Inverness Burghs (UK Parliament constituency)

Inverness Burghs
Former District of burghs constituency for the House of Commons
Major settlements	Inverness, Fortrose, Forres, Nairn
1708–1918
Number of members	One
Replaced by	Inverness, Moray and Nairn and Ross and Cromarty
Created from	Inverness, Forres, Fortrose and Nairn

Inverness Burghs was a district of burghs constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of Great Britain (at Westminster) from 1708 to 1801 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (also at Westminster) from 1801 to 1918. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP).

There was also, 1708 to 1918, the Inverness-shire constituency, which was, as its name implies, a county constituency.

Boundaries

As first used in the 1708 general election Inverness Burghs consisted of four burghs: Inverness in the county of Inverness, Fortrose in the county of Ross, Forres in the county of Elgin and Nairn in the county of Nairn.

For the 1832 general election, as a result of the Representation of the People (Scotland) Act 1832, the boundaries of burghs for parliamentary election purposes ceased to be necessarily those for other purposes.

For the 1918 general election, as a result of the Representation of the People Act 1918, the component burghs of Inverness Burghs were merged into three different county constituencies: Inverness into the Inverness constituency, Forres and Nairn into the Moray and Nairn constituency and Fortrose into the Ross and Cromarty constituency. By this date, the county of Elgin had become the county of Moray and the county of Ross had been merged with the county of Cromarty to form the county of Ross and Cromarty.

Members of Parliament

Elected		Member	Party
	1708	Alexander Duff
	1710	George Mackenzie
	1713	William Steuart
	1722	Alexander Gordon
	1722 election petition	Duncan Forbes
	1737 by-election	Duncan Urquhart
	1741	Kenneth Mackenzie
	1747	Alexander Brodie
	1754	John Campbell
	1761	Sir Alexander Grant, Bt
	1768	Sir Hector Munro
	1802	Alexander Penrose Cumming-Gordon
	1803 by-election	George Cumming
	1806	Francis William Grant
	1807	Peter Baillie
	1811 by-election	Charles Grant
	1818	George Cumming	Tory
	1826	Robert Grant	Whig
	1830	John Baillie	Tory
	1831	Charles Lennox Cumming Bruce	Tory
	1832	John Baillie	Tory
	1833 by-election	Charles Lennox Cumming Bruce	Tory
	1835	Charles Lennox Cumming Bruce	Conservative
	1837	Roderick Macleod	Whig
	1840 by-election	James Morrison	Whig
	1847	Alexander Matheson	Whig
	1859 change	Alexander Matheson	Liberal
	1868	Aeneas William Mackintosh	Liberal
	1874	Charles Fraser-Mackintosh	Liberal
	1885	Robert Bannatyne Finlay	Liberal
	1886 change	Robert Bannatyne Finlay	Liberal Unionist
	1892	Gilbert Beith	Liberal
	1895	Robert Bannatyne Finlay	Liberal Unionist
	1906	John Annan Bryce	Liberal
1918		constituency abolished

Election results

The original electoral system for this constituency gave each of the four burghs one vote, with an additional casting vote (to break ties) for the burgh where the election was held. The place of election rotated amongst the burghs in successive Parliaments. The vote of a burgh was exercised by a burgh commissioner, who was elected by the burgh councillors.

The first direct election in Inverness Burghs was in 1832. The votes from qualified electors, in each burgh, were added together to establish the result.

Unless otherwise indicated, the primary source for the results was Craig. Candidates identified by Craig as Conservatives, in the 1832-1835 Parliament, are listed as Tories. In results for elections before the formal creation of the Liberal Party, shortly after the 1859 general election, candidates identified by Craig as Liberals are divided into Whigs and Radicals following Stooks Smith. Craig's registered electorate and vote figures are sometimes different from those of Stooks Smith, but Craig's figures are used below. For details of the books of Craig and Stooks Smith, see the Reference section below.

In terms of change in % votes and swing, the Conservative candidate in 1835 is related to his performance as the Tory candidate in the 1833 by-election. As there were two Tory candidates in 1832, no swing figure was calculated for the 1833 by-election.

