunningham Macaskie	1,656	37.3	−0.5
Majority			1,127	25.4	+1.0
Turnout			4,439	73.9	−6.4
Registered electors			6,007
	Liberal hold		Swing	+0.5

Elections in the 1900s

Campbell-Bannerman

General election 1900: Stirling Burghs^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Henry Campbell-Bannerman	2,715	56.6	−6.1
	Liberal Unionist	Oliver Thomas Duke	2,085	43.4	+6.1
Majority			630	12.2	−12.2
Turnout			4,800	74.7	+0.8
Registered electors			6,422
	Liberal hold		Swing	-6.1

General election 1906: Stirling Burghs^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Henry Campbell-Bannerman	Unopposed
	Liberal hold

Ponsonby

1908 Stirling Burghs by-election^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Arthur Ponsonby	3,873	60.7	N/A
	Conservative	William Whitelaw	2,512	39.3	New
Majority			1,361	21.4	N/A
Turnout			6,385	84.5	N/A
Registered electors			7,558
	Liberal hold

Elections in the 1910s

General election January 1910: Stirling Burghs^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Arthur Ponsonby	4,471	64.9	+4.2
	Conservative	Neil Cochran-Patrick	2,419	35.1	−4.2
Majority			2,052	29.8	+8.4
Turnout			6,890	84.6	+0.1
Registered electors
	Liberal hold		Swing	+4.2

General election December 1910: Stirling Burghs^[30]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Arthur Ponsonby	Unopposed
	Liberal hold

See also

• Black Bond
• Stirling (UK Parliament constituency) (created 1983)