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Buteshire was a county 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.

Creation

The British parliamentary constituency was created in 1708 following the Acts of Union, 1707 and replaced the former Parliament of Scotland shire constituency of Buteshire.

History

From 1708 to 1832 Buteshire and Caithness were paired as alternating constituencies: one of the constituencies elected a Member of Parliament (MP) to one parliament, the other to the next. The areas which were covered by the two constituencies are quite remote from each other, Caithness in the northeast of Scotland and Buteshire in the southwest.

From 1832 to 1918, Buteshire was represented continuously by its own MP.

Boundaries

From 1708 to 1832, the Buteshire constituency covered the county of Bute (which historically included the islands of Arran, Great Cumbrae and Little Cumbrae) minus the parliamentary burgh of Rothesay, which was a component of the Ayr Burghs constituency. In 1832, Rothesay was merged into the Buteshire constituency.

By 1892, Bute had become a local government county and, throughout Scotland, under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889, county boundaries had been redefined for all purposes except parliamentary representation. 26 years were to elapse before constituency boundaries were redrawn, by the Representation of the People Act 1918, to take account of new local government boundaries.

In 1918, the Bute and Northern Ayrshire county constituency was created, to cover the county of Bute and a northern portion of the county of Ayr. The rest of the county of Ayr was divided between three other constituencies, all entirely within the county: the county constituencies of South Ayrshire and Kilmarnock, and a remodelled Ayr Burghs.

Members of Parliament

MPs 1708 to 1832

MPs 1832 to 1918

Election results

Elections in the 1830s

• Gain from Non Partisan at Caithness, which returned the 1826 MP as this seat's alternating pair

For the 1831 election, Caithness returned the MP.

• Considered a 'new seat' as the constituency did not elect an MP in 1831

Stuart resigned, causing a by-election.

Elections in the 1840s

Rae was appointed Lord Advocate, requiring a by-election.

Rae's death caused a by-election.

Stuart-Wortley was appointed Judge Advocate General of the Armed Forces, requiring a by-election.

Elections in the 1850s

Stuart-Wortley was appointed Solicitor General for England and Wales, requiring a by-election.

Elections in the 1860s

Mure's appointment as a Senator of the College of Justice, becoming Lord Mure, caused a by-election.

Elections in the 1870s

Elections in the 1880s

Russell was disqualified due to his holding of a government contract at the time of the election, causing a by-election.

Dalrymple was appointed a Lord Commissioner of the Treasury, requiring a by-election.

Robertson was appointed as Solicitor General for Scotland, requiring a by-election.

Elections in the 1890s

Elections in the 1900s

Elections in the 1910s

References

1. "Buteshire". History of Parliament Online (1690-1715). Retrieved 27 March 2019.
2. "Buteshire". History of Parliament Online (1715-1754). Retrieved 27 March 2019.
3. "Buteshire". History of Parliament Online (1754-1790). Retrieved 27 March 2019.
4. "Buteshire". History of Parliament Online (1790-1820). Retrieved 27 March 2019.
5. "Buteshire". History of Parliament Online (1820-1832). Retrieved 27 March 2019.
6. Marjoribanks,Roger (2014) "Edinburgh Portrait, Sir John Marjoribanks , Bart, MP (1763–1833)" The Book of the Edinburgh Club, Volume 10, Pp 151-156, ISBN 0-9517284-9-0
7. Escott, Margaret. "CRICHTON STUART, Lord Patrick James Herbert (1794-1859), of Rosemount, nr. Kilmarnock, Ayr and Cardiff Castle, Glam". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
8. ^ Stooks Smith, Henry (1842). The Register of Parliamentary Contested Elections: Containing the Uncontested Elections Since 1830. London: Simpkin, Marshall, & Co. pp. 197–198. Retrieved 8 May 2020 – via Google Books.
9. "Montrose, Arbroath, and Brechin Review". 23 July 1852. p. 3. Retrieved 11 September 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
10. Taylor, James (2013). Boardroom Scandal: The Criminalization of Company Fraud in Nineteenth-Century Britain. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 99. ISBN 978-0-19-969579-9. Retrieved 11 September 2018 – via Google Books.
11. Foot, M. R. D., ed. (1968). The Gladstone Diaries: Volume One: 1825 - 1832. Oxford: Clarendon Press. p. 586. ISBN 0-19-821370-0. Retrieved 11 September 2018 – via Google Books.
12. Fisher, David R. "Buteshire". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
13. ^ Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (e-book) (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.
14. "Northern Warder and General Advertiser for the Counties of Fife, Perth and Forfar". 13 July 1841. p. 4. Retrieved 18 August 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
15. Debrett's House of Commons, 1870
16. "To the Electors of the County of Bute". Greenock Telegraph and Clyde Shipping Gazette. 7 November 1868. p. 2. Retrieved 31 January 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
17. ^ Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench, 1889
18. ^ British Parliamentary Election Results 1885-1918, FWS Craig
19. The Liberal Year Book, 1908
20. "Representation of Buteshire". South Wales Echo. 6 October 1891. p. 3. Retrieved 16 December 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
21. Whitaker's Almanack, 1893
22. ^ Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench, 1901
23. Whitaker's Almanack, 1907
24. ^ Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench, 1916

Sources

• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "B" (part 6)

• Historic parliamentary constituencies in Scotland (Westminster)
• Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1708
• Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom disestablished in 1918
• Politics of the county of Bute
• Politics of Argyll and Bute