Inverness (UK Parliament constituency)

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Inverness
County constituency
Created: 1918
Abolished: 1983
Type: House of Commons
Members: one

Inverness was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1918 until 1983. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.

There was also a a county constituency called Inverness-shire, 1708 to 1918, and a burgh constituency called Inverness Burghs, 1708 to 1918.

Contents

[edit] Boundaries

The earlier Inverness-shire constituency covered, nominally, the county of Inverness minus the burgh of Inverness, which was a part of the Inverness Burghs constituency. By 1918, however, county boundaries were out of alignment with constituency boundaries.

In 1918, the Representation of the People Act 1918 created new constituency boundaries, taking account of new local government boundaries, and the new constituency boundaries were first used in the 1918 general election.

The new Inverness constituency included the burgh of Inverness and was one of three constituencies covering the county or Inverness and the county of Ross and Cromarty. The other two were the Ross and Cromarty constituency and the Western Isles constituency.[1]

The Inverness constituency covered the county of Inverness minus Outer Hebridean areas (the districts of Harris, North Uist and South Uist), which were covered by the Western Isles constituency.

The same boundaries were used in the general elections of 1922, 1923, 1924, 1929, 1931, 1935, 1945, 1950, 1951, 1955, 1959, 1964, 1966, 1970, February 1974, October 1974 and 1979.

In 1975, counties and burghs were abolished as local government areas, under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, and from 1975 until 1983, the Inverness constituency was entirely within the Highland local government region.

For the 1983 general election, new boundaries defined three new constituencies to cover the region: Inverness, Nairn and Lochaber, Ross, Cromarty and Skye and Caithness and Sutherland. Each of the new constituencies covered a number of the districts of the region. The Caithness and Sutherland constituency carried forward the name of an older constituency.

[edit] Members of Parliament

Election Member Party Notes
1918 Thomas Brash Morison Coalition Liberal Previously MP for Inverness-shire
1922 by-election Sir Murdoch Macdonald Coalition Liberal
1922 National Liberal
1922 Liberal
1931 National Liberal
1950 Lord Malcolm Douglas-Hamilton Unionist
1954 by-election Neil McLean Unionist
1964 Russell Johnston Liberal Subsequently MP for Inverness, Nairn and Lochaber
1983 constituency abolished

