West Renfrewshire (UK Parliament constituency)

Not to be confused with West Renfrewshire (Scottish Parliament constituency).

West Renfrewshire
Former county constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of West Renfrewshire in Scotlandfor the 2001 general election
Subdivisions of Scotland	Renfrewshire
1997–2005
Seats	One
Replaced by	Inverclyde Paisley & Renfrewshire North Paisley & Renfrewshire South
1885–1983
Seats	One
Created from	Renfrewshire
Replaced by	Renfrew West & Inverclyde Paisley North Paisley South

West Renfrewshire was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1885 to 1983 and again from 1997 until 2005. In 2005 the constituency was abolished and the area is now represented by Inverclyde, Paisley and Renfrewshire North and Paisley and Renfrewshire South.

Boundaries

The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 provided that the Western division should consist of "the parishes of Inverkip, Greenock, Port Glasgow, Kilmalcolm, Erskine, Inchinnan, Houston, Kilbarchan, Lochwinnoch, Renfrew, Abbey, Neilston, Beith, and Dunlop". ^[1]

From 1918 the constituency consisted of "The Lower county District, inclusive of all burghs situated therein, except the burgh of Greenock, together with the burgh of Johnstone."

From 1997 to 2005 the constituency consisted of the Renfrew District electoral divisions of Bargarran and Gryffe, and the Inverclyde District electoral division of Port Glasgow and Kilmacolm.

In 1999 with the creation of the devolved Scottish Parliament, a Scottish Parliamentary constituency of West Renfrewshire was created with the same name and boundaries as the UK Parliament constituency.

Abolition

Under the Parliamentary Constituencies (Scotland) Order 1983 ( SI 1983/422), made under the authority of the House of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) Act 1949, West Renfrewshire was abolished in 1983. The area of the constituency was divided between Renfrew West and Inverclyde, Paisley North and Paisley South.

In 2005, the constituency was again abolished and remains so to the present day. The Parliamentary Constituencies (Scotland) Order 2005 (SI 2005/250) made under the authority of the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986 divided the former West Renfrewshire constituency amongst the new Inverclyde, Paisley and Renfrewshire North and Paisley and Renfrewshire South constituencies.

Members of Parliament

MPs 1885–1983

Election		Member [2]	Party
	1885	Sir Archibald Campbell, Bt	Unionist
	1892	Charles Renshaw	Unionist
	1906	Sir Thomas Glen-Coats, Bt	Liberal
	January 1910	James Greig	Liberal
	1922	Robert Murray	Labour
	1924	McInnes Shaw	Unionist
	1929	Robert Forgan	Labour
	1931	Henry Scrymgeour-Wedderburn, later Earl of Dundee	Unionist
	1945	Thomas Scollan	Labour
	1950	John Maclay later Viscount Muirshiel	National Liberal and Conservative [3] [4]
	1964	Norman Buchan	Labour
1983		constituency abolished

Constituency divided amongst:

• Renfrew West and Inverclyde
• Paisley North
• Paisley South

MPs 1997–2005

Election		Member [2]	Party
	1997	Tommy Graham	Labour then Independent
	2001	Jim Sheridan	Labour
2005		constituency abolished

Constituency divided amongst:

• Inverclyde
• Paisley and Renfrewshire North
• Paisley and Renfrewshire South

Election results

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1885: West Renfrewshire ^{[5] [6]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Archibald Campbell	3,618	54.8
	Liberal	Harry Smith	2,980	45.2
Majority			638	9.6
Turnout			6,598	85.1
Registered electors			7,750
	Conservative win (new seat)

General election 1886: West Renfrewshire ^{[5] [6]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Archibald Campbell	3,434	54.4	−0.4
	Liberal	William Dunn	2,881	45.6	+0.4
Majority			553	8.8	−0.8
Turnout			6,315	81.5	−3.6
Registered electors			7,750
	Conservative hold		Swing	−0.4

Elections in the 1890s

Wallace

General election 1892: West Renfrewshire ^{[7] [6]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Charles Renshaw	3,773	53.2	−1.2
	Liberal	Robert Wallace	3,322	46.8	+1.2
Majority			451	6.4	−2.4
Turnout			7,095	86.6	+5.1
Registered electors			8,192
	Conservative hold		Swing	−1.2

General election 1895: West Renfrewshire ^{[8] [6]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Charles Renshaw	3,909	54.2	+1.0
	Liberal	Duncan Pirie	3,306	45.8	−1.0
Majority			603	8.4	+2.0
Turnout			7,215	86.0	−0.6
Registered electors			8,386
	Conservative hold		Swing	+1.0

Elections in the 1900s

General election 1900: West Renfrewshire ^{[8] [6]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Charles Renshaw	4,323	51.6	−2.6
	Liberal	Thomas Glen-Coats	4,053	48.4	+2.6
Majority			270	3.2	−5.2
Turnout			8,376	84.9	−1.1
Registered electors			9,861
	Conservative hold		Swing	−2.6

