1900 United Kingdom general election in Scotland

1900 United Kingdom general election in Scotland

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All 72 Scottish seats to the House of Commons
First party Second party   Leader Marquess of Salisbury Henry Campbell-Bannerman Party Conservative and Liberal Unionist Liberal Last election 33 [a] [b] 39 [a] Seats won 38 34 Seat change 5 5 Popular vote 237,217 [c] 245,092 [c] Percentage 49.0% 50.2% Swing 1.6% 1.5%
Results of the 1900 election in Scotland for the county and burgh seats   Liberal   Conservative   Liberal Unionist

Main article: 1900 United Kingdom general election

The 1900 United Kingdom general election was held between 26 September and 24 October 1900, and members were returned for all Scottish seats. ^[1] Scotland was allocated 72 seats in total, with 70 territorial seats, comprising 32 burgh constituencies and 37 county constituencies. ^[d] There were also two university constituencies, Glasgow and Aberdeen Universities and Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities. As voters in university constituencies voted in addition to their territorial vote, the results are compiled separately. Also referred to as the "Khaki Election" (the first of several elections to bear this sobriquet), it was held at a time when it was widely believed that the Second Boer War had effectively been won (though in fact it was to continue for another two years).

The election in Scotland saw the two main party grouping winning almost all votes between them, with the Liberals taking over half the votes cast, whilst the Conservative/Liberal Unionist alliance secured only slightly fewer, winning 49.0% of the vote. Despite winning more votes in Scotland than the Conservative/Liberal Unionist alliance the Liberals finished 4 seats behind their rivals. When combined with results from across the United Kingdom, the Conservatives, led by Lord Salisbury with their Liberal Unionist allies, secured a large majority of 134 seats, despite having received only 5.6% more votes than Henry Campbell-Bannerman's Liberals. This was largely owing to the Conservatives winning 163 seats that were uncontested by others. The Scottish Workers' Representation Committee contested their first election - this organisation would later evolve in the Scottish branch of the Labour Party.

Results

Seats summary

Party			Seats	Last Election	Seats change
	Conservative and Liberal Unionist (Total)		38	33	5
		Liberal Unionist	18	14	4
		Conservative	20	19	1
	Liberal		34	39	5
Total			72	72

Burgh & County constituencies

Main article: 1900 United Kingdom general election

Party			Seats [1]	Seats change	Votes [1]	%	% Change
	Conservative and Liberal Unionist		36	5	237,217	49.0	1.6
	Liberal		34	5	245,092	50.2	1.5
	Scottish Workers' Representation Committee		0		3,107	0.6
	Other		0		814	0.2
Total			70		486,230	100.0

University constituencies

The two university constituencies each elected an additional member to the house. In this election both seats were uncontested, with the winning candidates being elected unopposed.

General election 1900: Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities ^{[2] [3]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Batty Tuke	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

General election 1900: Glasgow and Aberdeen Universities ^{[4] [3]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	James Alexander Campbell	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

Votes summary

Popular vote [c] Liberal   50.2% Conservative and Liberal Unionist [b]   49.0% Scottish Workers   0.6%

Parliamentary seats [a] Liberal   47.2% Conservative   27.8% Liberal Unionist   25%

Notes

1. Combined results for burgh, county and university seats
2. The seat and vote count figures given here combines the Conservatives and the Liberal Unionists.
3. Total and percentage votes given here are for territorial constituencies only
4. One burgh seat, Dundee, was represented by two members of parliament.

References

1. Colin Rallings; Micheal Thrasher (2006). British Electoral Facts. Total Politics. p. 16. ISBN   978-1-907278-03-7.
2. Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench, 1901
3. Craig, FWS, ed. (1974). British Parliamentary Election Results: 1885-1918. London: Macmillan Press. ISBN   9781349022984.
4. Whitaker's Almanack, 1907