Forfar (UK Parliament constituency)

Forfarshire
Former County constituency
for the House of Commons
Subdivisions of Scotland Forfarshire
17081950
Number of members One
Replaced by North Angus & Mearns
South Angus
Created from Forfarshire

Forfarshire was a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of Great Britain of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1708 until 1800, and then in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom until 1950.

It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) using the first-past-the-post voting system.

Boundaries

The Representation of the People Act 1918 defined the constituency as consisting of the county of Forfar, except the county of the city of Dundee and the burghs of Montrose, Arbroath, Brechin, and Forfar. The four excepted burghs formed part of the Montrose District of Burghs.[1]

The county of Forfarshire was renamed Angus in 1928.[2] However, no change was made in the name of the constituency prior to its abolition.

Redistribution

The constituency was abolished under the Representation of the People Act 1948, which reorganised parliamentary boundaries throughout the United Kingdom. The seat was divided between North Angus and Mearns (which also included Kincardineshire) and South Angus.[3] The new constituencies were first contested in the 1950 general election.

Members of Parliament

Election Member [4] Party
1708 John Carnegie (expelled)
1716 by-election James Scott
1733 by-election Robert Scott
1734 Thomas Lyon, later Earl of Strathmore
1735 by-election William Maule, Earl Panmure (from 1743)
1782 by-election Archibald Douglas Tory
1790 David Scott
1796 by-election William Maule, later Baron Panmure
1796 Sir David Carnegie
1805 by-election William Maule, later Baron Panmure
1831 by-election Donald Ogilvy (Unseated on petition Jan 1832)
January 1832 Lord Douglas Gordon Hallyburton
1841 Lord John Frederick Gordon-Hallyburton
1852 Lauderdale Maule
1854 by-election Adam Duncan, Viscount Duncan, later Earl of Camperdown
1860 by-election Charles Carnegie Liberal
1872 by-election James William Barclay Liberal
1886 Liberal Unionist
1892 Sir John Rigby, QC Liberal
1894 Charles Maule Ramsay Conservative Liberal Unionist
1895 J. Martin White Liberal
1897 by-election John Sinclair, later Baron Pentland Liberal
1909 by-election James Falconer Liberal
1918 William Thomas Shaw Unionist
1922 James Falconer Liberal
1924 Sir Harry Hope Unionist
1931 William Thomas Shaw Unionist
1945 Simon Ramsay, later Earl of Dalhousie Unionist
1950 constituency abolished

Election results

Elections in the 1880s

At the 1880 General Election, James William Barclay was elected unopposed.[5]

General Election 1885: Forfarshire [6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal James William Barclay 6,157 76.9
Conservative William Alexander Lindsay 1,851 23.1
Majority 4,306 53.8
Turnout 71.3
Liberal hold Swing
General Election 1886: Forfarshire [6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal Unionist James William Barclay 3,839 52.8 n/a
Liberal David Charles Guthrie 3,432 47.2 -29.7
Majority 407 5.6 -48.2
Turnout 64.7
Liberal Unionist gain from Liberal Swing n/a

Elections in the 1890s

General Election 1892: Forfarshire [7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal John Rigby 4,943 54.8 +7.6
Liberal Unionist James William Barclay 4,077 45.2 -7.6
Majority 15.2
Turnout 79.8 +15.1
Liberal gain from Liberal Unionist Swing +7.6
Forfarshire by-election, 1894[8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Hon. Charles Maule Ramsay 5,145 51.4 +6.2
Liberal Henry Robson 4,859 48.6 -6.2
Majority 286 2.8
Turnout 83.3
Conservative gain from Liberal Swing +6.2
General Election 1895: Forfarshire [9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal James Martin White 5,159 52.2 +3.6
Conservative Hon. Charles Maule Ramsay 4,718 47.8 -3.6
Majority 441 4.4 7.2
Turnout 82.2 -1.1
Liberal gain from Liberal Unionist Swing +3.6
John Sinclair
Forfar by-election, 1897[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal John Sinclair 5,423 52.2 +0.0
Conservative Hon. Charles Maule Ramsay 4,965 47.8 -0.0
Majority 458 4.4 0.0
Turnout 85.1
Liberal hold Swing +0.0