General election 1906: West Renfrewshire ^{[9] [6]} 12,079

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Thomas Glen-Coats	5,858	56.6	+8.2
	Conservative	John Charles Cunninghame	4,490	43.4	−8.2
Majority			1,368	13.2	N/A
Turnout			10,348	85.7	+0.8
Registered electors			12,079
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+8.2

Elections in the 1910s

General election January 1910: West Renfrewshire ^{[10] [6]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	James Greig	6,480	53.5	−3.1
	Conservative	John Charles Cuninghame	5,631	46.5	+3.1
Majority			849	7.0	−6.2
Turnout			12,111	87.1	+1.4
Registered electors			13,900
	Liberal hold		Swing	−3.1

General election December 1910: West Renfrewshire ^{[10] [6]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	James Greig	6,366	51.1	−2.4
	Conservative	Henry Mechan	6,082	48.9	+2.4
Majority			284	2.2	−4.8
Turnout			12,448	86.7	−0.4
Registered electors			14,363
	Liberal hold		Swing	−2.4

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 the July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;

• Liberal: James Greig
• Unionist: Henry Mechan ^[11]

James Greig

General election 1918: West Renfrewshire ^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
C	Liberal	James Greig	11,524	61.8	+10.7
	Labour	Robert Murray	7,126	38.2	New
Majority			4,398	23.6	+21.4
Turnout			18,650	65.3	−21.4
Registered electors			28,542
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A
Cindicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

Elections in the 1920s

General election 1922: West Renfrewshire ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Robert Murray	11,787	54.0	+15.8
	National Liberal	James Greig	10,051	46.0	−15.8
Majority			1,736	8.0	N/A
Turnout			21,838	75.6	+10.3
Registered electors			28,868
	Labour gain from Liberal		Swing	+15.8

General election 1923: West Renfrewshire ^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Robert Murray	10,904	48.1	−5.9
	Unionist	Alexander Thomson Taylor	7,602	33.6	New
	Liberal	James Scott	4,149	18.3	−27.7
Majority			3,302	14.5	+6.5
Turnout			22,655	77.0	+1.4
Registered electors			29,426
	Labour hold		Swing	+10.9

General election 1924: West Renfrewshire ^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	McInnes Shaw	13,267	54.1	+20.5
	Labour	Robert Murray	11,252	45.9	−2.2
Majority			2,015	8.2	N/A
Turnout			24,519	84.5	+7.5
Registered electors			29,029
	Unionist gain from Labour		Swing	+9.2

General election 1929: West Renfrewshire ^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Robert Forgan	14,419	46.5	+0.6
	Unionist	Alexander Thomson Taylor	12,183	39.4	−14.7
	Liberal	Francis Anderson	2,682	8.7	New
	National (Scotland)	Roland Muirhead	1,667	5.4	New
Majority			2,236	7.1	N/A
Turnout			30,951	81.6	−2.9
Registered electors			37,947
	Labour gain from Unionist		Swing	+7.7

Elections in the 1930s

General election 1931: West Renfrewshire ^{[17] [18]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Henry Scrymgeour-Wedderburn	17,318	53.5	+14.1
	Ind. Labour Party	Jean Mann	10,203	31.5	N/A
	National (Scotland)	Roland Muirhead	3,547	11.0	+5.6
	New Party	Robert Forgan	1,304	4.0	New
Majority			7,115	22.0	+14.9
Turnout			32,372	83.2	+1.6
	Unionist gain from Labour		Swing

General election 1935: West Renfrewshire ^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Henry Scrymgeour-Wedderburn	15,906	49.7	−3.8
	Labour	Jean Mann	12,407	38.8	+7.3
	SNP	Roland Muirhead	3,697	11.5	+0.5
Majority			3,499	10.9	−11.1
Turnout			32,010	81.2	−2.0
	Unionist hold		Swing

Elections in the 1940s

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;

• Unionist: Henry Scrymgeour-Wedderburn
• Labour: David Cleghorn Thomson ^[20]
• SNP:

General election 1945: West Renfrewshire

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Thomas Scollan	15,050	48.9	+10.1
	Unionist	Henry Scrymgeour-Wedderburn	13,836	44.9	−4.8
	SNP	Robert Blair Wilkie	1,955	6.3	−5.2
Majority			1,214	4.0	N/A
Turnout			30,841	70.0	−11.2
	Labour gain from Unionist		Swing	+7.4

Elections in the 1950s

General election 1950: West Renfrewshire

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	National Liberal	John Maclay	20,810	54.03
	Labour	Thomas Scollan	17,708	45.97
Majority			3,102	8.06	N/A
Turnout			38,518	77.42
	National Liberal gain from Labour		Swing

