Combined Scottish Universities (UK Parliament constituency)

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Jump to: navigation, search
Combined Scottish Universities
Former University constituency
for the House of Commons
19181950
Number of members Three
Created from Glasgow & Aberdeen Universities
Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities

The Combined Scottish Universities was a university constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1918 until 1950. It was created by merging the constituencies of Glasgow and Aberdeen Universities and Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities.

Boundaries

The constituency was not a physical area but was rather elected by the graduates of the Scottish Universities of St Andrews, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen.

The constituency returned three Members of Parliament to Westminster, elected by Single Transferable Vote. The by-elections used the first past the post voting system.

This University constituency was created by the Representation of the People Act 1918 and abolished in 1950 by the Representation of the People Act 1948.

Members of Parliament

Election 1st Member 1st Party 2nd Member 2nd Party 3rd Member 3rd Party
1918 Sir William Cheyne Coalition Conservative Dugald McCoig Cowan Coalition Liberal Sir Henry Craik Coalition Conservative
1922 Sir George Berry Unionist Liberal Unionist
Apr 1927 John Buchan Unionist
1931 Noel Skelton Unionist
Mar 1934 George Alexander Morrison Liberal
Jun 1935 National Liberal Sir John Kerr Unionist
Jan 1936 Ramsay MacDonald National Labour
Feb 1938 Sir John Anderson National
Apr 1945 Sir John Boyd-Orr Independent
Nov 1946 Walter Elliot Unionist
1950 University constituencies abolished

Election results

Elections in the 1910s

Dugald Cowan
General Election, November 1918: Combined Scottish Universities [1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Green tickYSir William Watson Cheyne 3,719
Liberal Green tickYDugald McCoig Cowan 3,499
Unionist Green tickYSir Henry Craik 3,286
Labour Dr Peter Macdonald 1,581
Independent Prof William Robert Smith 850

Elections in the 1920s

General Election, November 1922: Combined Scottish Universities
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Sir George Andreas Berry unopposed
Liberal Dugald McCoig Cowan unopposed
Unionist Sir Henry Craik unopposed
General Election, December 1923: Combined Scottish Universities
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Sir George Andreas Berry unopposed
Liberal Dugald McCoig Cowan unopposed
Unionist Sir Henry Craik unopposed
General Election, 1924: Combined Scottish Universities [2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Sir Henry Craik 7,188
Liberal Dugald McCoig Cowan 5,011
Unionist Sir George Andreas Berry 3,781
Labour Rev John Martin Munro 1,639
Combined Scottish Universities by-election, 1927
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist John Buchan 16,963 87.7
Labour Hugh B. Guthrie 2,378 12.3
Majority 14,585 75.4
Turnout 19,341 55.1 +0.0
Unionist hold Swing
Combined Scottish Universities (3 seats) [3]
Party Candidate  % 1st Pref Count 1 Count 2
Unionist John Buchan 39.7 9,959  
Unionist Sir George Andreas Berry 22.9 5,755 9,262
Liberal Dugald McCoig Cowan 26.7 6,698
Labour James Kerr 10.7 2,691 2,867
Electorate: 43,192   Valid: 25,103   Quota:   Turnout:

Elections in the 1930s

General Election, October 1931: Combined Scottish Universities
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist John Buchan unopposed
Liberal Dugald McCoig Cowan unopposed
Unionist Archibald Noel Skelton unopposed
Combined Scottish Universities by-election, 1934
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal George Alexander Morrison 18,070 79.2
Labour Robert Gibson 4,750 20.8
Majority 13,320 58.4
Turnout 44.3
Liberal hold Swing
Combined Scottish Universities by-election, 1935
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Prof. John Graham Kerr 20,507 82.7 N/A
Labour Naomi Mary Margaret Mitchison 4,293 17.3 N/A
Majority 16,214 65.4 N/A
Turnout 24,800 48.1 N/A
Unionist hold Swing N/A
General Election, November 1935: Combined Scottish Universities [4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist John Graham Kerr 8,252
Liberal National George Alexander Morrison 7,529
Unionist Archibald Noel Skelton[5] 7,479
Independent Andrew Dewar Gibb 3,865
Combined Scottish Universities by-election, 1936
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
National Labour Rt Hon. James Ramsay MacDonald 16,393 56.5 N/A
SNP Andrew Dewar Gibb 9,034 31.1 +16.9
Labour David Cleghorn Thompson 3,597 12.4 N/A
Majority 7,359 37.4
Turnout 54.8 +3.6
National Labour gain from Unionist Swing N/A
Combined Scottish Universities by-election, 1938
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
National Independent Sir John Anderson 14,042 48.8 −7.7
Independent Frances H. Melville 5,618 19.5 N/A
SNP Andrew Dewar Gibb 5,246 18.2 −12.9
Independent Progressive Sir Peter Chalmers Mitchell 3,868 13.5 N/A
Majority 8,424 29.3 +3.9
Turnout 52.1 −2.7
National hold Swing

Elections in the 1940s

United Kingdom general election, 1945: Combined Scottish Universities
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
National Green tickYJohn Anderson 16,011 48.8
Independent Green tickYJohn Boyd Orr 10,685 32.6
Labour Halliday Gibson Sutherland 2,860 8.7
Liberal Ralph Somerville Weir 1,872 5.7
Unionist Green tickYJohn Graham Kerr 1,361 4.2
Turnout 32,789 51.6
National hold Swing N/A
Independent hold Swing N/A
Unionist hold Swing N/A
Combined Scottish Universities by-election, 1946
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Walter Elliot Elliot 22,152 68.2 +64.0
Labour Cyril Edwin Mitchinson Joad 3,731 11.5 +2.8
Liberal John MacDonald Bannerman 2,593 8.0 +2.3
Independent J. G. Jameson 2,080 6.4 N/A
Liberal National Dr R. S. Stevenson 1,938 5.9 N/A
Majority 18,421 56.7
Turnout 32,494 50.7 −0.9
Unionist gain from National Swing N/A

References

  1. Whitaker's Almanack, 1920
  2. Oliver and Boyd's Edinburgh Almanack, 1927
  3. The Times, 11 June 1929
  4. The Times, 26 November 1935
  5. Skelton died on 22 November, and his election has announced posthumously
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Constituency represented by the Chancellor of the Exchequer
1943–1945
Succeeded by
Bishop Auckland