Roxburgh and Selkirk (UK Parliament constituency)

Roxburgh and Selkirk was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (Westminster) from 1918 to 1955. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post voting system.

Roxburgh and Selkirk
Former County constituency
for the House of Commons
1918–1955
Number of membersOne
Replaced byRoxburgh, Selkirk & Peebles
Created fromRoxburghshire
Peebles and Selkirk
Hawick Burghs

Boundaries

The constituency was created by the Representation of the People Act 1918, and first used in the 1918 general election, to cover the counties of Roxburgh and Selkirk.

At least nominally, the counties had been covered previously by the Roxburghshire and Peebles and Selkirk constituencies.

For the 1955 general election, as a result of the First Periodical Review of the Boundary Commission, the Roxburgh and Selkirk constituency was abolished and the Roxburgh, Selkirk and Peebles constituency was created, covering the counties of Roxburgh, Selkirk, and Peebles.

Members of Parliament
ElectionMemberPartyNotes
1918 Robert Munro, later Baron Alness Coalition Liberal
1922 Sir Thomas Henderson National Liberal
1923 Walter Montagu Douglas Scott, Earl of Dalkeith Unionist later Duke of Buccleuch & Queensberry
1935 Lord William Montagu Douglas Scott Unionist
1950 Archie Macdonald Liberal
1951 Charles Donaldson Unionist subsequently MP for Roxburgh, Selkirk & Peebles
1955 constituency abolished: see Roxburgh, Selkirk & Peebles

Election results

Election in the 1910s
Robert Munro
General election 1918: Roxburgh & Selkirk [1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
C Liberal Robert Munro 13,043 70.1
Labour Thomas Hamilton 5,574 29.9
Majority 7,469 40.2
Turnout 22,407 55.4
Liberal win (new seat)
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

Elections in the 1920s
Sir H. Grant
General election 1922: Roxburgh & Selkirk [2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
National Liberal Thomas Henderson 10,356 51.7 New
Liberal Alfred Hamilton Grant 9,698 48.3 -21.8
Majority 658 3.4 N/A
Turnout 20,054 60.9 +5.5
National Liberal gain from Liberal Swing N/A
General election 1923: Roxburgh & Selkirk [3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Walter Scott 11,258 43.1 New
Liberal Thomas Henderson 8,046 30.8 -17.5
Labour George Dallas 6,811 26.1 New
Majority 3,212 12.3 N/A
Turnout 26,115 78.2 +17.3
Unionist gain from Liberal Swing N/A
George Dallas
General election 1924: Roxburgh & Selkirk [4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Walter Scott 12,684 45.8 +2.7
Liberal John McIlroy Wylie 7,737 27.9 -2.9
Labour George Dallas 7,266 26.2 +0.1
Majority 4,947 17.9 +5.6
Turnout 27,687
Unionist hold Swing
General election 1929: Roxburgh & Selkirk [5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Walter Scott 13,510 38.0 -7.8
Liberal Arthur Robert McDougal 12,232 34.4 +6.5
Labour Robert Gibson 9,803 27.6 +1.4
Majority 1,278 3.6 -14.3
Turnout 35,545 78.5
Unionist hold Swing -7.2

Elections in the 1930s
General election 1931: Roxburgh & Selkirk[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Walter Scott 21,394 55.1 +17.1
Liberal David Edwin Keir 17,420 44.9 +10.5
Majority 3,974 10.2 +6.6
Turnout 38,814 84.4 +5.9
Unionist hold Swing
General election 1935: Roxburgh & Selkirk [7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Walter Scott 18,342 50.0 -5.1
Liberal Arthur Robert McDougal 12,264 33.4 -11.5
Labour James Alexander Cuthburt Thomson 6,099 16.6 New
Majority 6,078 16.6 +6.4
Turnout 36,705 78.0 -6.4
Unionist hold Swing +3.2

Elections in the 1940s

A General election was due to take place before the end of 1940, but was postponed due to the Second World War. By 1939, the following candidates had been selected to contest this constituency;

General election 1945: Roxburgh & Selkirk
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist William Scott 13,232 37.9 -12.1
Liberal Archie Macdonald 11,604 33.2 -0.2
Labour LP Thomas 10,107 28.9 +12.3
Majority 1,628 4.7 -11.9
Turnout 34,943 73.7 -4.3
Unionist hold Swing -6.0

Elections in the 1950s
General election 1950: Roxburgh & Selkirk
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Archie Macdonald 15,347 39.4 +6.2
Unionist William Scott 14,191 36.4 -1.5
Labour LP Thomas 9,413 24.2 -4.7
Majority 1,156 3.0 -N/A
Turnout 38,951 82.1 +8.4
Liberal gain from Unionist Swing +3.9
General election 1951: Roxburgh & Selkirk
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Charles Donaldson 16,438 40.6 +4.2
Liberal Archie Macdonald 15,609 38.6 -0.8
Labour Thomas White 8,395 20.8 -3.4
Majority 829 2.0 N/A
Turnout 40,442 84.9 +2.8
Unionist gain from Liberal Swing +2.5

References
  1. Whitaker's Almanack, 1920
  2. The Times, 17 November 1922
  3. The Times, 8 December 1923
  4. Oliver & Boyd's Edinburgh Almanack, 1927
  5. The Times, 1 June 1929
  6. Whitaker's Almanack, 1934
  7. Whitaker's Almanack, 1939

Sources
  • Craig, F. W. S. (1983) [1969]. British parliamentary election results 1918–1949 (3rd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.
  • Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "R" (part 2)
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