Leith (UK Parliament constituency)
Leith | |
---|---|
Formerburgh constituency for theHouse of Commons | |
Subdivisions of Scotland | City of Edinburgh(from 1920) |
Major settlements | Leith |
1918–1950 | |
Seats | One |
Created from | Leith Burghs |
Replaced by | Edinburgh Leith |
Leithwas aburgh constituencyof theHouse of Commonsof theParliament of the United Kingdomfrom 1918 to 1950. The constituency elected oneMember of Parliament(MP) by thefirst past the postsystem ofelection.
There was also an earlierLeith Burghsconstituency, 1832 to 1918, and a laterEdinburgh Leithconstituency, 1950 to 1997.
Boundaries
[edit]The Leith constituency was created under theRepresentation of the People Act 1918,and first used in the1918 general election,to cover theburghofLeith,in thecounty of Midlothian.[1]The burgh was previously within theLeith Burghsconstituency.
1918 boundaries were used also in thegeneral electionsof1922,1923,1924,1929,1931,1935and1945.
The burgh was merged into theCity of Edinburghin 1920, and for the1950 general election,under theHouse of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) Act 1949,theEdinburgh Leithconstituency was created as one of seven constituencies covering the city and the Midlothian burgh ofMusselburgh.[1]
Members of Parliament
[edit]Election | Member[2] | Party | |
---|---|---|---|
1918 | William Wedgwood Benn | Liberal | |
1927 by-election | Ernest Brown | Liberal | |
1931 | National Liberal | ||
1945 | James Hutchison Hoy,subsequently MP forEdinburgh Leith | Labour |
Election results
[edit]Elections in the 1910s
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/2/2c/George_Currie.jpg/120px-George_Currie.jpg)
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | William Wedgwood Benn | 10,338 | 46.6 | ||
C | Unionist | George Welsh Currie | 7,613 | 34.3 | |
Labour | Stanley Burgess | 4,251 | 19.1 | ||
Majority | 2,725 | 12.3 | |||
Turnout | 22,202 | 52.2 | |||
Registered electors | 42,507 | ||||
Liberalwin(new seat) | |||||
Cindicatescandidate endorsed by the coalition government. |
Elections in the 1920s
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/6/64/Captain_Wedgwood_Benn.png/120px-Captain_Wedgwood_Benn.png)
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | William Wedgwood Benn | 13,971 | 50.1 | +3.5 | |
Unionist | Alexander Munro MacRobert | 7,372 | 26.4 | −7.9 | |
Labour | Robert Freeman Wilson | 6,567 | 23.5 | +4.4 | |
Majority | 6,599 | 23.7 | +11.4 | ||
Turnout | 27,910 | 71.5 | +19.3 | ||
Registered electors | 39,048 | ||||
Liberalhold | Swing | +5.7 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | William Wedgwood Benn | 15,004 | 64.5 | +14.4 | |
Labour | Robert Freeman Wilson | 8,267 | 35.5 | +12.0 | |
Majority | 6,737 | 29.0 | +5.3 | ||
Turnout | 23,271 | 59.1 | −12.4 | ||
Registered electors | 39,385 | ||||
Liberalhold | Swing | +1.2 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | William Wedgwood Benn | 16,569 | 59.6 | −4.9 | |
Labour | Robert Freeman Wilson | 11,250 | 40.4 | +4.9 | |
Majority | 5,319 | 19.2 | −9.8 | ||
Turnout | 27,819 | 70.5 | +11.4 | ||
Liberalhold | Swing | −4.9 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Ernest Brown | 12,461 | 42.3 | −17.3 | |
Labour | Robert Freeman Wilson | 12,350 | 42.0 | +1.6 | |
Unionist | Allan Beaton | 4,607 | 15.7 | New | |
Majority | 111 | 0.3 | −18.9 | ||
Turnout | 29,418 | 73.9 | +3.4 | ||
Registered electors | 39,795 | ||||
Liberalhold | Swing | −9.5 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Ernest Brown | 20,613 | 56.7 | −2.9 | |
Labour | Alan H Paton | 15,715 | 43.3 | +2.9 | |
Majority | 4,898 | 13.4 | −5.8 | ||
Turnout | 36,328 | 71.5 | +1.0 | ||
Registered electors | 50,801 | ||||
Liberalhold | Swing | −2.9 |
- change and swing from 1924
Elections in the 1930s
[edit]Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
National Liberal | Ernest Brown | 24,847 | 65.0 | N/A | |
Labour | Arthur Woodburn | 13,400 | 35.0 | −8.3 | |
Majority | 11,447 | 30.0 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 38,247 | 75.0 | +3.5 | ||
National LiberalgainfromLiberal | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
National Liberal | Ernest Brown | 18,888 | 57.7 | −7.3 | |
Labour | David Cleghorn Thomson | 13,818 | 42.2 | +7.2 | |
Majority | 5,070 | 15.5 | −14.5 | ||
Turnout | 32,706 | 65.5 | −9.5 | ||
National Liberalhold | Swing | -7.3 |
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;
- Liberal National:Ernest Brown
- Labour:James Hoy
Elections in the 1940s
[edit]Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | James Hoy | 19,571 | 60.8 | +18.6 | |
National Liberal | Ernest Brown | 10,116 | 31.4 | −26.3 | |
Protestant Action | John Cormack | 2,493 | 7.8 | New | |
Majority | 9,455 | 29.4 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 32,180 | 69.3 | +3.8 | ||
LabourgainfromNational Liberal | Swing | +22.4 |
See also
[edit]Notes and references
[edit]- ^abAs perBoundaries of Parliamentary Constituencies 1885-1972(ISBN0-900178-09-4),F. W. S. Craig,1972
- ^Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "L" (part 2)
- ^Whitaker's Almanack, 1920
- ^British Parliamentary Election Results 1918–1949, FWS Craig
- ^The Times, 8 December 1923
- ^Oliver & Boyd's Edinburgh Almanack, 1924
- ^The Times, 25 March 1927
- ^Whitaker's Almanack, 1934
- ^Whitaker's Almanack, 1939