Elginshire and Nairnshire (UK Parliament constituency)

Elginshire and Nairnshire
Elginshire and Nairnshire
	Former County constituency; for the House of Commons
Subdivisions of Scotland	Elginshire and Nairnshire
1832–1918
Number of members	One
Replaced by	Moray & Nairn
Created from	Elginshire; Nairnshire

Elginshire and Nairnshire was a county constituency in Scotland. From 1832 to 1918, it returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first-past-the-post voting system.

Boundaries

The constituency was created in 1832 by the Scottish Reform Act 1832 by a merger of two former constituencies: Elginshire and Nairnshire. It extended to the counties of Elginshire and Nairnshire, with the exception of the burghs of Elgin, Nairn and Forres which were instead part of Inverness Burghs and Elgin Burghs.

It was replaced in 1918 by the new Moray and Nairn constituency, which included all of Elginshire and Nairnshire, including the burghs of Elgin, Nairn and Forres.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member [1]	Party
	1832	Francis Ogilvy-Grant	Tory
	1834	Francis Ogilvy-Grant	Conservative
	1840 by-election	Charles Cumming-Bruce	Conservative
	1868	James Ogilvy-Grant	Conservative
	1874	Alexander Duff	Liberal
	1879 by-election	Sir George Macpherson-Grant	Liberal
	1886	Charles Henry Anderson	Liberal
	1889 by-election	John Seymour Keay	Liberal
	1895	John Gordon	Conservative
	1906	Archibald Williamson	Liberal
1918		constituency abolished

Politics and history of the constituency

Prior to the 1832 Reform Act, Nairnshire was normally controlled by the Dukes of Argyll or Campbells, the number of voters varying between 15-30.[2] The Grants dominated Elginshire which had around 30 voters; both constituencies objected to the merger but without result.

The Act increased the electorate to about 650-700; after 1832, the seat was contested only once in 1841, returning a Conservative until the Liberals took the seat in 1874.

Elections

Elections in the 1830s

General election 1832: Elginshire and Nairnshire[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Tory	Francis Ogilvy-Grant	Unopposed
Registered electors			642
	Tory win (new seat)

General election 1835: Elginshire and Nairnshire[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Francis Ogilvy-Grant	Unopposed
Registered electors			690
	Conservative hold

General election 1837: Elginshire and Nairnshire[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Francis Ogilvy-Grant	Unopposed
Registered electors			727
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1840s

Ogilvy-Grant resigned by accepting the office of Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds, causing a by-election.

By-election, 25 April 1840: Elginshire and Nairnshire[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Charles Cumming-Bruce	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

General election 1841: Elginshire and Nairnshire[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Charles Cumming-Bruce	372	68.3	*N/A*
	Whig	Alexander Duff[4]	173	31.7	New
Majority			199	36.6	N/A
Turnout			545	72.7	N/A
Registered electors			750
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

General election 1847: Elginshire and Nairnshire[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Charles Cumming-Bruce	Unopposed
Registered electors			718
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1850s

General election 1852: Elginshire and Nairnshire[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Charles Cumming-Bruce	Unopposed
Registered electors			683
	Conservative hold

General election 1857: Elginshire and Nairnshire[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Charles Cumming-Bruce	Unopposed
Registered electors			870
	Conservative hold

General election 1859: Elginshire and Nairnshire[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Charles Cumming-Bruce	Unopposed
Registered electors			946
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1860s

General election 1865: Elginshire and Nairnshire[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Charles Cumming-Bruce	Unopposed
Registered electors			863
	Conservative hold

General election 1868: Elginshire and Nairnshire[3][5]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	James Ogilvy-Grant	Unopposed
Registered electors			1,580
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1870s

General election 1874: Elginshire and Nairnshire[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Alexander Duff	829	57.3	*New*
	Conservative	James Ogilvy-Grant	619	42.7	N/A
Majority			210	14.6	N/A
Turnout			1,448	85.5	N/A
Registered electors			1,693
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	N/A

Duff succeeded to the peerage, becoming Earl of Fife.