Elections in the 1900s

General Election 1900: Forfarshire [9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal John Sinclair 4,962 51.3 -0.9
Conservative Hon. Charles Maule Ramsay 4,714 48.7 +0.9
Majority 248 2.6 -1.8
Turnout 78.6 -6.5
Liberal hold Swing -0.9
General Election 1906: Forfarshire [10]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal Rt Hon. John Sinclair 6,796 67.5 +16.2
Liberal Unionist J. Mackay Bernard 3,277 32.5 -16.2
Majority 3,519 35.0 +32.4
Turnout 79.7
Liberal hold Swing +16.2
James Falconer
Forfarshire by-election, 1909[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal James Falconer 6,422 61.8 -5.7
Conservative Robert Leslie Blackburn 3,970 38.2 +5.7
Majority 2,452 23.6 -11.4
Turnout 81.3
Liberal hold Swing -5.7

Elections in the 1910s

General Election January 1910: Forfarshire [12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal James Falconer 6,789 61.3
Conservative Robert Leslie Blackburn 4,284 38.7
Majority 2,505 21.4
Turnout
Liberal hold Swing
General Election December 1910: Forfarshire [12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal James Falconer 6,449 59.5 -1.8
Conservative James B Duncan 4,397 40.5 +1.8
Majority 2,052 19.0 -3.6
Turnout
Liberal hold Swing -1.8
General Election 1918[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Unionist Capt. William Thomas Shaw 5,697 52.4 +11.9
Liberal James Falconer 5,179 47.6 -11.9
Majority 518 4.8 23.8
Turnout 44.2
Unionist gain from Liberal Swing +11.9

Elections in the 1920s

General Election 1922[14]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal James Falconer 8,567 54.8 +7.2
Unionist William Thomas Shaw 7,071 45.2 -7.2
Majority 1,396 9.6 14.4
Turnout 65.0 +20.8
Liberal gain from Unionist Swing +7.2
General Election 1923[15]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal James Falconer 7,605 52.9 -1.9
Unionist William Thomas Shaw 6,758 47.1 +1.9
Majority 847 5.8 -3.8
Turnout 60.3 -4.7
Liberal hold Swing -1.9
General Election 1924[16]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Unionist Harry Hope 8,022 49.1
Liberal James Falconer 4,581 28.0
Labour Charles N. Gallie 3,736 22.9 n/a
Majority 3,441 21.1
Turnout 68.3
Unionist gain from Liberal Swing
General Election 1929: Forfarshire [17]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Unionist Harry Hope 8,852 42.2 -6.9
Liberal William Scott 6,901 32.8 +4.8
Labour Charles N. Gallie 5,257 25.0 +2.1
Majority 1,951 9.4 -11.7
Turnout 70.7 +2.4
Unionist hold Swing

Elections in the 1930s

General Election 1931[18]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Unionist William Thomas Shaw 13,912 61.4
Liberal William Scott 8,731 38.6
Majority 5,181 22.8
Turnout 75.2
Unionist hold Swing
General Election 1935[19]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Unionist William Thomas Shaw 13,505 60.2
Liberal William Scott 8,922 39.8
Majority 4,583 20.4
Turnout 71.5
Unionist hold Swing

Elections in the 1940s

General Election 1939/40:

Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1940. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place from 1939 and by the end of this year, the following candidates had been selected;

General Election 1945
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Unionist Hon. Simon Ramsay 13,615 51.6
Labour E Douglas 8,199 31.1
Liberal Charles Philip Fothergill 4,575 17.3
Majority 5,416 20.5
Turnout 69.1
Unionist hold Swing

References

  1. Representation of the People Act 1918, Ninth Schedule, Part II, Parliamentary Counties in Scotland
  2. "Angus - What's in a name". Angus Council. Retrieved 2008-03-19.
  3. Representation of the People Act 1948, First Schedule, Parliamentary Constituencies, Part III: Scotland
  4. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "F"
  5. The Times, April 1880.
  6. 1 2 Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench, 1889
  7. Whitaker's Almanack, 1893
  8. "Election Intelligence: Forfarshire". The Times. 20 November 1894. p. 6.
  9. 1 2 3 Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench
  10. Whitaker's Almanack, 1907
  11. The Times, 2 March 1909 p8
  12. 1 2 Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench illustrated with 500 armorial engravings (PDF). London: Dean & Son. 1918. p. 221. Retrieved 12 May 2009.
  13. Whitaker's Almanack, 1920
  14. The Times, 17 November 1922
  15. The Times, 8 December 1923
  16. Oliver & Boyd's Edinburgh Almanac, 1927
  17. The Times, 1 June 1929
  18. Whitaker's Almanack, 1934
  19. Whitaker's Almanack, 1939
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 8/11/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.