List of elections of Scottish representative peers

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After the Acts of Union 1707, the peerage of Scotland elected sixteen of their number, the Scottish representative peers, to sit in the House of Lords at Westminster. General elections were held with each Parliament, and by-elections to fill vacancies in between. The elections ceased after the Peerage Act 1963 granted all peers of Scotland an hereditary seat in the House of Lords.

The first election of Scottish representative peers took place on 15 February 1707 at the Parliament House, Edinburgh, shortly before the Parliament of Scotland was adjourned for the last time on 25 March. The commissioners for the barons and the burghs chose their representatives to the British House of Commons at the same time. [1]

The elections were not without controversy: in November 1708, four Scottish peers - William Johnstone, 1st Marquess of Annandale, John Earl of Sutherland, Patrick Earl of Marchmont, and William Lord Rosse - presented a petition in the House of Lords complaining of irregularities in the voting which they claimed had led to them being unfairly outvoted by William Kerr, 3rd Marquess of Lothian, and the Earls of Wemyss, Loudoun, and Glasgow. [2] After taking evidence and legal advice, and ordering a recount of votes, the House of Lords resolved on 3 February 1709, to remove the Marquess of Lothian, and replace him with the Marquess of Annandale. [3]

List of elections since the Union

DateGeneral or
by-election
PlaceReturning officersNumber of
peers present
17 June 1708G Palace of Holyroodhouse Two Clerks of Session 57
10 November 1710G49
14 August 1712B32
13 January 1713B25
8 October 1713G36
3 March 1715G43
28 February 1716B18
1 June 1721B22
21 April 1722G42
15 August 1722B18
13 June 1723B13
20 September 1727G33
17 November 1730B23
19 February 1731B17
28 January 1732B17
21 September 1733B37
4 June 1734G Burgh Room 60
22 October 1736B33
14 April 1737B21
14 March 1738B21
22 March 1739B20
13 June 1741G Court of Exchequer 37
30 April 1742BPalace of Holyroodhouse24
12 October 1744B17
1 August 1747G33
15 March 1750B25
9 July 1752B26
16 November 1752B23
21 May 1754G36
5 May 1761G39
12 August 1761B22
8 March 1763B20
21 August 1766B23
1 October 1767B28
26 April 1768G37
21 December 1768B17
17 January 1770B23
2 January 1771B28
15 November 1774G34
24 January 1776B13
13 June 1776B13
14 November 1776B15
24 September 1778B15
17 October 1780G26
24 July 1782B14
8 May 1784G40
28 March 1787B19
10 January 1788B18
24 July 1790G33
7 August 1793B13
23 October 1794B11
30 June 1796G25
15 August 1798B11
10 August 1802G29
16 June 1803B13
14 November 1804B15
4 December 1806G18
9 June 1807G20
13 November 1812G29
17 April 1817B13
24 July 1818G27
18 March 1819B10
11 April 1820G21
2 August 1821B10
2 October 1823B11
8 July 1824B6
2 June 1825B8
13 July 1826G25
10 April 1828B10
2 September 1830G21
3 June 1831G30
14 January 1833G31
10 February 1835G24
25 August 1837G18
5 August 1841G21
19 January 1842B8
19 July 1843B8
17 March 1847B9
8 September 1847G16
13 March 1850B11
6 August 1851B11
15 July 1852GFour Clerks of Session19
7 September 1853B16
16 November 1853B10
14 April 1857G18
29 June 1858BTwo Clerks of Session11
10 May 1859G19
15 November 1860B15
28 July 1865G Lord Clerk Register
(Sir William Gibson-Craig)
24
21 March 1867B9
27 November 1867B7
3 December 1868G18
7 July 1869B2
4 August 1870B7
7 March 1872B8
18 February 1874G20
22 December 1876B18
11 March 1879BLord Clerk Register
(The Earl of Glasgow)
24
16 April 1880G26
11 January 1882B15
17 February 1885B17
10 June 1885B4
10 December 1885G26
4 February 1886B7
25 March 1886B8
20 July 1886G15
10 January 1889BDeputy Clerk Register (Stair Agnew)7
6 January 1890BLord Clerk Register15
10 December 1891BLord Clerk Register
(the Duke of Montrose)
12
14 July 1892G16
18 July 1894B10
24 July 1895G12
5 October 1900GDeputy Clerk Register (Sir Stair Agnew)17
30 January 1906GLord Clerk Register25
8 November 1906BTwo Clerks of Session3
28 January 1910GLord Clerk Register19
15 December 1910G15
10 October 1917B12
20 December 1918G14
13 January 1922G17
16 November 1922G20
10 December 1923G16
3 November 1924G23
31 May 1929GLord Clerk Register
(the Duke of Buccleuch)
27
29 October 1931G19
15 November 1935G Principal Clerk of Session 25
8 January 1941BLord Clerk Register
(the Earl of Mar and Kellie)
9
6 July 1945GLord Clerk Register
(the Lord Elphinstone)
12
1 July 1947B12
21 February 1950G26
23 October 1951G23
2 April 1952B14
23 May 1955 G Parliament House 32
1 September 1958 BPalace of HolyroodhouseLord Clerk Register
(the Duke of Buccleuch)
18
6 October 1959 G25

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References

  1. Fergusson, Sixteen Peers, pp. 16–17.
  2. "House of Lords Journal Volume 18: 18 November 1708 Journal of the House of Lords: Volume 18, 1705-1709". British History Online. HMSO 1767-1830. Retrieved 5 January 2025.
  3. "House of Lords Journal Volume 18: 3 February 1709 Journal of the House of Lords: Volume 18, 1705-1709". British History Online. HMSO 1767-1830. Retrieved 5 January 2025.