By-election, 18 Sep 1879: Elginshire and Nairnshire[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	George Macpherson-Grant	959	57.8	+0.5
	Conservative	Hugh Brodie [6]	701	42.2	−0.5
Majority			258	15.6	+1.0
Turnout			1,660	88.1	+2.6
Registered electors			1,884
	Liberal hold		Swing	+0.5

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: Elginshire and Nairnshire[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Liberal	George Macpherson-Grant	Unopposed
Registered electors			1,891
	Liberal hold

General election 1885: Elginshire and Nairnshire [7][8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	George Macpherson-Grant	1,612	35.0	*N/A*
	Conservative	Hugh Fife Ashley Brodie	1,556	33.8	New
	Independent Liberal	Charles Henry Anderson	1,435	31.2	New
Majority			56	1.2	N/A
Turnout			4,603	79.4	N/A
Registered electors			5,796
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

General election 1886: Elginshire and Nairnshire [7][8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Charles Henry Anderson	1,991	51.5	+16.5
	Liberal Unionist	George Macpherson-Grant	1,872	48.5	+14.7
Majority			119	3.0	+1.8
Turnout			3,863	66.6	−12.8
Registered electors			5,796
	Liberal hold		Swing	+0.9

Anderson's death caused a by-election.

1889 Elginshire and Nairnshire by-election [9][8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Seymour Keay	2,573	55.7	+4.2
	Liberal Unionist	Charles Bowman Logan	2,044	44.3	−4.2
Majority			529	11.4	+8.4
Turnout			4,617	79.0	+12.4
Registered electors			5,844
	Liberal hold		Swing	+4.2

Elections in the 1890s

Sir William Gull

General election 1892: Elginshire and Nairnshire [10][8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Seymour Keay	2,523	56.1	+4.6
	Liberal Unionist	Cameron Gull	1,978	43.9	−4.6
Majority			545	12.2	+9.2
Turnout			4,501	77.2	+10.6
Registered electors			5,830
	Liberal hold		Swing	+4.6

General election 1895: Elginshire and Nairnshire [11][8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Gordon	2,147	51.5	+7.6
	Liberal	John Seymour Keay	2,019	48.5	-7.6
Majority			128	3.0	N/A
Turnout			4,166	73.5	−3.7
Registered electors			5,669
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+7.6

Elections in the 1900s

General election 1900: Elginshire and Nairnshire [12][8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Gordon	2,334	51.9	+0.4
	Liberal	Archibald Williamson	2,159	48.1	−0.4
Majority			175	3.8	+0.8
Turnout			4,493	75.2	+1.7
Registered electors			5,974
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.4

A. Williamson

General election 1906: Elginshire and Nairnshire [13][8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Archibald Williamson	3,006	66.0	+17.9
	Conservative	Harry Hope	1,546	34.0	−17.9
Majority			1,460	32.0	N/A
Turnout			4,552	79.1	+3.9
Registered electors			5,757
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+17.9

Elections in the 1910s

General election Jan 1910: Elginshire and Nairnshire [14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Archibald Williamson	2,917	62.7	-3.3
	Conservative	Ralph Glyn	1,734	37.3	+3.3
Majority			1,183	25.4	-6.6
Turnout			4,651	80.9	+1.8
Registered electors			5,748
	Liberal hold		Swing	-3.3

General election Dec 1910: Elginshire and Nairnshire [14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Archibald Williamson	Unopposed
	Liberal hold

General Election 1914/15:

Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1915. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;

Liberal: Archibald Williamson
Unionist:

References

Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "E" (part 1)
Nairnshire. "The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1715-1754". History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (e-book) |format= requires |url= (help) (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.
"The Evening Chronicle". 12 July 1841. p. 2. Retrieved 18 August 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
Debrett's House of Commons, 1870.
"Moray and Nairn Election". Aberdeen Press and Journal. 11 September 1879. p. 5. Retrieved 29 December 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench, 1889
Craig, FWS, ed. (1974). British Parliamentary Election Results: 1885-1918. London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 9781349022984.
David Marquand, Ramsay MacDonald, (London: Richard Cohen Books), 1977, p. 22.
Whitaker's Almanack, 1893
Whitaker's Almanack, 1900
Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench, 1901
Whitaker's Almanack, 1907
Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench, 1916

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[1] Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "E" (part 1)

[2] Nairnshire. "The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1715-1754". History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 12 July 2018.

[craig1832-3] Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (e-book) |format= requires |url= (help) (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.

[4] "The Evening Chronicle". 12 July 1841. p. 2. Retrieved 18 August 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.

[5] Debrett's House of Commons, 1870.

[6] "Moray and Nairn Election". Aberdeen Press and Journal. 11 September 1879. p. 5. Retrieved 29 December 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.

[ReferenceA-7] Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench, 1889

[craig1885-8] Craig, FWS, ed. (1974). British Parliamentary Election Results: 1885-1918. London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 9781349022984.

[9] David Marquand, Ramsay MacDonald, (London: Richard Cohen Books), 1977, p. 22.

[10] Whitaker's Almanack, 1893

[11] Whitaker's Almanack, 1900

[12] Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench, 1901

[13] Whitaker's Almanack, 1907

[ReferenceB-14] Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench, 1916

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