Paisley (UK Parliament constituency)

Paisley
Former Burgh constituency for the House of Commons
Major settlements	Paisley
1832–1983
Number of members	One
Replaced by	Paisley North Paisley South

Paisley was a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1832 until 1983, when it was divided into Paisley North and Paisley South. These two constituencies were in turn amalgamated into Paisley and Renfrewshire South and Paisley and Renfrewshire North in 2005.

Boundaries

The constituency covered the burgh of Paisley.

The boundaries of the constituency, as set out in the Representation of the People (Scotland) Act 1832, were-

"From the Summit of Byres Hill, on the North-east of the Town, in a straight Line to the Point near Knock Hill at which the Renfrew Road is joined by a Road from Glasgow; thence in a straight Line to the Summit of Knock Hill; thence in a straight Line to the Northern Gable of the Moss Toll House on the Greenock Road; thence in a straight Line in the Direction of the Chimney of Linwood Cotton Mill to the Point at which such straight Line cuts the Candren Burn; thence up the Candren Burn to the Point at which the same is joined by the Braidiland Burn at the Bridge over the same on the Johnstone Road; thence up the Braidiland Burn to a Point which is distant Five hundred Yards (measured along the Braidiland Burn) above the said Bridge; thence in a straight Line to Meikleridge Bridge over the Candren Burn; thence in a straight Line to the Point at which the old Neilston Road leaves the new Neilston Road; thence in a straight Line to the Summit of Dykebar Hill; thence in a straight Line to a Point which is One hundred Yards due North-east of the Summit of Bathgo Hill; thence in a straight Line to the Point first described."^[1]

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party
	1832	Sir John Maxwell
	1834 by-election	Sir Daniel Keyte Sandford
	1835	Alexander Graham Speirs	Radical
	1836 by-election	Archibald Hastie	Radical
	1857 by-election	Humphrey Ewing Crum-Ewing	Liberal
	1874	William Holms	Liberal
	1884 by-election	Stewart Clark	Liberal
	1885	William Boyle Barbour	Liberal
	1891 by-election	Sir William Dunn	Liberal
	1906	Sir John Mills McCallum	Liberal
	1920 by-election	Herbert Henry Asquith	Liberal
	1924	Edward Rosslyn Mitchell	Labour
	1929	James Welsh	Labour
	1931	Joseph Maclay	Liberal
	1945	Viscount Corvedale	Labour
	1948 by-election	Douglas Johnston	Labour
	1961 by-election	John Robertson	Labour
	1976		Scottish Labour Party (1976)
	1979	Allen Adams	Labour
1983		constituency abolished

Election results

Elections in the 1860s

General Election 1868: Paisley[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Humphrey Ewing Crum-Ewing	1,576
		Col. Campbell	921
		Archibald Kintrea	421
Majority
Turnout
	Liberal hold		Swing

Elections in the 1880s

Paisley by-election, 1884
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Stewart Clark	3,049	62.8
	Conservative	Lord Ernest Hamilton	1,806	37.2
Majority			1,243
Turnout
	Liberal hold		Swing

General Election 1885: Paisley[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	William Boyle Barbour	3,390	57.3	-5.5
	Conservative	Robert Mure McKerrell	2,523	42.7	+5.5
Majority			867
Turnout
	Liberal hold		Swing

General Election 1886: Paisley[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	William Boyle Barbour	3,057	55.1	-2.2
	Liberal Unionist	James Parker Smith	2,491	44.9	+2.2
Majority			566
Turnout
	Liberal hold		Swing

Elections in the 1890s

Paisley by-election, 1891[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	William Dunn	4,145	59.6	+4.5
	Conservative	Robert Mure McKerrell	2,807	40.4	-4.5
Majority			1,338
Turnout
	Liberal hold		Swing

General Election 1892: Paisley[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	William Dunn	4,262	63.6	+4
	Liberal Unionist	Christopher N Johnston	2,441	36.4	-4
Majority			1,821
Turnout
	Liberal hold		Swing

General Election 1895: Paisley[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Sir William Dunn	4,404	59.0	-4.6
	Conservative	Alexander Moffat	3,063	41.0	+4.6
Majority			1,342
Turnout
	Liberal hold		Swing

Elections in the 1900s

Sir William Dunn

General Election 1900: Paisley[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Sir William Dunn	4,532	56.6	-2.4
	Conservative	George Sitwell Campbell Swinton	3,474	43.4	+2.4
Majority			1,058
Turnout
	Liberal hold		Swing

