Scottish representatives to the first Parliament of Great Britain

"Member for Scotland" redirects here; not to be confused with Duncan McLaren.

The Scottish representatives to the first Parliament of Great Britain, serving from 1 May 1707 to 26 May 1708, were not elected like their colleagues from England and Wales, but rather hand-picked.

The forty five men sent to London in 1707, to the House of Commons of the 1st Parliament of Great Britain, were co-opted from the Commissioners of the newly adjourned Parliament of Scotland (see List of Constituencies in the Parliament of Scotland at the time of the Union).

Legal background to the composition of the 1st Parliament

Under the Treaty of Union of the Two Kingdoms of England and Scotland it was provided:

"III. THAT the United Kingdom of Great Britain be Represented by one and the same Parliament to be stiled the Parliament of Great Britain.

...

XXII. THAT ... A Writ do issue ... Directed to the Privy Council of Scotland, Commanding them to Cause ... forty five Members to be elected to sit in the House of Commons of the Parliament of Great Britain ... in such manner as by a subsequent Act of the present session of the Parliament of Scotland shall be settled ... And that ... the members of the House of Commons of the said Parliament of England and the forty five Members for Scotland ... shall be ... the first Parliament of Great Britain ..."

The Parliament of Scotland duly passed an Act settling the manner of electing the sixteen peers and forty five commoners to represent Scotland in the initial Parliament of Great Britain. A special provision for the 1st Parliament of Great Britain was "that the Sixteen Peers and Forty five Commissioners for Shires and Burghs shall be chosen by the Peers, Barrons and Burghs respectively in this present session of Parliament and out of the members thereof in the same manner that Committees of Parliament are usually now chosen shall be the members of the respective Houses of the said first Parliament of Great Britain for and on the part of Scotland ..."

The Kingdom of Great Britain came into existence on 1 May 1707.

Dates of the Parliament

Election: The members of the last House of Commons of England had been elected between 7 May 1705 and 6 June 1705. The last general election in pre-Union Scotland was in 1703.

First meeting and maximum legal term: Parliament first met on 23 October 1707. The Parliament was due to expire, if not sooner dissolved, at the end of the term of three years from the first meeting of the last Parliament of England, which would have been on 14 June 1708.

Dissolution: The 1st Parliament of Great Britain was dissolved on 3 April 1708.

Selection of Members from Scotland

Scotland was entitled to 45 Members in the new House of Commons. The Scottish legislation prescribed the constituencies from which the Members of the Commons from Scotland were in future to be elected. These constituencies were first used in the election of 1708 to the 2nd Parliament.

Of the 45 Members returned to the Parliament of Great Britain, 30 were Shire Commissioners and 15 were Burgh Commissioners.

Members of Parliament returned for Scotland (1707–1708)

Name	Birth	Death	Former constituency	Party
Abercromby, AlexanderAlexander Abercromby	1678	1729	Banffshire	Court
Dalrymple, DavidThe Hon. Sir David Dalrymple, 1st Bt	c. 1665	1721	Culross	Court
Dalrymple, WilliamThe Hon. William Dalrymple	1678	1744	Ayrshire	Court
KerrSir William Kerr, 3rd Bt		1716	Roxburghshire	Squadrone
MackenzieThe Hon. Sir Kenneth Mackenzie, 3rd Bt	c. 1658	1728	Cromartyshire	Court
Rose, HughHugh Rose	1663	1732	Nairnshire	Court
Scott, JamesJames Scott	1671	1732	Montrose	Court
Maitland, The Hon. AlexanderThe Hon. Alexander Maitland		1721	Inverbervie	Court
Seton, WilliamWilliam Seton	1673	1744	Aberdeenshire	Court (Squadrone?)
Allardice, Sir GeorgeSir George Allardice	1672	1709	Kintore	Court
Douglas, AlexanderSir Alexander Douglas		1718	Orkney and Shetland	Court
Moncrieff, PatrickPatrick Moncrieff	c. 1674	1709	Kinghorn	Court
Smollett, Sir JamesSir James Smollett	c. 1648	1731	Dumbarton	Court
Baillie, GeorgeGeorge Baillie	1664	1738	Lanarkshire	Squadrone
Douglas, ArchibaldArchibald Douglas	c. 1667	1741	Roxburghshire	Court
Montgomerie, FrancisThe Hon. Francis Montgomerie		by 1729	Ayrshire	Court
Stewart, The Hon. JohnThe Hon. John Stewart	after 1670	1748	Wigtownshire	Court
Bennet, WilliamWilliam Bennet		1729	Roxburghshire	Court
Graham, MungoMungo Graham	1670	1754	Perthshire	Squadrone
Montgomerie, HughHugh Montgomerie	c. 1663	1735	Glasgow	Court (Anti-Union)
Swinton, Sir JohnSir John Swinton	before 1662	1723	Berwickshire	Court
Bruce, JohnJohn Bruce		1711	Kinross-shire	Squadrone
Grant, AlexanderAlexander Grant	after 1673	1719	Inverness-shire	Court
Morison, WilliamWilliam Morison	1663	1739	Peeblesshire	Court
Burnett, 3rd Bt, Sir ThomasSir Thomas Burnett, 3rd Bt	after 1656	1714	Kincardineshire	Court
Haldane, JohnJohn Haldane	1660	1721	Perthshire	Squadrone
Murray, JohnJohn Murray	c. 1667	1714	Selkirkshire	Court
Campbell, DanielDaniel Campbell	c. 1672	1753	Inveraray	Court
Halkett, 1st Bt, Sir PeterSir Peter Halkett, 1st Bt	c. 1660	1746	Dunfermline	Squadrone
Nisbet, WilliamWilliam Nisbet	c. 1666	1724	Haddingtonshire	Squadrone
Campbell, JamesSir James Campbell, 5th Bt	c. 1679	1756	Argyllshire	Court
Halyburton, JamesJames Halyburton		by 1755	Forfarshire	Squadrone
Ogilvy, The Hon. PatrickThe Hon. Patrick Ogilvy	1665	1737	Cullen	Court
Campbell, JamesJames Campbell	c. 1666	1752	Argyllshire	Court
Hume, The Hon. Sir AndrewThe Hon. Sir Andrew Hume	1676	1730	Kirkcudbright	Squadrone
Pollock, 1st Bt, Sir RobertSir Robert Pollock, 1st Bt	c. 1665	1735	Renfrewshire	Court
Campbell, JohnThe Hon. John Campbell	c. 1660	1729	Argyllshire	Court
Johnstone, JohnSir John Johnstone, 1st Bt		1711	Dumfriesshire	Court
Pringle, JohnJohn Pringle	c. 1674	1754	Selkirkshire	Court
Clerk, JohnJohn Clerk	1676	1755	Whithorn	Court
Johnstone, PatrickSir Patrick Johnstone		1736	Edinburgh	Court
Ramsay, 4th Bt, Sir DavidSir David Ramsay, 4th Bt	after 1673	1710	Kincardineshire	Independent (Anti-Union)
Cockburn, JohnJohn Cockburn	c. 1679	1758	Haddingtonshire	Squadrone
Erskine, 3rd Bt, Sir JohnSir John Erskine, 3rd Bt	1672	1739	Burntisland	Squadrone
Erskine, JohnJohn Erskine	1660	1733	Stirling	Court

References

• Scotland in The History of Parliament 1690-1715, 2002. (this list does not include the Erskines uncle and nephew)
• Leigh Rayment, The House of Commons, Constituencies beginning with "S". Accessed 13 November 2011.