General election 1951: West Renfrewshire

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	National Liberal	John Maclay	21,456	53.71
	Labour	Bruce Millan	18,493	46.29
Majority			2,963	7.42
Turnout			39,949	84.66
	National Liberal hold		Swing

General election 1955: West Renfrewshire

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	National Liberal	John Maclay	21,283	55.24
	Labour Co-op	Dickson Mabon	17,243	44.76
Majority			4,040	10.48
Turnout			38,526	83.02
	National Liberal hold		Swing

General election 1959: West Renfrewshire

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	National Liberal	John Maclay	20,959	53.51
	Labour	Charles Minihan	18,206	46.49
Majority			2,753	7.02
Turnout			39,165	82.64
	National Liberal hold		Swing

Elections in the 1960s

General election 1964: West Renfrewshire

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Norman Buchan	19,518	46.17
	Unionist	Roy Pickering Paton	18,507	43.77
	Liberal	Gavin E McFadyean	4,253	10.06	N/A
Majority			1,011	2.40	N/A
Turnout			42,278	82.87
	Labour gain from National Liberal		Swing

General election 1966: West Renfrewshire

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Norman Buchan	23,849	54.31
	Conservative	Roy Pickering Paton	20,060	45.69
Majority			3,789	8.62
Turnout			43,909	81.62
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1970: West Renfrewshire

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Norman Buchan	22,999	48.02
	Conservative	Alexander Fletcher	20,699	43.22
	SNP	Allan Macartney	4,195	8.76	New
Majority			2,300	4.80
Turnout			47,893	79.41
	Labour hold		Swing

General election February 1974: West Renfrewshire

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Norman Buchan	22,178	40.25
	Conservative	J. Ross-Harper	19,510	35.41
	SNP	Charles Cameron	8,394	15.23
	Liberal	David Young	5,022	9.11	New
Majority			2,668	4.84
Turnout			55,104	82.92
	Labour hold		Swing

General election October 1974: West Renfrewshire

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Norman Buchan	20,674	38.49
	SNP	Charles Cameron	15,374	28.62
	Conservative	J. Ross-Harper	14,399	26.80
	Liberal	D Brown	3,271	6.09
Majority			5,300	9.87
Turnout			53,718	80.08
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1979: West Renfrewshire

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Norman Buchan	28,236	44.47	+5.98
	Conservative	W Boyle	19,664	30.97	+4.17
	SNP	Charles Cameron	8,333	13.13	−15.49
	Liberal	Ross Finnie	7,256	11.43	+5.34
Majority			8,572	13.50	+4.63
Turnout			63,489	81.17	+1.09
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: West Renfrewshire ^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Tommy Graham	19,525	46.6	+3.7
	SNP	Colin Campbell	10,546	26.5	+5.9
	Conservative	Charles J.S. Cormack	7,387	18.6	−9.2
	Liberal Democrats	Bruce J.S. Macpherson	3,045	7.7	−0.8
	Referendum	Shaw T. Lindsay	283	0.7	New
Majority			7,979	20.1
Turnout			39,786	76.0
	Labour win (new seat)

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2001: West Renfrewshire ^[22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Jim Sheridan	15,720	46.9	+0.3
	SNP	Carol Puthucheary	7,145	21.3	−5.2
	Conservative	David Sharpe	5,522	16.5	−2.1
	Liberal Democrats	Clare Hamblen	4,185	12.5	+4.8
	Scottish Socialist	Arlene Nunnery	925	2.8	New
Majority			8,575	25.6	+5.5
Turnout			33,497	63.3	−12.7
	Labour hold		Swing

References

1. Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, Seventh Schedule, Part II
2. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "R" (part 1)
3. "Obituary: Viscount Muirshiel". Independent.co.uk . 20 August 1992.
4. "WHISP 49/3". Archived from the original on 24 April 2010.
5. Debrett's House of Commons and Judicial Bench, 1889
6. Craig, FWS, ed. (1974). British Parliamentary Election Results: 1885–1918. London: Macmillan Press. ISBN   9781349022984.
7. Whitaker's Almanack, 1893
8. Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench, 1901
9. Whitaker's Almanack, 1907
10. Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench, 1916
11. Daily Record 26 December 1914
12. Whitaker's Almanack, 1920
13. The Times, 17 November 1922
14. The Times, 8 December 1923
15. Oliver & Boyd's Edinburgh Almanac, 1927
16. The Times, 1 June 1929
17. Whitaker's Almanack, 1934
18. Craig, F.W.S., ed. (1969). British parliamentary election results 1918–1949 . Glasgow: Political Reference Publications. p.  645. ISBN   0-900178-01-9.
19. Whitaker's Almanack, 1939
20. Report of the Annual Conference of the Labour Party, 1939
21. "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
22. "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2017.