Robert Smillie

General Election 1906: Paisley[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Mills McCallum	5,664	52.7	-3.9
	Liberal Unionist	James Anderson Dunlop MacKean	2,594	24.2	-19.2
	Scottish Workers	Robert Smillie	2,482	23.1	N/A
Majority			3,070
Turnout
	Liberal hold		Swing

Elections in the 1910s

General Election January 1910: Paisley[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Mills McCallum	6,812	63.7	+11
	Conservative	Duncan Frederick Campbell	3,890	36.3	+12.1
Majority			2,922
Turnout
	Liberal hold		Swing

General Election December 1910: Paisley[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Mills McCallum	6,039	64.3	+0.6
	Liberal Unionist	Alfred Roger Jephcott	3,350	35.7	-0.6
Majority			2,689
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: Sir John Mills McCallum
• Unionist:

General Election 1918: Paisley[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Sir John Mills McCallum	7,542	34.0	-30.3
	Co-operative Party	John McLaren Biggar	7,436	33.5	N/A
	National Democratic	John Taylor	7,201	32.5	N/A
Majority			106
Turnout
	Liberal hold		Swing

• No candidate was officially endorsed by the Coalition Government

Elections in the 1920s

Paisley by-election, 1920[13]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Rt Hon. Herbert Henry Asquith	14,736	48.4	+14.4
	Co-operative Party	John McLaren Biggar	11,902	39.1	+5.6
	Unionist	James Anderson Dunlop MacKean	3,795	12.5	N/A
Majority			2,834
Turnout
	Liberal hold		Swing

General Election 1922:Paisley [14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Rt Hon. Herbert Henry Asquith	15,005	50.5	+2.1
	Labour	John McLaren Biggar	14,689	49.5	+10.4
Majority			316	1.0	-9.3
Turnout
	Liberal hold		Swing	-4.1

General Election 1923: Paisley [15]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Rt Hon. Herbert Henry Asquith	9,723	33.4	-17.1
	Labour	John McLaren Biggar	7,977	27.4	-22.1
	Unionist	Archibald Douglas MacInnes Shaw	7,758	26.6	N/A
	Independent Labour	D.D. Cormack	3,685	12.6	n/a
Majority			1,746	6.0
Turnout
	Liberal hold		Swing	+2.5

Rosslyn Mitchell

General Election 1924: Paisley [16]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Edward Rosslyn Mitchell	17,057	53.5	+26.1
	Liberal	Rt Hon. Herbert Henry Asquith	14,829	46.5	+13.1
Majority			2,228
Turnout
	Labour gain from Liberal		Swing

General Election 1929: Paisley[17]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	James C. Welsh	22,425	55.8	+2.3
	Liberal	James McCulloch	10,640	26.5	-20.0
	Unionist	Miss Minna Galbraith Cowan	7,094	17.7	n/a
Majority			11,785	29.3
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1930s

General Election 1931: Paisley [18]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Hon. Joseph Paton Maclay	26,187	61.8	+35.3
	Labour	James C. Welsh	16,183	38.2	-17.6
Majority			10,004	23.6
Turnout				79.4
	Liberal gain from Labour		Swing

General Election 1935: Paisley [19]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Hon. Joseph Paton Maclay	22,466	50.4	-11.4
	Labour	Oliver Ridsdale Baldwin	22,077	49.6	+11.4
Majority			389	0.9
Turnout			44,543	79.7
	Liberal hold		Swing

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 and by the Autumn of 1939, the following candidates had been selected;

• Liberal National: Hon. Joseph Paton Maclay
• Labour: Oliver Ridsdale Baldwin, Viscount Corvedale^[20]

Election in the 1940s

General Election 1945: Paisley[21]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Oliver Ridsdale Baldwin, Viscount Corvedale	25,156	55.6	+6
	Unionist	Lt. Thomas Galloway Dunlop Galbraith	14,826	32.7	N/A
	Liberal	Lady Louise Glen-Coats	4,532	10.0	-40.4
	Independent	Capt. Allan Richard Eagles	765	1.7	N/A
Majority			10,330	22.8
Turnout				74.1
	Labour gain from Liberal		Swing

Elections in the 1950s

General Election 1950: Paisley[22][23][24]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Douglas Harold Johnston	29,204	56.12	+0.5
	Unionist	H Black	19,001	36.52	+4.2
	Liberal	Vaughan M Shaw	3,830	7.36	-2.6
Majority			10,203	19.61	-3.2
Turnout			52,035	84.10	+10.0
Registered electors			61,874
	Labour hold		Swing	-1.85

General Election 1951: Paisley[22][25][26]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Douglas Harold Johnston	29,570	55.37	-0.75
	Unionist	John F Wilson	16,545	30.98	-5.54
	Liberal	Vaughan M Shaw	7,291	13.65	+6.29
Majority			13,025	24.39	+4.78
Turnout			53,406	84.40	+0.30
Registered electors			63,281
	Labour hold		Swing	+2.40

