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 Election Member Party1708 Dugald Stewart 1710 John Montgomerie 1710 none1713 John Campbell, later Duke of Argyll Whig 1715 none1722 Patrick Campbell1727 none1734 Patrick Campbell1741 none1747 James Stuart-Mackenzie 1754 none1761 James Stuart I1762 Henry Wauchope 1768 none1774 James Stuart II (later Stuart-Wortley-Mackenzie)1780 none1784 James Stuart II 1790 none1796 Frederick Stuart 1802 none1806 James Stuart-Wortley-Mackenzie 1807 none1812 John MarjoribanksMarjoribanks, Roger (2014) "Edinburgh Portrait, Sir John Marjoribanks, Bart, MP (1763–1833)" The Book of the Edinburgh Club, Volume 10, Pp 151–156, 1818 none1820 Lord Patrick Crichton-Stuart Whig1826 none1830 Sir William Rae, 3rd Baronet Tory1831 none

MPs 1832 to 1918 Election Member Party1832 Charles Stuart Conservative 1833 by-election Sir William Rae Conservative1842 by-election James Stuart-Wortley Conservative 1852 Peelite1859 David Mure Conservative1865 by-election George Boyle Conservative1865 James Lamont Liberal1868 Charles Dalrymple Conservative1880 Thomas Russell Liberal1880 by-election Charles Dalrymple Conservative1885 James Robertson Conservative1891 by-election Andrew Murray Conservative1905 Norman Lamont LiberalJanuary 1910 Sir Harry Hope Conservative 1918 constituency abolished

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

Sources