Kincardineshire (UK Parliament constituency)

Kincardineshire
Former County constituency for the House of Commons
Subdivisions of Scotland	Kincardineshire
1708–1918
Number of members	One
Replaced by	Kincardine & Western Aberdeenshire
Created from	Kincardineshire

Kincardineshire was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1708 to 1801 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1918. It was represented by one Member of Parliament (MP).

The first election to a Parliament of Great Britain was in 1708. In 1707-08 members of the 1702-1707 Parliament of Scotland were co-opted to serve in the 1st Parliament of Great Britain. See Scottish representatives to the 1st Parliament of Great Britain, for further details.

The constituency represented the county of Kincardineshre.

In 1918 the area was combined with part of Western Aberdeenshire to form the Kincardine and Western Aberdeenshire constituency.

Boundaries

Kincardineshire was a Scottish shire (later known as a county), which had previously been represented by two commissioners in the former Parliament of Scotland. The constituency included the whole shire, except for the Royal burgh of Inverbervie which formed part of the Aberdeen Burghs constituency.

Members of Parliament

• 1689-1702 Hon Alexander Arbuthnot (Parliament of Scotland)
• Constituency created (1708)

Year		Member	Party
	1708	Sir David Ramsay, Bt
	1710	Sir Alexander Ramsay, Bt
	1713	James Scott
	1734	John Falconer
	1741	Sir James Carnegie, Bt
	1765	Sir Alexander Ramsay-Irvine, 6th Bt
	1768	Robert Rickart Hepburn
	1774	Lord Adam Gordon
	1788	Robert Barclay Allardice
	1797	Sir John Wishart Belches
	1806	William Adam
	1812	George Harley Drummond
	1820	Sir Alexander Ramsay, Bt
	1826	Sir Hugh Arbuthnot
	1865	James Dyce Nicol
	1872	Sir George Balfour	Liberal
	1892	John William Crombie	Liberal
	1908	Arthur Cecil Murray	Liberal

• Constituency abolished (1918)

Elections

Elections in the 1880s

General Election 1885: Kincardineshire[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Sir George Balfour	3,160	71.4
	Conservative	David Scott Porteous	1,267	28.6
Majority			1,893	42.8
Turnout				79.3
	Liberal hold		Swing

General Election 1886: Kincardineshire[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Sir George Balfour	unopposed	n/a	n/a
	Liberal hold		Swing	n/a

Elections in the 1890s

John Crombie

General Election 1892: Kincardineshire[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John William Crombie	2,444	64.0	n/a
	Independent Liberal	Johnston Stephen	1,376	36.0	n/a
Majority			1,068	28.0	n/a
Turnout				66.8	n/a
	Liberal hold		Swing	n/a

• some sources describe him as a Liberal Unionist

General Election 1895: Kincardineshire[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John William Crombie	2,603	56.1
	Conservative	Hon. Charles John Robert Hepburn-Stuart-Forbes-Trefusis	2,040	43.9
Majority			563	12.2
Turnout				78.7
	Liberal hold		Swing

Elections in the 1900s

General Election 1900: Kincardineshire[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John William Crombie	3,092	66.8
	Conservative	James Mowat	1,536	33.2
Majority			1,556	33.6
Turnout				72.2	-6.5
	Liberal hold		Swing

General Election 1906: Kincardineshire[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John William Crombie	3,877	71.8
	Conservative	Sydney James Gammell	1,524	28.2
Majority			2,353	43.6
Turnout				76.4
	Liberal hold		Swing

Arthur Murray

Kincardineshire by-election, 1908[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Arthur Cecil Murray	3,661	65.1	-6.7
	Conservative	Sydney James Gammell	1,963	34.9	+6.7
Majority			1,698	30.2	-13.4
Turnout				79.0	+2.6
	Liberal hold		Swing	-6.7

Elections in the 1910s

General Election January 1910: Kincardineshire[8][9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Arthur Cecil Murray	3,926	67.5	+2.4
	Conservative	Robert Barclay Pearson	1,891	32.5	-2.4
Majority			2,035	35.0	+4.8
Turnout				81.0
	Liberal hold		Swing	+2.4

General Election December 1910: Kincardineshire[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Arthur Cecil Murray	unopposed	n/a	n/a
	Liberal hold		Swing	n/a

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: Arthur Cecil Murray
• Unionist: Sidney Herbert

See also

• Former United Kingdom Parliament constituencies

References

1. Debrett's House of Commons and Judicial Bench, 1889
2. Debrett's House of Commons and Judicial Bench, 1889
3. Whitaker's Almanack 1893
4. Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench, 1901
5. Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench, 1901
6. Whitaker's Almanack 1907
7. The Times House of Commons 1910; Politico's Publishing 2004 p100
8. The Times House of Commons 1910; Politico's Publishing 2004 p100
9. Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench, 1916
10. The Times House of Commons, 1911; Politico's Publishing 2004, p110

• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "K" (part 2)