General Election 1955: Paisley[22][27][28]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Douglas Harold Johnston	26,723	56.41	+1.04
	Unionist	Robert D Kernohan	20,725	43.59	+12.61
Majority			6,098	12.82	-11.57
Turnout			47,548	76.23	-8.17
Registered electors			62,376
	Labour hold		Swing	-5.79

General Election 1959: Paisley[22][29][30]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Douglas Harold Johnston	28,519	57.30	+0.89
	Unionist	Geoffrey R Rickman	21,250	42.70	-0.89
Majority			7,269	14.61	+1.79
Turnout			49,769	78.88	+2.65
Registered electors			63,097
	Labour hold		Swing	+0.89

Election in the 1960s

Paisley by-election, 1961[22]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John Robertson	19,200	45.3	-12.0
	Liberal	John MacDonald Bannerman	17,542	41.4	N/A
	Unionist	Geoffrey R. Rickman	5,597	13.1	-29.6
Majority			1,658	3.9	-10.7
Turnout			42,339	68.1	=10.8
	Labour hold		Swing	-26.7

General Election 1964: Paisley[22][31][32]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John Robertson	26,318	52.91	-4.39
	Liberal	John MacDonald Bannerman	16,837	33.85	N/A
	Unionist	Maurice Crichton	6,583	13.24	-29.46
Majority			9,481	19.06	+4.45
Turnout			49,738	79.79	+0.91
Registered electors			62,336
	Labour hold		Swing	-19.12

General Election 1966: Paisley[22][33][34]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John Robertson	28,074	59.97	+7.06
	Conservative	Maurice Crichton	10,871	23.22	+9.98
	Liberal	Vaughan M Shaw	7,871	16.81	-17.04
Majority			17,203	36.75	+17.69
Turnout			46,816	76.29	-3.50
Registered electors			61,363
	Labour hold		Swing	-1.46

Elections in the 1970s

General Election 1970: Paisley[35]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John Robertson	25,429	54.09
	Conservative	John Cooperwhite Workman	15,232	32.40
	SNP	Margo MacDonald	3,432	7.30
	Liberal	Alan Sked	2,918	6.21
Majority			10,197	21.69
Turnout			47,011	71.44
	Labour hold		Swing

General Election, February 1974: Paisley[36][37]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John Robertson	23,820	48.42	-5.67
	Conservative	John Cooperwhite Workman	14,923	30.33	-2.07
	SNP	David Robert Rollo	10,455	21.25	+13.95
Majority			8,897	18.08	-3.61
Turnout			49,198	75.16	+3.72
	Labour hold		Swing

General Election, October 1974: Paisley[36][38]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John Robertson	21,368	44.79	-3.62
	SNP	David Robert Rollo	15,778	33.08	+11.83
	Conservative	Ian Robertson	7,440	15.60	-14.74
	Liberal	Donald Thompson	3,116	6.53
Majority			5,590	11.72	-6.36
Turnout			47,702	72.21	-2.95
	Labour hold		Swing	-7.72

General Election, 1979: Paisley[36][39]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Allender Steele Adams	25,894	55.79	+10.99
	Conservative	George Wills	12,139	26.15	+10.56
	SNP	David Robert Rollo	7,305	15.74	-17.34
	Independent Labour	Brian Monaghan	811	1.75
	Communist	June Janette Tait	145	0.31
	Workers Revolutionary	Thomas White	122	0.26
Majority			13,755	29.63	+17.91
Turnout			46,416	72.79	+0.58
	Labour hold		Swing	+0.22

References

1. Representation of the People (Scotland) Act 1832, Schedule (M).
2. Debrett's House of Commons, 1870
3. British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)
4. British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)
5. British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)
6. British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)
7. British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)
8. British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)
9. British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)
10. British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)
11. British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)
12. British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
13. British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
14. British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
15. British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
16. British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
17. British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
18. Whitaker's Almanack, 1934
19. Whitaker's Almanack, 1939
20. Report of the Annual Conference of the Labour Party, 1939
21. British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
22. F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1950-1973; Political Reference Publications, Glasgow 1973
23. Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1950". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
25. Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1951". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
27. Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1955". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
29. Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1959". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
31. Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1964". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
33. Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1966". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
35. Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1970". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
36. "'Paisley', Feb 1974 - May 1983". ElectionWeb Project. Cognitive Computing Limited. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
37. Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results February 1974". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
38. Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results October 1974". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
39. Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1979". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 23 March 2016.

• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "P" (part 1)