Caithness (UK Parliament constituency)

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Caithness
Former County constituency
for the House of Commons
1708 (1708)–1918 (1918)
Replaced by Caithness and Sutherland

Caithness 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.

From 1708 to 1832 Caithness and Buteshire 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 Caithness was represented continuously by its own MP.

Contents

[edit] Boundaries

From 1708 to 1832, the Caithness constituency covered the county of Caithness minus the parliamentary burgh of Wick, which was a component of the Tain Burghs constituency. In 1832, Wick retained its status as a parliamentary burgh and became a component of the Wick Burghs constituency.

By 1892, Caithness 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 Caithness and Sutherland county constituency was created. The Caithness and Sutherland constituency was created to cover the county of Caithness and the county of Sutherland. The Wick Burghs constituency was abolished and two of its former components, Wick and Dornoch, were merged into the new Caithness and Sutherland constituency.

[edit] Members of Parliament

[edit] MPs 1708 to 1832

[edit] MPs 1832 to 1918

Election Member Party
1832 George Sinclair
1841 George Traill
1869 Sir John Sinclair, Bt Liberal
1885 Gavin Brown Clark Crofters' Party
1900 Leicester Harmsworth Liberal
1918 constituency abolished

[edit] Election results

General Election Dec 1910: Caithness-shire[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Robert Leicester Harmsworth 2,718
Conservative Archibald McLeod 87
General Election Jan 1910: Caithness-shire[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Robert Leicester Harmsworth 2,643
Liberal Unionist Laurence Hugh Strain 590
General Election 1906: Caithness-shire [2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Robert Leicester Harmsworth 2,686
Conservative Sir Keith Alexander Fraser Bt 483
General Election 1900: Caithness-shire [3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Robert Leicester Harmsworth 1,189
Conservative D.P. Henderson 1,161
Liberal Dr Gavin Brown Clark 673
Liberal F.C. Auld 141
General Election 1895: Caithness-shire [3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Dr Gavin Brown Clark 1,828
Liberal Unionist John Cowper 528
General Election 1892: Caithness-shire [4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Dr Gavin Brown Clark 2,134
Liberal Unionist Sir William James Bell 4693
General Election 1886: Caithness-shire [5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Gavin Brown Clark MD 2,034
Liberal Unionist Robert Niven 584
General Election 1885: Caithness-shire [5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Gavin Brown Clark MD 2,110
Liberal Clarence Granville Sinclair 1,218
By-election August 1869: Caithness-shire [6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Sir John Sinclair 432
Mr Traill[7] 360
General Election 1868: Caithness-shire [6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
George Traill 512
Major Horne 275

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench, 1916
  2. ^ Whitaker's Almanack, 1907
  3. ^ a b Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench, 1901
  4. ^ Whitaker's Almanack, 1893
  5. ^ a b Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench, 1889
  6. ^ a b Debrett's House of Commons, 1870
  7. ^ Nephew of a former member

[edit] Sources
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