Dunbartonshire (UK Parliament constituency)

Dunbartonshire was a county constituency of the House of Commons of Great Britain (at Westminster) from 1708 to 1801 and of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (also Westminster) from 1801 to 1950.

Dunbartonshire
Former County constituency for the House of Commons
Subdivisions of Scotland	County of Dumbarton
1708–1950
Number of members	One
Replaced by	East Dunbartonshire West Dunbartonshire

Creation

The British parliamentary constituency was created in 1708 following the Acts of Union, 1707 and replaced the former Parliament of Scotland shire constituency of Dunbartonshire .

History

The constituency elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system until the seat was split in 1950.[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) using the first-past-the-post voting system.

Boundaries

The constituency was created to cover the county of Dumbarton (later Dunbarton) minus any parliamentary burgh or part thereof within the county. From 1832 to 1918, however, under the Representation of the People (Scotland) Act 1832, the Representation of the People (Scotland) Act 1868 and the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, the boundaries of counties and burghs for purposes of parliamentary representation were not necessarily those for other purposes.

The Representation of the People Act 1918 brought constituency boundaries generally into alignment with local government boundaries established under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889 and subsequent related legislation, but there were later changes to local government boundaries which were not reflected in new constituency boundaries until 1950, the same year that the Dunbartonshire constituency was abolished, under the House of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) Act 1949.

For the period 1832 to 1918 boundary details below are nominal, and for the period 1918 to 1950 they are those applicable in 1918.

For the 1708 (first) general election and every subsequent election of the Parliament of Great Britain the Dumbartonshire constituency consisted of the county of Dumbarton minus the burgh of Dumbarton, which was a component of the Clyde Burghs constituency.

In 1801 the Parliament of Great Britain was merged with the Parliament of Ireland to form the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Dumbartonshire constituency retained its boundaries as a constituency of the Parliament of Great Britain for the 1802 (first) general election of the new parliament and for the general elections of 1806, 1807, 1812, 1818, 1820, 1826, 1830 and 1831.

Nominally, the constituency had the same boundaries for the 1832 general election, but the burgh of Dumbarton was now a component of Kilmarnock Burghs. 1832 boundaries were used also in the general elections of 1835, 1837, 1841, 1847, 1852, 1857, 1859, 1865, 1868, 1874, 1880, 1885, 1886, 1892, 1895, 1900, 1906, January 1910, and December 1910.

For the 1918 general election the constituency was defined as covering the county of Dunbarton minus the burghs of Dumbarton and Clydebank, which comprised Dumbarton Burghs. 1918 boundaries were used also in the general elections of 1922, 1923, 1924, 1929, 1931, 1935 and 1945.[6]

For the 1950 general election new constituency boundaries divided the county of Dunbarton between the East Dunbartonshire and West Dunbartonshire constituencies, both entirely within the county.[6]

Members of Parliament

MPs 1708–1832

Election		Member	Party
	1708	John Campbell
	1710
	1713
	1715
	1722	Mungo Haldane
	1725	John Campbell
	1727	John Campbell, later Duke of Argyll	Whig
	1734
	1741
	1747
	1754
	1761	Archibald Edmonstone	Tory
	1768
	1774
	1780	Lord Frederick Campbell
	1781	George Elphinstone
	1784
	1790	Archibald Edmonstone	Tory
	1796	William Bontine
	1797	Alexander Smollett
	1799	Sir James Colquhoun, 3rd Bt
	1801
	1802
	1806	Henry Glassford
	1806	Charles Edmonstone	Tory
	1807	Henry Glassford
	1810	Archibald Campbell-Colquhoun
	1812
	1818
	1820
	1821	John Buchanan
	1826	John Campbell	Tory[7]
	1830	Lord Montagu Graham	Tory[8]
	1831

MPs 1832–1950

Election		Member	Party[9][10][11]
	1832	John Campbell Colquhoun	Whig[12]
	1835	Alexander Dennistoun	Whig[12]
	1837	Sir James Colquhoun, 4th Bt	Whig[12][13]
	1841	Alexander Smollett	Conservative[12]
	1847
	1852
	1857
	1859	Patrick Smollett	Conservative
	1865
	1868	Archibald Orr-Ewing	Conservative
	1874
	1880
	1885
	1886
	1892	John Sinclair	Liberal
	1895	Alexander Wylie	Conservative
	1900
	1906	J. D. White	Liberal
	1910 (January)
	1910 (December)	Arthur Acland Allen	Liberal
	1918	William Raeburn	Coalition Conservative
	1922		Conservative
	1923	William Martin	Labour
	1924	David Fleming	Conservative
	1926 by-election	John Thom	Conservative
	1929	Willie Brooke	Labour
	1931	John Thom	Conservative
	1932 by-election	Archibald Cochrane	Conservative
	1935
	1936 by-election	Thomas Cassells	Labour
	1941 by-election	Adam McKinlay	Labour
	1945
1950		constituency divided: see East Dunbartonshire and West Dunbartonshire

