Ayr Burghs (UK Parliament constituency)

Ayr Burghs
Former District of Burghs constituency
for the House of Commons
Subdivisions of Scotland Ayrshire, Argyllshire
1708–1950
Number of members One
Replaced by Ayr, Central Ayrshire, Bute and Northern Ayrshire
Created from Ayr, Campbeltown, Inveraray, Irvine, Rothesay

Ayr Burghs was a district of burghs constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1708 to 1800 and of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1950. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP), using the first-past-the-post voting system.

The list of parliamentary burghs represented by the constituency changed in 1832 and again in 1918:

When the Ayr Burghs constituency was abolished in 1950, the Ayr and Prestwick burghs were merged into the county constituency of Ayr. Ardrossan and Saltcoats were merged into Bute and Northern Ayrshire and Irvine and Troon were merged into Central Ayrshire.

Members of Parliament

Election Member [1] Party
1708 Hon. James Campbell
1710 Charles Oliphant
1720 by-election Thomas Kennedy
1721 by-election Duncan Forbes
1722 William Steuart
1734 James Stuart
1741 The Earl of Granard
1747 Charles Erskine
1749 by-election Sir Henry Erskine
1754 James Stuart-Mackenzie
1761 Lord Frederick Campbell
1761 by-election Alexander Wedderburn
1768 James Archibald Stuart
1774 Sir George Macartney
1776 by-election Frederick Stuart
1780 Archibald Edmonstone
1790 Charles Stuart
1794 by-election John Campbell of Liston Hall
1807 John Campbell of Shawfield and Islay
1809 by-election Duncan Campbell
1818 Thomas Francis Kennedy Whig
1834 by-election Lord Patrick James Herbert Crichton-Stuart
1852 Edward Henry John Craufurd Radical
1874 Sir William Montgomery-Cuninghame Conservative
1880 Richard Frederick Fotheringham Campbell Liberal
1888 by-election John Sinclair Liberal
1890 by-election James Somervell Conservative
1892 William Birkmyre Liberal
1895 Charles Lindsay Orr-Ewing Conservative
1904 by-election Joseph Dobbie Liberal
1906 Sir George Younger Conservative
1922 Sir John Baird Conservative
1925 Thomas Moore Conservative
1950 constituency abolished

Sir Thomas was elected, in 1950, as the first MP for the then new constituency of Ayr

Election results

Elections in the 1860s

General Election 1868: Ayr Burghs[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Edward Henry John Craufurd 1,116
James Anderson QC 1,025
Majority
Turnout
Liberal hold Swing

Elections in the 1880s

General Election 1880: Ayr Burghs [3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Richard Frederick Fotheringham Campbell 2,303
Conservative Sir William James Montgomery-Cuninghame 1,420
Majority
Turnout
Liberal hold Swing
General Election 1885: Ayr Burghs [4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Richard Frederick Fotheringham Campbell 2,460 53.7
Conservative William Malcolm Low 2,118 46.3
Majority 342 7.4
Turnout 84.0
Liberal hold Swing
General Election 1886: Ayr Burghs [4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Unionist Richard Frederick Fotheringham Campbell 2,673 64.1
Liberal John Sinclair 1,498 35.9
Majority 28.2
Turnout 76.5
Liberal Unionist gain from Liberal Swing
Ayr Burghs by-election, 1888[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal John Sinclair 2,321 50.6
Liberal Unionist Hon. Anthony Evelyn Melbourne Ashley 2,268 49.4
Majority 53 1.2
Turnout 84.1
Liberal gain from Liberal Unionist Swing

Elections in the 1890s

General Election 1892: Ayr Burghs [5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal William Birkmyre 2,760 50.1
Unionist James Somervell 2,753 49.9
Majority 7 0.2
Turnout 88.3
Liberal hold Swing
General Election 1895: Ayr Burghs [6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Charles Lindsay Orr-Ewing 3,057 52.9
Liberal William Birkmyre 2,722 47.1
Majority 335 5.8
Turnout 88.9
Conservative gain from Liberal Swing

Elections in the 1900s

General Election 1900: Ayr Burghs [7]

Electorate

Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Charles Lindsay Orr-Ewing 3,101 55.3
Liberal Edmond Charles Browne 2,511 44.7
Turnout 82.3
Majority 590 10.6
Conservative hold Swing
Ayr Burghs by-election, 1904[8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Joseph Dobbie 3,221 50.3 +5.6
Conservative George Younger 3,177 49.7 -5.6
Majority 44 0.6 11.2
Turnout 88.4 +2.1
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing +5.6
General Election 1906: Ayr Burghs [9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative George Younger 3,766 51.8
Liberal Joseph Dobbie 3,505 48.2
Turnout 90.5
Majority 261 3.6
Conservative gain from Liberal Swing