[edit] Election results

UK General Election, 1979: Inverness
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Russell Johnston 15,716 33.74 +1.35
Conservative R Hunter-Gordon 11,559 24.82 +2.81
Scottish National Party D Barr 9,603 20.62 −8.97
Labour B D H Wilson 9,586 20.58 +4.96
Fine Gael U Bell 112 0.24 −0.14
Majority 4,157 8.93 +6.13
Turnout 46,576 74.44 −3.98
Liberal hold Swing
UK General Election, October 1974: Inverness
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Russell Johnston 13,128 32.39 −6.33
Scottish National Party D Barr 11,994 29.59 +12.96
Conservative R E Henderson 8,922 22.01 −4.74
Labour J W L Cumming 6,332 15.62 −2.28
Fine Gael U Bell 155 0.38 N/A
Majority 1,134 2.80 −9.16
Turnout 40,531 70.46 −5.64
Liberal hold Swing
UK General Election, February 1974: Inverness
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Russell Johnston 16,903 38.72 +0.37
Conservative R E Henderson 11,680 26.75 −4.79
Labour D J Cameron 7,816 17.90 −5.13
Scottish National Party R M Gibson 7,258 16.63 +9.54
Majority 5,223 11.96 +5.15
Turnout 43,657 76.10 +3.82
Liberal hold Swing
UK General Election, 1970: Inverness
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Russell Johnston 15,052 38.35 −1.10
Conservative D A Wathen 12,378 31.54 −1.33
Labour D Macauley 9,038 23.03 −4.64
Scottish National Party A C Cameron 2,781 7.09 N/A
Majority 2,674 6.81 +0.23
Turnout 39,248 72.28 +0.17
Liberal hold Swing
UK General Election, 1966: Inverness
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Russell Johnston 14,356 39.45 −0.38
Conservative D A Wathen 11,961 32.87 −0.99
Labour A C McLean 10,069 27.67 +1.36
Majority 2,395 6.58 +0.60
Turnout 36,386 72.11 +0.73
Liberal hold Swing
UK General Election, 1964: Inverness
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Russell Johnston 14,235 39.83 +6.96
Unionist Neil McLean 12,099 33.86 −10.50
Labour A C McLean 9,402 26.31 +3.54
Majority 2,136 5.98 −5.51
Turnout 35,736 71.38 −0.18
Liberal gain from Unionist Swing
UK General Election, 1959: Inverness
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Neil McLean 15,728 44.36 +2.91
Liberal J M Bannerman 11,653 32.87 −5.79
Labour J F Coulter 8,073 22.77 +2.87
Majority 4,075 11.49 +8.70
Turnout 35,454 71.56 +4.07
Unionist hold Swing +5.75
UK General Election, 1955: Inverness
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Neil McLean 14,352 41.45 −23.09
Liberal J M Bannerman 13,386 38.66 N/A
Labour D Thompson 6,891 19.90 −15.56
Majority 966 2.79 −26.29
Turnout 34,629 67.49 −1.81
Unionist hold Swing −9.11
UK General Election, 1951: Inverness
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Malcolm Douglas-Hamilton 22,497 64.54 +19.07
Labour T A Macnair 12,361 35.46 +3.64
Majority 10,136 29.08 +15.43
Turnout 34,858 69.30 +0.78
Unionist hold Swing +21.37
UK General Election, 1950: Inverness
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Malcolm Douglas-Hamilton 16,056 45.47 N/A
Labour D N Thompson 11,236 31.82 −2.73
Liberal J M Bannerman 8,023 22.72 +0.53
Majority 4,820 13.65 +4.94
Turnout 35,315 68.52 +9.12
Unionist gain from National Liberal Swing
UK General Election, 1945: Inverness
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
National Liberal Murdoch Macdonald 12,090 43.26
Labour N G Maclean 9,655 34.55
Liberal J M McCormick 6,200 22.19
Majority 2,435 8.71
Turnout 27,945 59.40
National Liberal hold Swing

[edit] See also

v • d • e
Westminster constituencies of Scotland
Aberdeen North · Aberdeen South · Airdrie & Shotts · Angus · Argyll & Bute · Ayr, Carrick & Cumnock · Banff & Buchan · Berwickshire, Roxburgh & Selkirk · Caithness, Sutherland & Easter Ross · Central Ayrshire · Coatbridge, Chryston & Bellshill · Cumbernauld, Kilsyth & Kirkintilloch East · Dumfries & Galloway · Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale & Tweeddale · Dundee East · Dundee West · Dunfermline & West Fife · East Dunbartonshire · East Kilbride, Strathaven & Lesmahagow · East Lothian · East Renfrewshire · Edinburgh East · Edinburgh North & Leith · Edinburgh South · Edinburgh South West · Edinburgh West · Falkirk · Glasgow Central · Glasgow East · Glasgow North · Glasgow North East · Glasgow North West · Glasgow South · Glasgow South West · Glenrothes · Gordon · Inverclyde · Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch & Strathspey · Kilmarnock & Loudoun · Kirkcaldy & Cowdenbeath · Lanark & Hamilton East · Linlithgow & East Falkirk · Livingston · Midlothian · Moray · Motherwell & Wishaw · Na h-Eileanan an Iar · North Ayrshire & Arran · North East Fife · Ochil & South Perthshire · Orkney & Shetland · Paisley & Renfrewshire North · Paisley & Renfrewshire South · Perth & North Perthshire · Ross, Skye & Lochaber · Rutherglen & Hamilton West · Stirling · West Aberdeenshire & Kincardine · West Dunbartonshire

[edit] Notes and references

  1. ^ Boundaries of Parliamentary Constituencies 1885-1972 (ISBN 0-900178-09-4), F. W. S. Craig 1972