Montrose Burghs (UK Parliament constituency)

Montrose Burghs
Former District of burghs constituency
for the House of Commons
1832–1950
Seats One
Created from Aberdeen Burghs and Perth Burghs
Replaced by North Angus & Mearns and South Angus

Montrose Burghs was a district of burghs constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1832 until 1950.

The constituency elected one Member of Parliament (MP) to represent the parliamentary burghs of Montrose, Arbroath, Brechin, Forfar and Inverbervie.

In 1950, Montrose, Brechin and Inverbervie were merged into North Angus and Mearns, and Arbroath and Forfar were merged into South Angus.

Members of Parliament

Election Member Party
1832 Horatio Ross Whig
1835 Patrick Chalmers Radical
1842 by-election Joseph Hume Radical
1855 by-election William Edward Baxter Radical
1859 Liberal
1885 John Shiress Will Liberal
1896 by-election John Morley Liberal
1908 by-election Robert Harcourt Liberal
1918 John Sturrock Coalition Liberal
1922 National Liberal
1923 Liberal
1924 Robert Hutchison Liberal
1930 Independent Liberal
1931 National Liberal
1932 by-election Charles Kerr National Liberal
1940 by-election John Maclay National Liberal
1950 constituency abolished: see North Angus & Mearns and South Angus

Elections

Elections in the 1830s

General election 1832: Montrose Burghs
Party Candidate Votes %
Whig Horatio Ross 796 59.8
Radical Patrick Chalmers 535 40.2
Majority 261 19.6
Turnout 1,331 89.1
Registered electors 1,494
Whig win (new seat)
General election 1835: Montrose Burghs
Party Candidate Votes %
Radical Patrick Chalmers Unopposed
Registered electors 1,551
Radical gain from Whig
General election 1837: Montrose Burghs
Party Candidate Votes %
Radical Patrick Chalmers Unopposed
Registered electors 1,636
Radical hold

Elections in the 1840s

General election 1841: Montrose Burghs
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Radical Patrick Chalmers Unopposed
Registered electors 1,403
Radical hold

Chalmers resigned by accepting the office of Steward of the Manor of Northstead, causing a by-election.

By-election, 16 April 1842: Montrose Burghs
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Radical Joseph Hume Unopposed
Radical hold
General election 1847: Montrose Burghs
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Radical Joseph Hume 532 69.7 N/A
Radical David Greenhill 231 30.3 N/A
Majority 301 39.4 N/A
Turnout 763 64.8 N/A
Registered electors 1,178
Radical hold Swing N/A

Elections in the 1850s

General election 1852: Montrose Burghs
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Radical Joseph Hume Unopposed
Registered electors 1,586
Radical hold

Hume's death caused a by-election.

William Baxter
By-election, 9 March 1855: Montrose Burghs
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Radical William Edward Baxter 478 52.4 N/A
Whig John Ogilvy 434 47.6 New
Majority 44 4.8 N/A
Turnout 912 57.5 N/A
Registered electors 1,585
Radical hold Swing N/A
General election 1857: Montrose Burghs
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Radical William Edward Baxter Unopposed
Registered electors 1,575
Radical hold
General election 1859: Montrose Burghs
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal William Edward Baxter Unopposed
Registered electors 1,651
Liberal hold

Elections in the 1860s

General election 1865: Montrose Burghs
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal William Edward Baxter Unopposed
Registered electors 1,806
Liberal hold
General election 1868: Montrose Burghs
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal William Edward Baxter 3,199 75.7 N/A
Conservative William Macdonald Macdonald 1,027 24.3 New
Majority 2,172 51.4 N/A
Turnout 4,226 66.7 N/A
Registered electors 6,337
Liberal hold Swing N/A

Elections in the 1870s

General election 1874: Montrose Burghs
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal William Edward Baxter 3,333 64.0 −11.7
Conservative William Macdonald Macdonald 1,875 36.0 +11.7
Majority 1,458 28.0 −23.4
Turnout 5,208 66.0 −0.7
Registered electors 7,891
Liberal hold Swing −11.7

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: Montrose Burghs
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal William Edward Baxter Unopposed
Registered electors 8,343
Liberal hold
John Shiress Will
General election 1885: Montrose Burghs
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal John Shiress Will 3,532 49.9 N/A
Independent Liberal Alexander Gordon 2,779 39.3 New
Conservative Alexander Mackenzie 763 10.8 New
Majority 753 10.6 N/A
Turnout 7,074 78.9 N/A
Registered electors 8,963
Liberal hold Swing N/A
General election 1886: Montrose Burghs
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal John Shiress Will 3,357 61.7 +11.8
Liberal Unionist Arthur Patton 2,088 38.3 +27.5
Majority 1,269 23.4 +12.8
Turnout 5,445 60.7 −18.2
Registered electors 8,963
Liberal hold Swing +6.4

Elections in the 1890s

General election 1892: Montrose Burghs
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal John Shiress Will 3,941 65.3 +3.6
Liberal Unionist Robert Arthur Lockhart 2,090 34.7 −3.6
Majority 1,851 30.6 +7.2
Turnout 6,031 71.5 +10.8
Registered electors 8,436
Liberal hold Swing +3.6
General election 1895: Montrose Burghs
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal John Shiress Will 3,594 59.3 −6.0
Liberal Unionist George Washington Baxter 2,462 40.7 +6.0
Majority 1,132 18.6 −12.0
Turnout 6,056 71.4 -0.1
Registered electors 8,484
Liberal hold Swing −6.0
John Morley
1896 Montrose Burghs by-election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal John Morley 4,565 64.0 +4.7
Conservative John Wilson 2,572 36.0 −4.7
Majority 1,993 28.0 +9.4
Turnout 7,137 82.1 +10.7
Registered electors 8,692
Liberal hold Swing +4.7

