Bute and Northern Ayrshire (UK Parliament constituency)

Bute and Northern Ayrshire
Former county constituency
for the House of Commons
Subdivisions of ScotlandButeshire, Ayrshire
1918–1983
SeatsOne
Created fromButeshire
North Ayrshire
Replaced byArgyll & Bute
Cunninghame North
Cunninghame South[1]

Bute and Northern Ayrshire was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1918 to 1983. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post voting system.

History

The constituency was formed by combining Buteshire (which historically included the islands of Arran, Great Cumbrae and Little Cumbrae) with part of North Ayrshire. The rest of Ayrshire North was merged into Kilmarnock.

In 1918 the constituency consisted of "The county of Bute, inclusive of all burghs, situated therein, and the county district of Northern Ayr, inclusive of all burghs situated therein except insofar as included in the Ayr District of Burghs".

In 1950 some of the constituency was transferred to the then new constituency of Central Ayrshire.

In 1983, Bute and Northern Ayrshire was divided between Argyll and Bute and Cunninghame North.

Boundaries

1918–1950: The county of Bute, and the county district of Northern Ayr, inclusive of all burghs therein except in so far as included in the Ayr District of Burghs.[2]

1950–1955: The county of Bute, the burghs of Ardrossan, Largs, and Saltcoats, and the district of Saltcoats.[3]

1955–1983: The county of Bute, the burghs of Ardrossan, Largs, Saltcoats, and Stevenston, and the district of Saltcoats.[4]

Members of Parliament

Election Member Party
1918 Sir Aylmer Hunter-Weston Unionist
1935 Sir Charles MacAndrew Unionist
1959 Sir Fitzroy Maclean Unionist
Feb 1974 John Corrie Conservative
1983 constituency abolished: see Argyll and Bute & Cunninghame North

Election results

Elections in the 1910s

Hunter-Weston
General election 1918: Bute & Northern Ayrshire [5][6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
C Unionist Aylmer Hunter-Weston 12,638 61.5
Labour Robert Smith 5,848 28.5
Liberal Hugh Fraser Campbell 2,059 10.0
Majority 6,790 33.0
Turnout 20,545 55.3
Registered electors 37,158
Unionist win (new seat)
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

Elections in the 1920s

General election 1922: Bute & Northern Ayrshire [7][6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Aylmer Hunter-Weston 14,368 60.6 −0.9
Labour John Paton 9,323 39.4 +10.9
Majority 5,045 21.2 −11.8
Turnout 23,691 59.5 +4.2
Registered electors 39,817
Unionist hold Swing −5.9
General election 1923: Bute & Northern Ayrshire [8][6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Aylmer Hunter-Weston 12,320 55.6 −5.0
Labour Peter Campbell Stephen 9,855 44.4 +5.0
Majority 2,465 11.2 −10.0
Turnout 22,175 55.9 −3.6
Registered electors 39,685
Unionist hold Swing −5.0
General election 1924: Bute & Northern Ayrshire [9][6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Aylmer Hunter-Weston 16,203 61.7 +6.1
Labour Peter Campbell Stephen 10,075 38.3 −6.1
Majority 6,128 23.4 +12.2
Turnout 26,278 65.6 +9.7
Registered electors 40,076
Unionist hold Swing +6.1
General election 1929: Bute and Northern Ayrshire[10][6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Aylmer Hunter-Weston 18,331 56.2 −5.5
Labour Alexander Sloan 14,294 43.8 +5.5
Majority 4,037 12.4 −11.0
Turnout 32,625 65.2 −0.4
Registered electors 50,032
Unionist hold Swing −5.5

Elections in the 1930s

General election 1931: Bute and Northern Ayrshire[11][6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Aylmer Hunter-Weston 24,467 70.5 +14.3
Ind. Labour Party Alexander Sloan 10,227 29.5 −14.3
Majority 14,240 41.0 +28.6
Turnout 34,694 67.9 +2.7
Registered electors 51,095
Unionist hold Swing
General election 1935: Bute and Northern Ayrshire [12][6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Charles MacAndrew 22,391 62.6 −7.9
Labour Maurice Shinwell 13,358 37.4 N/A
Majority 9,033 25.2 −15.8
Turnout 35,749 66.6 −1.3
Registered electors 53,682
Unionist 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 from 1939 and by the end of this year, the following candidates had been selected;

Elections in the 1940s

General election 1945: Bute and Northern Ayrshire [6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Charles MacAndrew 21,652 53.0 −9.6
Labour John Wheatley 19,209 47.0 +9.6
Majority 2,443 6.0 −19.2
Turnout 40,861 68.5 +1.9
Registered electors 59,657
Unionist hold Swing −9.6

