Leith Burghs (UK Parliament constituency)

Leith Burghs was a district of burghs constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1832 to 1918. The constituency represented the parliamentary burghs of Leith, Musselburgh and Portobello.

Leith Burghs
Former District of burghs constituency for the House of Commons
1832–1918
Number of members	One
Replaced by	Leith Edinburgh East
Created from	Edinburgh[1] and Midlothian[2]

In 1918 Leith was included in Leith, while Musselburgh and Portobello were merged into Edinburgh East.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member [3][4][5]	Party
	1832	John Murray	Whig[6]
	1839 by-election	Andrew Rutherfurd	Whig[6][7]
	1851 by-election	James Moncreiff	Whig[8]
	1859	Sir William Miller	Liberal
	1868	Robert Andrew Macfie	Liberal
	1874	Donald Robert Macgregor	Liberal
	1878	Andrew Grant	Liberal
	1885	William Jacks	Liberal
	1886		Liberal Unionist
	1886	William Ewart Gladstone	Liberal
	1886	Ronald Munro Ferguson	Liberal
	1914	George Welsh Currie	Unionist
	1918	constituency abolished

Election results

Decades:

1830s 1840s 1850s 1860s 1870s 1880s

Elections in the 1830s

General election 1832: Leith Burghs [4][6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	John Murray	Unopposed
Registered electors			1,624
	Whig win (new seat)

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

By-election, 2 June 1834: Leith Burghs [4][6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	John Murray	686	60.4
	Conservative	William Aitchison	449	39.6
Majority			237	20.8
Turnout			1,135	70.1
Registered electors			1,618
	Whig hold

General election 1835: Leith Burghs [4][6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	John Murray	Unopposed
Registered electors			1,838
	Whig hold

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

By-election, 8 May 1835: Leith Burghs [4][6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	John Murray	727	63.2
	Conservative	David Milne	423	36.8
Majority			304	26.4
Turnout			1,150	62.6
Registered electors			1,838
	Whig hold

General election 1837: Leith Burghs [4][6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	John Murray	Unopposed
Registered electors			2,171
	Whig hold

Murray resigned after being appointed as a Senator of the College of Justice, becoming Lord Murray and causing a by-election.

By-election, 29 April 1839: Leith Burghs [4][6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	Andrew Rutherfurd	Unopposed
	Whig hold

Elections in the 1840s

General election 1841: Leith Burghs [4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Andrew Rutherfurd	Unopposed
Registered electors			1,732
	Whig hold

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

By-election, 9 July 1846: Leith Burghs [4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Andrew Rutherfurd	Unopposed
	Whig hold

General election 1847: Leith Burghs [4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Andrew Rutherfurd	Unopposed
Registered electors			1,888
	Whig hold

Elections in the 1850s

Rutherfurd resigned upon being appointed as a Senator of the College of Justice, becoming Lord Rutherfurd and causing a by-election.

By-election, 14 April 1851: Leith Burghs[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	James Moncreiff	Unopposed
	Whig hold

General election 1852: Leith Burghs[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	James Moncreiff	643	61.2	N/A
	Conservative	Thomas Wingate Henderson[9]	407	38.8	New
Majority			236	22.4	N/A
Turnout			1,050	51.8	N/A
Registered electors			2,027
	Whig hold		Swing	N/A

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

By-election, 4 January 1853: Leith Burghs[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	James Moncreiff	Unopposed
	Whig hold

General election 1857: Leith Burghs[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	James Moncreiff	821	53.9	−7.3
	Whig	William Miller[10]	701	46.1	N/A
Majority			120	7.8	−14.6
Turnout			1,522	77.1	+25.3
Registered electors			1,973
	Whig hold		Swing	N/A

General election 1859: Leith Burghs[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	William Miller	904	54.8	+8.7
	Liberal	Robert Andrew Macfie	746	45.2	−8.7
Majority			158	9.6	+1.8
Turnout			1,650	77.1	0.0
Registered electors			2,139
	Liberal hold		Swing	+8.7

Elections in the 1860s

General election 1865: Leith Burghs [4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	William Miller	Unopposed
Registered electors			2,672
	Liberal hold

General election 1868: Leith Burghs [4][11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Robert Andrew Macfie	2,916	55.7	N/A
	Liberal	William Miller	2,319	44.3	N/A
Majority			597	11.4	N/A
Turnout			5,235	84.1	N/A
Registered electors			6,223
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1870s

General election 1874: Leith Burghs [4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Donald Robert Macgregor	4,489	69.8	+25.5
	Liberal	Robert Andrew Macfie	1,945	30.2	-25.5
Majority			2,544	39.6	+28.2
Turnout			6,434	78.0	-6.1
Registered electors			8,248
	Liberal hold		Swing

Macgregor's resignation caused a by-election.

By-election, 29 Jan 1878: Leith Burghs [4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Andrew Grant	4,929	73.4	N/A
	Conservative	Charles Welch Tennant[12]	1,788	26.6	New
Majority			3,141	46.8	+7.2
Turnout			6,717	69.0	−9.0
Registered electors			9,739
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: Leith Burghs [4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Andrew Grant	Unopposed
	Liberal hold

Jacks

General election 1885: Leith Burghs [5][13][14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	William Jacks	6,355	71.9	N/A
	Conservative	William David Thorburn	2,485	28.1	New
Majority			3,870	43.8	N/A
Turnout			8,840	75.0	N/A
Registered electors			11,779
	Liberal hold

Gladstone

General election 1886: Leith Burghs [5][13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	William Ewart Gladstone	Unopposed
	Liberal hold

Gladstone was also elected MP for Midlothian and opted to sit there, causing a by-election.