Elections in the 1900s

General election 1900: Montrose Burghs
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal John Morley 3,960 62.4 +3.1
Liberal Unionist John Birrell Don 2,390 37.6 −3.1
Majority 1,570 24.8 +6.2
Turnout 6,350 71.5 +0.1
Registered electors 8,881
Liberal hold Swing +3.1
General election 1906: Montrose Burghs
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal John Morley 4,416 69.7 +7.3
Conservative Alexander Sprot 1,922 30.3 −7.3
Majority 2,494 39.4 +14.6
Turnout 6,338 75.7 +4.2
Registered electors 8,373
Liberal hold Swing +7.3
Montrose Burghs by-election, 1908
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Robert Harcourt 3,083 46.7 −23.0
Ind. Labour Party Joseph Burgess 1,937 29.4 New
Conservative Andrew Constable 1,576 23.9 −6.4
Majority 1,146 17.3 −22.1
Turnout 6,596 80.4 +4.7
Registered electors 8,205
Liberal hold Swing −8.3

Elections in the 1910s

General election January 1910: Montrose Burghs
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Robert Harcourt 3,606 50.9 −18.8
Ind. Labour Party Joseph Burgess 1,888 26.6 N/A
Conservative William Low 1,592 22.5 −7.8
Majority 1,718 24.3 −15.1
Turnout 7,086 84.2 +8.5
Registered electors 8,414
Liberal hold Swing −5.5
General election December 1910: Montrose Burghs
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Robert Harcourt 3,878 64.3 +13.4
Conservative William Low 2,155 35.7 +13.2
Majority 1,723 28.6 +4.3
Turnout 6,033 72.0 −12.2
Registered electors 8,383
Liberal hold Swing +0.1

General Election 1914–15:

Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1915. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;

General election 1918: Montrose Burghs
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
C Liberal John Sturrock 9,309 76.0 +11.7
Labour H. N. Brailsford 2,940 24.0 New
Majority 6,369 52.0 +23.4
Turnout 12,249 49.1 −22.9
Registered electors 24,956
Liberal hold Swing N/A
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

Elections in the 1920s

General election 1922: Montrose Burghs
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
National Liberal John Sturrock 8,407 54.4 −21.6
Labour John Carnegie 7,044 45.6 +21.6
Majority 1,363 8.8 −43.2
Turnout 15,451 62.7 +13.6
Registered electors 24,628
National Liberal gain from Liberal Swing −21.6
General election 1923: Montrose Burghs
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal John Sturrock 8,717 55.3 +0.9
Labour John Carnegie 7,032 44.7 −0.9
Majority 1,685 10.6 +1.8
Turnout 15,749 62.9 +0.2
Registered electors 25,031
Liberal hold Swing +0.9
General election 1924: Montrose Burghs
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Robert Hutchison 9,226 57.2 +1.9
Labour Thomas Barron 6,914 42.8 −1.9
Majority 2,312 14.4 +3.8
Turnout 16,140 68.5 +5.6
Registered electors 23,568
Liberal hold Swing +1.9
General election 1929: Montrose Burghs
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Robert Hutchison 11,715 55.5 −1.7
Labour Thomas Irwin 9,381 44.5 +1.7
Majority 2,334 11.0 −3.4
Turnout 21,096 71.3 +2.8
Registered electors 29,573
Liberal hold Swing −1.7

Elections in the 1930s

General election 1931: Montrose Burghs
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
National Liberal Robert Hutchison 17,212 77.0 N/A
Labour Arthur Fraser Macintosh 5,137 23.0 -21.5
Majority 12,075 54.0 +43.0
Turnout 22,349 74.6 +3.3
National Liberal hold Swing
1932 Montrose Burghs by-election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
National Liberal Charles Kerr 7,963 46.9 -30.1
Labour Tom Kennedy 7,030 41.4 +18.4
National (Scotland) Douglas Emslie 1,996 11.7 New
Majority 933 5.5 -48.5
Turnout 16,989 56.7 -17.9
National Liberal hold Swing
General election 1935: Montrose Burghs
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
National Liberal Charles Kerr 15,198 69.6 -7.4
Labour James Erskine Harper 6,632 30.4 +7.4
Majority 8,566 39.2 -14.8
Turnout 21,830 70.6 -4.0
National Liberal hold Swing

General Election 1939–40

Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1940. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by the Autumn of 1939, the following candidates had been selected;

  • Liberal National: John Maclay
  • Labour: Olive R Crutchley

Elections in the 1940s

1940 Montrose Burghs by-election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
National Liberal John Maclay Unopposed N/A N/A
National Liberal hold Swing N/A
General election 1945: Montrose Burghs
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
National Liberal John Maclay 13,966 58.2 -11.4
Labour Thomas Alexander MacNair 10,011 41.8 +11.4
Majority 3,955 16.4 -22.8
Turnout 24,007 72.3 +1.7
National Liberal hold Swing