1760s – 1830s – 1840s – 1850s – 1860s – 1870s – 1880s – 1890s – 1900s – 1910s

Elections in the 1760s

This is an example of a contested election, before the extension of the franchise in 1832. The election took place in Fortrose, so that burgh's commissioner had the casting vote which decided the election.

General Election 11 April 1768: Inverness Burghs (election at Fortrose)^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Non Partisan	Hector Munro	3 Fortrose, Nairn	60.0	N/A
	Non Partisan	Sir Alexander Grant, Bt	2 Forres, Inverness	40.0	N/A
Majority			1	20.0	N/A
Turnout			5 (4 electors)	100.0	N/A
	Non Partisan hold		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1830s

General Election 1832: Inverness Burghs
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Tory	John Baillie	250	36.1	N/A
	Whig	John Stewart	243	35.1	N/A
	Tory	Charles Lennox Cumming Bruce	193	27.9	N/A
	Radical	Robert Fraser	6	0.9	N/A
Majority			7	1.0	N/A
Turnout			692	96.8	N/A
Registered electors			715
	Tory hold		Swing	N/A

Death of Baillie in April 1833

By-Election 17 May 1833: Inverness Burghs
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Tory	Charles Lennox Cumming Bruce	357	55.2	+27.3
	Whig	John Stewart	290	44.8	+9.7
Majority			67	10.4	+9.4
Turnout			647	90.5	-6.3
Registered electors			712
	Tory hold		Swing	N/A

General Election 1835: Inverness Burghs
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Charles Lennox Cumming Bruce	344	50.3	-4.9
	Whig	Edward Ellice	340	49.7	+4.9
Majority			4	0.6	-9.8
Turnout			684	90.4	-0.1
Registered electors			757
	Conservative hold		Swing	-4.9 (W to C)

General Election 1837: Inverness Burghs
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Roderick Macleod	336	51.5	+1.8
	Conservative	James J.R. Mackenzie	317	48.5	-1.8
Majority			19	2.9	N/A
Turnout			653	93.4	+3.0
Registered electors			699
	Whig gain from Conservative		Swing	-1.8 (W to C)

Elections of the 1840s

Resignation of Macleod in March 1840

By-Election 4 March 1840: Inverness Burghs
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	James Morrison	353	53.5	+2.0
	Conservative	John Fraser	307	46.5	-2.00
Majority			46	7.0	+4.1
Turnout			660	87.2	-6.2
Registered electors			757
	Whig hold		Swing	-2.0 (W to C)

General Election 1841: Inverness Burghs
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	James Morrison	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
Registered electors			757
	Whig hold		Swing	N/A

General Election 1847: Inverness Burghs
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Alexander Matheson	280	58.5	N/A
	Radical	Richard Hartley Kennedy	199	41.5	N/A
Majority			81	16.9	N/A
Turnout			479	62.1	N/A
Registered electors			771
	Whig hold		Swing	N/A

Elections of the 1850s

General Election 1852: Inverness Burghs
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Alexander Matheson	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
Registered electors			825
	Whig hold		Swing	N/A

General Election 1857: Inverness Burghs
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Alexander Matheson	382	53.3	N/A
	Conservative	A. Campbell	335	46.7	N/A
Majority			47	6.6	N/A
Turnout			717	84.0	N/A
Registered electors			854
	Whig hold		Swing	N/A

General Election 1859: Inverness Burghs
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Alexander Matheson	410	57.2	+3.9
	Conservative	A. Campbell	307	42.8	-3.9
Majority			103	14.4	+7.8
Turnout			717	82.0	-2.0
Registered electors			874
	Whig hold		Swing	-3.9 (W to C)

Note (1859): Shortly after the 1859 general election, the Whig Party was merged into the new Liberal Party. Matheson joined the new party.