Ferguson

By-election, 20 Aug 1886: Leith Burghs [5][13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Ronald Munro Ferguson	4,204	58.1	N/A
	Independent Liberal Unionist	Donald Robert Macgregor	1,528	21.1	New
	Liberal Unionist	William Jacks	1,499	20.7	New
	Independent Liberal Unionist	Henry Munster	3	0.1	New
Majority			2,676	37.0	N/A
Turnout			7,234	61.4	N/A
Registered electors			11,779
	Liberal hold

Macgregor was supported by the local Conservative Association. Munster withdrew from the election after nominations had closed.

Elections in the 1890s

General election 1892: Leith Burghs [5][13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Ronald Munro Ferguson	5,738	58.4	N/A
	Liberal Unionist	William Alexander Bell	4,095	41.6	N/A
Majority			1,643	16.8	N/A
Turnout			9,833	74.5	N/A
Registered electors			13,198
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

Munro-Ferguson is appointed a Lord Commissioner of the Treasury, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 26 Mar 1894: Leith Burghs [5][13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Ronald Munro Ferguson	5,823	55.4	−3.0
	Liberal Unionist	William Alexander Bell	4,692	44.6	+3.0
Majority			1,131	10.8	−6.0
Turnout			10,515	76.8	+2.3
Registered electors			13,685
	Liberal hold		Swing	−3.0

General election 1895: Leith Burghs [5][13][15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Ronald Munro Ferguson	5,819	56.4	−2.0
	Liberal Unionist	John Wilson	4,494	43.6	+2.0
Majority			1,325	12.8	−4.0
Turnout			10,313	73.8	−0.7
Registered electors			13,982
	Liberal hold		Swing	−2.0

Elections in the 1900s

General election 1900: Leith Burghs [5][13][15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Ronald Munro Ferguson	6,043	53.6	−2.8
	Liberal Unionist	Edward Theodore Salvesen	5,226	46.4	+2.8
Majority			817	7.2	-5.6
Turnout			11,269	72.8	-1.0
Registered electors			15,484
	Liberal hold		Swing	−2.8

General election 1906: Leith Burghs [5][13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Ronald Munro Ferguson	7,677	61.2	+7.6
	Liberal Unionist	Frank Cooper (Scottish politician)	4,865	38.8	−7.6
Majority			2,802	22.4	+15.2
Turnout			12,542	73.9	+1.1
Registered electors			16,974
	Liberal hold		Swing	+7.6

Elections in the 1910s

General election January 1910: Leith Burghs [5][16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Ronald Munro Ferguson	7,146	49.6	-11.6
	Liberal Unionist	Robert Cranston	4,540	31.5	-7.3
	Labour	William Walker	2,724	18.9	New
Majority			2,606	18.1	-4.3
Turnout			14,410	83.0	+9.1
Registered electors			17,351
	Liberal hold		Swing	-2.1

Ferguson

General election December 1910: Leith Burghs [5][16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Ronald Munro Ferguson	7,069	57.2	+7.6
	Liberal Unionist	Frederick Alexander Macquisten	5,284	42.8	+11.3
Majority			1,785	14.4	+3.7
Turnout			12,353	68.7	-14.3
Registered electors
	Liberal hold		Swing	+1.9

Currie

1914 Leith Burghs by-election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	George Welsh Currie	5,159	37.8	−5.0
	Liberal	Malcolm Smith	5,143	37.7	−19.5
	Labour	Joseph Nicholas Bell	3,346	24.5	New
Majority			16	0.1	N/A
Turnout			13,648	77.1	+8.4
Registered electors
	Unionist gain from Liberal		Swing	+7.2

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;

• Unionist: George Welsh Currie
• Liberal: Daniel Macaulay Stevenson
• Labour: Joseph Nicholas Bell

See also

• District of burghs

References

1. Fisher, David R. "Edinburgh". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
2. Fisher, David R. "Edinburghshire". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
3. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "L" (part 2)
4. Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (e-book) |format= requires |url= (help) (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. pp. 554–555. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.
5. Craig, F. W. S. (1989) [1974]. British parliamentary election results 1885–1918 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 515. ISBN 0-900178-27-2.
6. Smith, Henry Stooks (1842). The Register of Parliamentary Contested Elections (Second ed.). Simpkin, Marshall & Company. pp. 206–207. Retrieved 2 September 2018 – via Google Books.
7. "Representation of Leith". Carlisle Journal. 27 April 1839. p. 2. Retrieved 2 September 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
8. "Nairnshire Mirror, and General Advertiser". 12 April 1851. p. 4. Retrieved 2 September 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
9. "The General Election". Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard. 17 April 1852. p. 2. Retrieved 2 September 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
10. "Scottish Election Movements". Inverness Courier. 19 March 1857. p. 6. Retrieved 2 September 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
11. Debrett's House of Commons, 1870
12. "Leith Nomination". Tyrone Constitution. 25 January 1878. p. 2. Retrieved 4 January 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
13. The Liberal Year Book, 1907
14. Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1886
15. Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1901
16. Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1916