Election results

Elections in the 1830s

General election 1830: Dunbartonshire [12][14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Tory	Montagu Graham	31	50.8
	Whig	John Campbell Colquhoun	30	49.2
Majority			1	1.6
Turnout			61	84.7
Registered electors			72
	Tory hold

General election 1831: Dunbartonshire [12][14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Tory	Montagu Graham	28	54.9	+4.1
	Whig	John Campbell Colquhoun	23	45.1	−4.1
Majority			5	9.8	+8.2
Turnout			51	70.8	−13.9
Registered electors			72
	Tory hold		Swing	+4.1

General election 1832: Dunbartonshire [15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	John Campbell Colquhoun	422	52.9	+3.7
	Whig	James Colquhoun	375	47.1	N/A
Majority			47	5.8	N/A
Turnout			797	86.0	+15.2
Registered electors			927
	Whig gain from Tory		Swing	+3.7

General election 1835: Dunbartonshire [15][12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Alexander Dennistoun	436	52.2	N/A
	Conservative	Alexander Smollett	399	47.8	New
Majority			37	4.4	−1.4
Turnout			835	83.6	−2.4
Registered electors			999
	Whig hold		Swing	N/A

General election 1837: Dunbartonshire [15][12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	James Colquhoun	452	52.4	+0.2
	Conservative	Alexander Smollett	411	47.6	−0.2
Majority			41	4.8	+0.4
Turnout			863	75.8	−7.8
Registered electors			1,139
	Whig hold		Swing	+0.2

Elections in the 1840s

General election 1841: Dunbartonshire [15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Alexander Smollett	Unopposed
Registered electors			1,212
	Conservative gain from Whig

General election 1847: Dunbartonshire [15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Alexander Smollett	536	64.6	N/A
	Whig	Thomas Campbell Robertson[16]	294	35.4	New
Majority			242	29.2	N/A
Turnout			830	64.4	N/A
Registered electors			1,288
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1850s

General election 1852: Dunbartonshire [15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Alexander Smollett	Unopposed
Registered electors			1,314
	Conservative hold

General election 1857: Dunbartonshire [15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Alexander Smollett	Unopposed
Registered electors			1,348
	Conservative hold

General election 1859: Dunbartonshire [15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Patrick Smollett	490	55.1	N/A
	Liberal	William Cunninghame Bontine[17]	399	44.9	New
Majority			91	10.2	N/A
Turnout			889	64.5	N/A
Registered electors			1,379
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1860s

General election 1865: Dunbartonshire [15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Patrick Smollett	574	50.0	−5.1
	Liberal	James Stirling[18]	574	50.0	+5.1
Majority			0	0.0	−10.2
Turnout			1,148	71.9	+7.4
Registered electors			1,597
	Conservative hold		Swing	−5.1

A petition was lodged in this election, against Stirling, but was later withdrawn after he decided not to defend his claim to the seat, allowing Smollett to be declared duly elected.

General election 1868: Dunbartonshire [15][19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Archibald Orr-Ewing	Unopposed
Registered electors			2,156
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1870s

General election 1874: Dunbartonshire [15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Archibald Orr-Ewing	995	51.4	N/A
	Liberal	John William Burns[20]	942	48.6	New
Majority			53	2.8	N/A
Turnout			1,937	85.5	N/A
Registered electors			2,265
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: Dunbartonshire [15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Archibald Orr-Ewing	1,333	50.2	−1.2
	Liberal	John William Burns[20]	1,324	49.8	+1.2
Majority			9	0.4	−2.4
Turnout			2,657	89.3	+3.8
Registered electors			2,976
	Conservative hold		Swing	−1.2

General election 1885: Dunbartonshire [21][22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Archibald Orr-Ewing	4,514	50.9	+0.7
	Liberal	Robert Reid	4,357	48.1	−0.7
Majority			157	1.8	+1.4
Turnout			8,871	88.2	−1.1
Registered electors			10,063
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.7

General election 1886: Dunbartonshire [21][22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Archibald Orr-Ewing	4,249	50.2	-0.7
	Liberal	Ronald Munro Ferguson	4,217	49.8	+0.7
Majority			32	0.4	-1.4
Turnout			8,466	84.1	-4.1
Registered electors			10,063
	Conservative hold		Swing	-0.7