Elections of the 1860s

General Election 1865: Inverness Burghs
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Alexander Matheson	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
Registered electors			1,022
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

General Election 1868: Inverness Burghs
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Aeneas William Mackintosh	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
Registered electors			1,995
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

Elections of the 1870s

General Election 1874: Inverness Burghs
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Charles Fraser-Mackintosh	1,134	55.9	N/A
	Liberal	Aeneas William Mackintosh	879	43.3	N/A
	Conservative	A. Mackintosh	16	0.8	N/A
Majority			255	12.6	N/A
Turnout			2,029	83.9	N/A
Registered electors			2,419
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1880s

General Election 1880: Inverness Burghs
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Charles Fraser-Mackintosh	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
Registered electors			2,990
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

General Election 1885: Inverness Burghs
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Robert Bannatyne Finlay	1,709	52.5	N/A
	Independent Liberal	Walter Bright McLaren	1,546	47.5	N/A
Majority			163	5.0	N/A
Turnout			3,255	91.5	N/A
Registered electors			3,556
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

Note (1885): Craig classified McLaren as an Independent Liberal/Crofters' candidate.
Note (1886): Shortly before the 1886 general election, the Liberal Party split. Finlay joined the new Liberal Unionist Party.

General Election 1886: Inverness Burghs
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Unionist	Robert Bannatyne Finlay	1,619	54.6	N/A
	Liberal	Rt Hon. Sir Robert Peel	1,346	45.4	-7.1
Majority			273	9.2	N/A
Turnout			2,965	83.4	-8.1
	Liberal Unionist gain from Liberal		Swing	N/A

Elections of the 1890s

General Election 1892: Inverness Burghs
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Gilbert Beith	1,615	50.8	+5.4
	Liberal Unionist	Robert Bannatyne Finlay	1,562	49.2	-5.4
Majority			53	1.6	N/A
Turnout			3,177	85.3	+1.9
	Liberal gain from Liberal Unionist		Swing	+5.4

General Election 1895: Inverness Burghs
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Unionist	Robert Bannatyne Finlay	1,846	53.6	+4.4
	Liberal	Henry Bell	1,596	46.4	-4.4
Majority			250	7.2	N/A
Turnout			3,442	86.6	+1.3
	Liberal Unionist gain from Liberal		Swing	+4.4

Seat vacated on the appointment of Finlay as Solicitor General for England and Wales

Inverness Burghs by-election, 1895
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Unionist	Robert Bannatyne Finlay	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Liberal Unionist hold		Swing	N/A

Elections of the 1900s

General Election 1900: Inverness Burghs
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Unionist	Sir Robert Bannatyne Finlay	1,829	55.5	+1.9
	Liberal	J.A. Duncan	1,469	44.5	-1.9
Majority			360	11.0	+3.8
Turnout			3,298	80.7	-5.9
	Liberal Unionist hold		Swing	+1.9

Note (1900): Change and swing figures are calculated from the 1895 general elewction.

General Election 1906: Inverness Burghs
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Annan Bryce	2,304	56.9	+12.4
	Liberal Unionist	Rt Hon. Sir Robert Bannatyne Finlay	1,746	43.1	-12.4
Majority			558	13.8	N/A
Turnout			4,050	89.1	+8.4
	Liberal gain from Liberal Unionist		Swing	+12.4

Elections of the 1910s

General Election January 1910: Inverness Burghs
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Annan Bryce	2,440	59.7	+2.8
	Liberal Unionist	Torrance McMicking	1,650	40.3	-2.8
Majority			790	19.4	+5.6
Turnout			4,090	89.9	+0.8
	Liberal hold		Swing	+2.8

General Election December 1910: Inverness Burghs
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Annan Bryce	2,367	56.6	-3.1
	Liberal Unionist	P.J. Ford	1,812	43.4	+3.1
Majority			555	13.2	-6.2
Turnout			4,179	88.6	-1.3
	Liberal hold		Swing	-3.1

Constituency abolished (1918)

Notes

↑ The House of Commons 1754-1790

References

Boundaries of Parliamentary Constituencies 1885-1972, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Parliamentary Reference Publications 1972)
British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Macmillan Press 1977)
British Parliamentary Election Results 1885-1918, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Macmillan Press 1974)
The House of Commons 1754-1790, by Sir Lewis Namier and John Brooke (HMSO 1964)
The Parliaments of England by Henry Stooks Smith (1st edition published in three volumes 1844-50), second edition edited (in one volume) by F.W.S. Craig (Political Reference Publications 1973)
Who's Who of British Members of Parliament: Volume I 1832-1885, edited by M. Stenton (The Harvester Press 1976)
Who's Who of British Members of Parliament, Volume II 1886-1918, edited by M. Stenton and S. Lees (Harvester Press 1978)
Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "I"