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December 1910 United Kingdom general election in Scotland

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December 1910 United Kingdom general election in Scotland
← Jan 1910
3-19 December 1910
1918 →
All 72 Scottish seats to the House of Commons
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader H. H. Asquith Arthur Balfour George Barnes
Party Liberal Conservative and Liberal Unionist Labour
Last election 58 11[a] 2
Seats won 58 11[a] 3
Seat change Steady Steady Increase 1
Popular vote 306,378 244,785[a] 24,633
Percentage 53.6% 42.6%[a] 3.6%
Swing Decrease 0.6% Increase 3.0%[a] Decrease 1.5%
Results of the December 1910 election in Scotland for the county and burgh seats
  Liberal
  Conservative
  Liberal Unionist
  Labour
Main article: December 1910 United Kingdom general election

A general election was held in the United Kingdom over the period of 3-19 December 1910,[b] and members were returned for all 72 seats in Scotland. The election was held less than a year after the January general election in which the Liberals and the Irish Parliamentary Party gained a majority in the House of Commons. The Liberal government called the election in order to gain a mandate for the Parliament Act 1911, which would prevent the House of Lords from permanently blocking legislation linked to money bills ever again, and to obtain King George V's agreement to threaten to create sufficient Liberal peers to pass that act (in the event this did not prove necessary, as the Lords voted to curtail their own powers).[2] The election saw little change in the political make-up of Scotland, with no party registering a net change of more than a single seat.

Scotland was allocated 72 seats in total, with 70 territorial seats, comprising 32 burgh constituencies and 37 county constituencies.[c] There were also two university constituencies, Glasgow and Aberdeen Universities and Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities. As voters in university constituencies voted in addition to their territorial vote, the results are compiled separately.

All of the three main party leaders had Scottish links: Liberal leader Asquith had represented East Fife since 1886;[3] Tory leader Arthur Balfour was born in East Lothian;[4] whilst Labour leader George Barnes was born in Dundee and also represented the seat of Glasgow Blackfriars and Hutchesontown.[3]

Results

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Seats summary

[edit]
Party Seats Last Election Seats change
  Liberal 58 58 Steady
  Conservative and Liberal Unionist (Total) 11 11 Steady
  Conservative 8 8 Steady
  Liberal Unionist 3 3 Steady
  Labour 3 2 Increase 1
  Other 0 1 Decrease 1
Total 72 72 Steady

Burgh & County constituencies

[edit]
Party Seats[5] Seats change Votes[5] % % Change
  Liberal 58 Steady 306,378 53.6 Decrease 0.6
  Conservative and Liberal Unionist[a] 9 Steady 244,785 42.6 Increase 3.0
  Labour Party 3 Increase 1 24,633 3.6 Decrease 1.5
  Other 0 Decrease 1 1,947 0.2 Decrease 0.9
Total 70 577,743 100.0
Turnout: 81.8[6] Decrease 2.9

University constituencies

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The two university constituencies each elected an additional member to the house. In this election both seats were uncontested, with the sitting members being returned unopposed.

General election December 1910: Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities[7][3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Unionist Robert Finlay Unopposed
Liberal Unionist hold
General election December 1910: Glasgow and Aberdeen Universities[7][3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Henry Craik Unopposed
Conservative hold

Votes summary

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Popular vote
Liberal
 
 53.6%
Conservative and Liberal Unionist[a]
 
 42.6%
Labour
 
 3.6%
Other
 
 0.2%
Parliamentary seats
Liberal
 
 79.2%
Conservative and Liberal Unionist[a]
 
 16.7%
Labour
 
 4.2%

Notes

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h The seat and vote count figures given here combines the Conservatives and the Liberal Unionists.
  2. ^ This was the last general election to be held over several days[1]
  3. ^ One burgh seat, Dundee, was represented by two members of parliament.

References

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  1. ^ "General Election Dates 1832–2005" (PDF), parliament.uk
  2. ^ Somervell, D. C. (1936), The Reign of King George V
  3. ^ a b c d Craig, FWS, ed. (1974). British Parliamentary Election Results: 1885-1918. London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 9781349022984.
  4. ^ Mackay, Ruddock; Mathew, H. C. G. "Balfour, Arthur James, first earl of Balfour (1848–1930)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/30553. (Subscription, Wikipedia Library access or UK public library membership required.)
  5. ^ a b Colin Rallings; Micheal Thrasher (2006). British Electoral Facts. Total Politics. p. 19. ISBN 978-1-907278-03-7.
  6. ^ Colin Rallings; Micheal Thrasher (2006). British Electoral Facts. Total Politics. p. 88. ISBN 978-1-907278-03-7.
  7. ^ a b Debrett's House of Commons and Judicial Bench, 1916
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