Elections in the 1890s

General election 1892: Dunbartonshire [23][22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Sinclair	5,249	51.4	+1.6
	Conservative	Alexander Wylie	4,956	48.6	-1.6
Majority			293	2.8	N/A
Turnout			10,205	86.6	+2.5
Registered electors			11,789
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+1.6

General election 1895: Dunbartonshire [24][22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Alexander Wylie	5,375	50.2	+1.6
	Liberal	John Sinclair	5,342	49.8	-1.6
Majority			33	0.4	N/A
Turnout			10,717	87.2	+0.6
Registered electors			12,292
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+1.6

Elections in the 1900s

General election 1900: Dunbartonshire [24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Alexander Wylie	6,083	53.0	+2.8
	Liberal	P.R. Buchanan	5,393	47.0	-2.8
Majority			690	6.0	+5.6
Turnout			11,476	83.6	-3.6
Registered electors			13,731
	Conservative hold		Swing	+2.8

General election 1906: Dunbartonshire [25]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	J. D. White	7,404	51.6	+4.6
	Conservative	Henry Brock	6,937	48.4	-4.6
Majority			467	3.2	N/A
Turnout			14,341	87.8	+4.2
Registered electors			16,335
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+4.6

Elections in the 1910s

General election January 1910: Dunbartonshire [26]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	J. D. White	8,640	53.2	+1.6
	Conservative	Henry Brock	7,607	46.8	-1.6
Majority			1,033	6.4	+3.2
Turnout			16,247	88.3	+0.5
	Liberal hold		Swing	+1.6

A.A. Allen

General election December 1910: Dunbartonshire [26]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Arthur Acland Allen	8,579	54.1	+0.9
	Conservative	William T. Shaw	7,267	45.9	-0.9
Majority			1,312	8.2	+1.8
Turnout			15,846	84.5	-3.8
	Liberal hold		Swing	+0.9

General election 1918: Dunbartonshire [27]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
C	Unionist	William Raeburn	12,765	55.8	+9.9
	Labour	William Martin	7,072	30.9	New
	Liberal	Arthur Acland Allen	3,048	13.3	−40.8
Majority			5,693	24.9	N/A
Turnout			22,885	66.8	−17.7
Registered electors			34,284
	Unionist gain from Liberal		Swing	+25.4
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

Elections in the 1920s

General election 1922: Dunbartonshire [28]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	William Raeburn	13,407	50.4	−5.4
	Labour	William Martin	13,216	49.6	+18.7
Majority			191	0.8	−24.1
Turnout			26,623	69.0	+2.2
Registered electors			38,559
	Unionist hold		Swing	−12.1

General election 1923: Dunbartonshire [29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	William Martin	11,705	43.0	−6.6
	Unionist	David Fleming	9,802	36.0	−14.4
	Liberal	Stanley Holmes	5,726	21.0	New
Majority			1,903	7.0	N/A
Turnout			27,233	70.7	+1.7
Registered electors			38,539
	Labour gain from Unionist		Swing	+3.9

General election 1924: Dunbartonshire [30]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	David Fleming	16,223	55.8	+19.8
	Labour	William Martin	12,872	44.2	+1.2
Majority			3,351	11.6	N/A
Turnout			29,095	75.6	+4.9
Registered electors			38,469
	Unionist gain from Labour		Swing	+9.3

1926 Dunbartonshire by-election[30]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	John Thom	12,680	48.0	−7.8
	Labour	William Martin	11,610	43.9	−0.3
	Liberal	William Reid	2,146	8.1	New
Majority			1,070	4.1	−7.5
Turnout			26,436	75.0	−0.6
Registered electors			35,239
	Unionist hold		Swing	−3.8

General election 1929: Dunbartonshire [31]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Willie Brooke	18,153	45.7	+1.5
	Unionist	John Thom	16,576	41.6	−14.2
	Liberal	Thomas Maule Guthrie	5,071	12.7	New
Majority			1,577	4.1	N/A
Turnout			39,800	81.0	+5.4
Registered electors			49,113
	Labour gain from Unionist		Swing	+7.9

Elections in the 1930s

General election 1931: Dunbartonshire

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	John Thom	28,762	63.6	+22.0
	Labour	Willie Brooke	16,474	36.4	-9.3
Majority			12,288	27.2	N/A
Turnout			45,236	82.8	+1.8
	Unionist gain from Labour		Swing	+15.6

