Falkirk Burghs (UK Parliament constituency)

Falkirk Burghs
Former District of Burghs constituency for the House of Commons
Major settlements	Falkirk, Airdrie, Hamilton, Lanark and Linlithgow
1832–1918
Number of members	One
Replaced by	Stirling & Falkirk Burghs, Hamilton, Lanark and Linlithgowshire

Falkirk Burghs was a district of burghs constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1832 to 1918. The constituency comprised the burghs of Falkirk, Airdrie, Hamilton, Lanark and Linlithgow, lying in Stirlingshire, Lanarkshire and Linlithgowshire.

In 1918, Falkirk became part of Stirling and Falkirk Burghs, Hamilton and Lanark formed the core of new Hamilton and Lanark constituencies, and Linlithgow was represented as part of Linlithgowshire.

Member of Parliament

Election		Member [1]	Party[2]
	1832	William Downe Gillon	Liberal[3]
	1841	William Baird	Conservative
	1846 by-election	Henry Pelham Clinton, Earl of Lincoln, later Duke of Newcastle	Conservative
	1851 by-election	James Baird	Conservative
	1857	James Merry	Liberal[3]
	1857 by-election	John Glencairn Carter Hamilton, later Baron Hamilton of Dalzell	Liberal[3]
	1859	James Merry	Liberal
	1874	John Ramsay	Liberal
	1886	William Pirrie Sinclair	Liberal Unionist Party
	1892	Harry Smith	Liberal
	1895	John Wilson	Liberal Unionist Party
	1906	John Archibald Murray Macdonald	Liberal
1918		constituency abolished

Elections

Elections in the 1860s

General Election 1868: Falkirk Burghs [2][4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	James Merry	1,724
	Liberal	Rt. Hon. Edward Horsman	16
Majority
Turnout
	Liberal hold		Swing

Elections in the 1880s

J.G. Weir

General Election 1885: Falkirk Burghs [5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Ramsay	3,104	50.6
	Conservative	Samuel Dick Mason	2,204	35.9
	Independent Liberal	James Galloway Weir	814	13.3
	Independent Liberal	John Roskill	14	0.2
Majority			900	14.7
Turnout				85.9
	Liberal hold		Swing

General Election 1886: Falkirk Burghs [5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Unionist	William Pirrie Sinclair	2,713	50.2
	Liberal	Harry Smith	2,693	49.8
Majority			19	0.4
Turnout				75.7
	Liberal Unionist gain from Liberal		Swing

Elections in the 1890s

General Election 1892: Falkirk Burghs [6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Harry Smith	3,816	54.6	+4.8
	Liberal Unionist	William Pirrie Sinclair	3,177	45.4	-4.8
Majority			639	9.2	+9.6
Turnout				83.1
	Liberal gain from Liberal Unionist		Swing	+4.8

General Election 1895: Falkirk Burghs [7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Unionist	John Wilson	4,075	51.6	+6.2
	Liberal	Harry Smith	3,822	48.4	-6.2
Majority			253	3.2
Turnout				84.3	+1.2
	Liberal Unionist gain from Liberal		Swing	+6.2

Elections in the 1900s

General Election 1900: Falkirk Burghs [7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Unionist	John Wilson	4,222	51.2	-0.4
	Liberal	John Archibald Murray Macdonald	4,022	48.8	+0.4
Majority			200	2.4	-0.8
Turnout				79.4
	Liberal Unionist hold		Swing	-0.4

J. Macdonald

General Election 1906: Falkirk Burghs[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Archibald Murray Macdonald	5,158	51.0	+2.2
	Conservative	Henry Shanks Keith	3,176	31.5	-9.7
	Scottish Workers	David Gilmour	1,763	17.5	n/a
Majority			1,982	19.5
Turnout				83.7	+4.3
	Liberal gain from Liberal Unionist		Swing

Elections in the 1910s

General Election Jan 1910: Falkirk Burghs [9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Archibald Murray Macdonald	6,524	59.9	+8.9
	Conservative	Henry Shanks Keith	4,375	40.1	+8.6
Majority			2,149	19.8	+0.3
Turnout				84.6
	Liberal hold		Swing	+0.2

General Election Dec 1910: Falkirk Burghs [9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Archibald Murray Macdonald	6,276
	Conservative	Daniel Henderson Lusk Young	4,245
Majority
Turnout
	Liberal hold		Swing

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 the July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;

• Liberal: John Archibald Murray Macdonald
• Unionist: Sir James Robertson Wilson
• British Socialist Party:

Notes and references

1. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "F"
2. Craig, F. W. S. (1989) [1977]. British parliamentary election results 1832–1885 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 544. ISBN 0-900178-26-4.
3. Note: Craig does not distinguish between Whigs, Radicals, and Liberals, labellling them all as "Liberal"
4. Debrett's House of Commons and Judicial Bench, 1870
5. Debrett's House of Commons and Judicial Bench, 1889
6. Whitaker's Almanack, 1893
7. Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench, 1901
8. Whitaker's Almanack, 1907
9. Debrett's House of Commons and Judicial Bench, 1916