Elections in the 1910s

General Election Jan 1910: Ayr Burghs [10]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Sir George Younger 3,647 50.4
Liberal William Robertson 3,594 49.6
Majority 53 0.8
Turnout 89.8
Conservative hold Swing
General Election Dec 1910: Ayr Burghs [11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Sir George Younger 3,852 51.6
Liberal William Robertson 3,620 48.4
Majority 232 3.2
Turnout 90.7
Conservative hold Swing
General Election 1918: Ayr Burghs [12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist 9,565 49.1
Liberal Maj. Murdoch McKenzie Wood 5,410 27.7
Labour Campbell Stephen 4,534 23.2 n/a
Majority 4,155 21.4
Turnout 62.2
Unionist hold Swing

Elections in the 1920s

General Election 1922: Ayr Burghs [13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Rt Hon. Sir John Lawrence Baird 11,179 44.5 -4.6
Liberal Peter Wilson Raffan 7,402 29.5 +1.8
Labour John McDiarmid Airlie 6,533 26.0 +2.8
Majority 3,777 15.0 -6.4
Turnout 71.1 +8.9
Unionist hold Swing -3.2
General Election 1923: Ayr Burghs [14]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Rt Hon. Sir John Lawrence Baird 10,206 41.8 -2.7
Labour John McDiarmid Airlie 7,732 31.7 +5.7
Liberal William Henderson Pringle 6,467 26.5 -3.0
Majority 2,474 10.1 -4.9
Turnout 70.0 -1.1
Unionist hold Swing -4.2
Sir John Baird
General Election 1924: Ayr Burghs [15]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Rt Hon. Sir John Lawrence Baird 16,153 62.3
Labour John McDiarmid Airlie 9,787 37.7
Majority 6,366 24.6 +14.5
Turnout 73.5
Unionist hold Swing
Patrick Dollan
William Pringle
Ayr Burghs by-election, 1925[16]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Thomas Cecil Russell Moore 11,601 46.2
Labour Patrick Joseph Dollan 8,813 35.2
Liberal William Mather Rutherford Pringle 4,656 18.6
Majority 2,788 11.0
Turnout 71.0
Unionist hold Swing
General Election 1929: Ayr Burghs[17]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Thomas Cecil Russell Moore 16,874 45.9 -0.3
Labour Clarice McNab Shaw 13,429 36.5
Liberal Robert Lorimer 6,479 17.6
Majority 3,445 9.4
Turnout 74.8 +3.8
Unionist hold Swing

Elections in the 1930s

General Election 1931: Ayr Burghs[18]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Thomas Cecil Russell Moore 28,256 73.9 +
Labour Clarice McNab Shaw 9,974 26.1 -10.4
Majority 18,282 47.8
Turnout 38,230 76.9
Unionist hold Swing
General Election 1935: Ayr Burghs [19]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Sir Thomas Cecil Russell Moore 25,893 66.1
Labour Arthur Walker Brady 13,274 33.9
Majority 12,619 32.2
Turnout 39,167 73.0
Unionist hold Swing

Elections in the 1940s

General Election 1945: Ayr Burghs [20]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Sir Thomas Cecil Russell Moore 22,593 50.8
Labour William Ross 21,865 49.2
Majority 728 1.6
Turnout 71.5
Unionist hold Swing

References

  1. ↑ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "A" (part 3)
  2. ↑ Debrett's House of Commons, 1870
  3. ↑ The Times, 29 April 1880
  4. 1 2 3 Debrett's House of Commons and Judicial Bench, 1889
  5. ↑ Whitaker's Almanack, 1893
  6. ↑ Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench, 1901
  7. ↑ Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench, 1901
  8. ↑ British parliamentary election results 1885-1918 by Craig
  9. ↑ Whitaker's Almanack, 1907
  10. ↑ Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench, 1916
  11. ↑ Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench, 1916
  12. ↑ Whitaker's Almanack, 1920
  13. ↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
  14. ↑ The Times, 8 December 1923
  15. ↑ Oliver and Boyd's Edinburgh Almanack, 1927
  16. ↑ The Times, 13 June 1925
  17. ↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, F W S Craig
  18. ↑ Whitaker's Almanack, 1934
  19. ↑ Whitaker's Almanack, 1939
  20. ↑

See also

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