1932 Dunbartonshire by-election[32]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Archibald Cochrane	16,749	43.5	-20.1
	Labour	Tom Johnston	13,704	35.6	-0.8
	National (Scotland)	Robert Gray	5,178	13.4	New
	Communist	Hughie McIntyre	2,870	7.5	New
Majority			3,045	7.9	-19.3
Turnout			38,501
	Unionist hold		Swing

General election 1935: Dunbartonshire [33]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Archibald Cochrane	24,776	50.3	+6.8
	Labour	Thomas Cassells	20,679	41.9	+6.3
	SNP	Robert Gray	3,841	7.8	N/A
Majority			4,097	8.4	+0.5
Turnout			49,296	80.5	-2.3
	Unionist hold		Swing	+0.2

1936 Dunbartonshire by-election[34]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Thomas Cassells	20,187	48.1	+6.2
	Unionist	Arthur Paterson Duffes	19,203	45.7	-4.6
	SNP	Robert Gray	2,599	6.2	-1.6
Majority			984	2.4	N/A
Turnout			41,989	68.6	-11.9
	Labour gain from Unionist		Swing	+5.4

Elections in the 1940s

1941 Dunbartonshire by-election[34]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Adam McKinlay	21,900	85.0	+36.9
	Communist	Malcolm MacEwen	3,862	15.0	New
Majority			18,038	70.0	+67.6
Turnout			25,762	38.7	-29.9
	Labour hold		Swing	N/A

General election 1945: Dunbartonshire[35]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Adam McKinlay	28,383	50.7	+8.8
	Unionist	Robert A. Allan	27,636	49.3	-1.0
Majority			747	1.4	-1.0
Turnout			56,019	71.7	-8.8
	Labour hold		Swing	N/A

Notes and references

1. "Dunbartonshire". History of Parliament Online (1690–1715). Retrieved 27 March 2019.
2. "Dunbartonshire". History of Parliament Online (1715–1754). Retrieved 27 March 2019.
3. "Dunbartonshire". History of Parliament Online (1754–1790). Retrieved 27 March 2019.
4. "Dunbartonshire". History of Parliament Online (1790–1820). Retrieved 27 March 2019.
5. "Dunbartonshire". History of Parliament Online (1820–1832). Retrieved 27 March 2019.
6. Boundaries of Parliamentary Constituencies 1885-1972 (ISBN 0-900178-09-4), F. W. S. Craig, 1972
7. Jenkins, Terry. "CAMPBELL, John I (1798-1830), of Succoth, Dunbarton". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
8. Fisher, David R. "GRAHAM, Lord Montagu William (1807-1878), of 25 Grosvenor Square, Mdx". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
9. Craig, F. W. S. (1989) [1977]. British parliamentary election results 1832–1885 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 582. ISBN 0-900178-26-4.
10. Craig, F. W. S. (1989) [1974]. British parliamentary election results 1885–1918 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 536. ISBN 0-900178-27-2.
11. Craig, F. W. S. (1983) [1969]. British parliamentary election results 1918–1949 (3rd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 622. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.
12. Stooks Smith, Henry (1842). The Register of Parliamentary Contested Elections: Containing the Uncontested Elections Since 1830. London: Simpkin, Marshall, & Co. pp. 198–199.
13. "Dumbartonshire". Belfast Commercial Chronicle. 7 August 1837. p. 2. Retrieved 18 August 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
14. Jenkins, Terry. "Dunbartonshire". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
15. Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832–1885 (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.
16. "Dumbartonshire Election". Stirling Observer. 12 August 1847. p. 3. Retrieved 18 August 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
17. "Banffshire Journal and General Advertiser". 12 April 1859. p. 3. Retrieved 11 September 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
18. "County of Dumbarton". Dundee Courier. 2 June 1865. p. 2. Retrieved 10 February 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
19. Debrett's House of Commons, 1870
20. "Representation of Dumbarton". Glasgow Evening Post. 1 January 1880. p. 4. Retrieved 25 November 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
21. Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench, 1889
22. Craig, FWS, ed. (1974). British Parliamentary Election Results: 1885–1918. London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 9781349022984.
23. Whitaker's Almanack, 1893
24. Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench, 1901
25. Whitaker's Almanack, 1907
26. Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench, 1916
27. Whitaker's Almanack, 1920
28. The Times, 17 November 1922
29. The Times, 8 December 1923
30. Oliver & Boyd's Edinburgh Almanac, 1927
31. The Times, 1 June 1929
32. Whitaker's Almanack, 1934
33. The Times, 16 November 1935
34. Whitaker's Almanack, 1939
35. Craig, F. W. S. (1983). British parliamentary election results 1918–1949 (3 ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.

• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "D" (part 4)