Elections in the 1950s

General election 1950: Bute and North Ayrshire
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Charles MacAndrew 22,019 64.2 +11.2
Labour G Aitken 12,243 35.7 −11.3
Majority 9,776 28.5 +22.5
Turnout 34,262
Unionist hold Swing
General election 1951: Bute and North Ayrshire
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Charles MacAndrew 22,361 64.2 0.0
Labour Dickson Mabon 12,492 35.8 +0.1
Majority 9,869 28.4 −0.1
Turnout 34,853
Unionist hold Swing
General election 1955: Bute and North Ayrshire
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Charles MacAndrew 20,338 64.5 +0.3
Labour David Lambie 11,183 35.5 −0.3
Majority 9,155 29.0 +0.6
Turnout 31,521
Unionist hold Swing
General election 1959: Bute and North Ayrshire
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Fitzroy Maclean 20,270 62.4 −2.1
Labour David Lambie 12,218 37.6 +2.1
Majority 8,052 24.8 −4.2
Turnout 32,488
Unionist hold Swing

Elections in the 1960s

General election 1964: Bute and North Ayrshire
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Fitzroy Maclean 16,497 49.8 −12.6
Labour David Lambie 11,934 36.0 −1.6
Liberal Richard J. Gammon 4,671 14.1 New
Majority 4,563 13.8 −11.0
Turnout 33,102
Unionist hold Swing
General election 1966: Bute and North Ayrshire
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Fitzroy Maclean 16,138 48.7 −1.1
Labour David Lambie 13,482 40.7 +4.7
Liberal Robert P. Cochrane 3,539 10.7 −3.4
Majority 2,656 8.0 −5.8
Turnout 33,159 76.0
Conservative hold Swing −2.8

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1970: Bute and North Ayrshire
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Fitzroy Maclean 18,853 53.6 +4.9
Labour Hugh G. Millar 12,459 35.4 −5.3
SNP Peggy Macrae 3,852 10.9 New
Majority 6,394 18.2 +10.2
Turnout 35,164 73.0 −3.0
Conservative hold Swing +5.1
General election February 1974: Bute and North Ayrshire
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative John Corrie 17,166 45.7 −7.9
Labour Raymond D. Donnelly 10,436 27.8 −7.6
SNP John A. Murphy 6,104 16.3 +5.4
Liberal R. Stevenson 3,832 10.2 New
Majority 6,730 17.9 −0.3
Turnout 37,538 77.0 +4.0
Conservative hold Swing
General election October 1974: Bute and North Ayrshire [13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative John Corrie 13,599 38.9 −6.8
Labour J.N. Carson 10,093 28.9 +1.1
SNP John A. Murphy 9,055 25.9 +9.6
Liberal R. Stevenson 2,224 6.4 −3.8
Majority 3,506 10.0 −7.9
Turnout 34,971 71.3 −5.7
Conservative hold Swing
General election 1979: Bute and North Ayrshire
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative John Corrie 17,317 45.7 +6.8
Labour M.G. Smith 13,004 34.3 +5.4
SNP M. Brown 5,272 13.9 −12.0
Liberal P. Giffney 2,280 6.0 −0.4
Majority 4,313 11.4 +1.4
Turnout 37,873 75.8 +4.5
Conservative hold Swing

See also

References

  1. ^ "'Ayrshire North and Bute', Feb 1974 – May 1983". ElectionWeb Project. Cognitive Computing Limited. Archived from the original on 20 March 2016. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  2. ^ Fraser, Hugh (1918). The Representation of the People Act, 1918: with explanatory notes. London: Sweet and Maxwell.
  3. ^ "Representation of the People Act 1948: Schedule 1", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1948 c. 65 (sch. 1), retrieved 23 July 2023
  4. ^ "The Parliamentary Constituencies (Scotland) (Bute and North Ayrshire and Central Ayrshire) Order 1955. SI 1955/175". Statutory Instruments 1955. Part II. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office. 1956. pp. 2171–2174.
  5. ^ Whitaker's Almanack, 1920
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Craig, F.W.S., ed. (1969). British parliamentary election results 1918-1949. Glasgow: Political Reference Publications. p. 615. ISBN 0-900178-01-9.
  7. ^ The Times, 17 November 1922
  8. ^ The Times, 8 December 1923
  9. ^ Oliver & Boyd's Edinburgh Almanac, 1927
  10. ^ The Times, 1 June 1929
  11. ^ Whitaker's Almanack, 1934
  12. ^ Whitaker's Almanack, 1939
  13. ^ Whitaker's Almanack 1977