Glasgow (UK Parliament constituency)

Glasgow was a burgh constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1832 to 1885. It returned two Member of Parliament (MPs) until 1868, and then three from 1868 to 1885. Elections were held using the bloc vote system.

Glasgow
Former Burgh constituency for the House of Commons
Subdivisions of Scotland	City of Glasgow
1832–1885
Number of members	Two (1832–1868) Three (1868–1885)
Replaced by	Blackfriars & Hutchesontown Bridgeton Camlachie College Central St Rollox Tradeston
Created from	Clyde Burghs

History

Until 1832, Glasgow had been one of the parliamentary burghs in the Clyde Burghs constituency (also known as "Glasgow Burghs"), which was abolished by the Representation of the People (Scotland) Act 1832. The Act created the new Glasgow constituency with two seats, which was increased to three by the Representation of the People (Scotland) Act 1868.

Under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, the constituency was finally divided into seven new single-seat constituencies, with effect from the 1885 general election:

• Glasgow Blackfriars and Hutchesontown
• Glasgow Bridgeton
• Glasgow Camlachie
• Glasgow College
• Glasgow Central
• Glasgow St Rollox
• Glasgow Tradeston

Boundaries

The boundaries of the constituency, as set out in the Representation of the People (Scotland) Act 1832, were-

"From the Point, on the West of the Town, at which the River Kelvin joins the River Clyde, up the River Kelvin to a Point which is distant One hundred and fifty Yards (measured along the River Kelvin) above the Point at which the same is met by the Park Wall which comes down thereto from Woodside Road; thence in a straight Line to a Point on the Great Canal which is distant One hundred Yards (measured along the Great Canal) below Derry Bridge; thence along the Great Canal and the Cut of Junction to the Bridge over the Cut of Junction on the Stirling Road; thence, Eastward, along the Low Garngad Road to a Point which is distant One hundred and fifty Yards (measured along the Low Garngad Road) to the East of the Bridge over the Grimston Burn; thence in a straight Line to a Point on the Road to Edinburgh by Airdrie which is distant One hundred Yards (measured along the said Road to Edinburgh) to the East of the Point at which the same is joined by the Road to Edinburgh through the Village of Westmuir; thence in a straight Line to the Point at which the River Clyde is joined by Harvie's Dyke; thence down the River Clyde to the Point at which the same is joined by the Polmadie Burn; thence up the Polmadie Burn to the Point at which the same is joined by the Little Govan Burn; thence up the Little Govan Burn to the Point at which the same is divided into Two Branches in coming down from Govan Hill; thence in a straight Line to the Eastern Extremity of the Butterbiggins Road; thence along the Butterbiggins Road, and in a Line in continuation of the Direction thereof, to the Kinninghouse Burn; thence in a straight Line to the Sheils Bridge over the Paisley and Androssan Canal; thence in a straight Line to the Point at which the River Clyde is joined by the Plantation Burn; thence down the River Clyde to the Point first described."[1]

Members of Parliament

Election	1st Member		1st Party	2nd Member		2nd Party	3rd Member		3rd Party
1832		James Ewing	Whig[2]		James Oswald	Whig[2][3]	Only two seats until 1868
1835		Colin Dunlop	Radical[3][4]
Feb 1836 by-election		William Bentinck	Whig[2][5][6]
May 1837 by-election					John Dennistoun	Whig[2][7]
Jun 1839 by-election		James Oswald	Whig[2][3]
1847		John MacGregor	Whig[8][9]		Alexander Hastie	Whig[9]
Mar 1857 by-election		Walter Buchanan	Whig[10][11][12]
1857					Robert Dalglish	Radical[13][14][15]
1859			Liberal			Liberal
1865		William Graham	Liberal
1868								George Anderson	Liberal
1874		Sir Charles Cameron	Liberal		Alexander Whitelaw	Conservative
Jul 1879 by-election					Charles Tennant	Liberal
1880					Robert Tweedie Middleton	Liberal
Mar 1885 by-election								Thomas Russell	Liberal
1885	Constituency abolished by Redistribution of Seats Act

Election results

Elections in the 1880s

By-election, 12 Mar 1885: Glasgow[14][16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Thomas Russell	Unopposed
	Liberal hold

• Caused by Anderson's appointment as Master of the Mint at Melbourne, Australia.

General election 1880: Glasgow[14][16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	George Anderson	24,016	25.6	+1.8
	Liberal	Charles Cameron	23,658	25.2	+0.6
	Liberal	Robert Tweedie Middleton	23,360	24.9	+8.9
	Conservative	William Pearce	11,622	12.4	−6.4
	Conservative	James Bain	11,071	11.8	−4.9
Majority			11,738	12.5	+7.5
Turnout			35,025 (est)	60.5 (est)	+6.3
Registered electors			57,920
	Liberal hold		Swing
	Liberal hold		Swing
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing

Elections in the 1870s

By-election, 16 Jul 1879: Glasgow[14][16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Charles Tennant	Unopposed
	Liberal gain from Conservative

• Caused by Whitelaw's death.

General election 1874: Glasgow[14][16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Charles Cameron	18,455	24.6	N/A
	Liberal	George Anderson	17,902	23.8	−3.6
	Conservative	Alexander Whitelaw	14,134	18.8	+10.4
	Conservative	James Hunter	12,533	16.7	+8.3
	Liberal	Alexander Crum	7,453	9.9	N/A
	Liberal	Francis Ernest Kerr[17]	4,444	5.9	N/A
	Liberal	Joseph Cheney Bolton	169	0.2	N/A
Turnout			29,474 (est)	54.2 (est)	−6.1
Registered electors			54,374
Majority			3,768	5.0	−5.2
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A
	Liberal hold		Swing	−6.0
Majority			6,681	8.9	N/A
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	N/A

• Anderson and Cameron stood to speak "for the interests of temperance, working men, religious freedom and reform". The Whig sect of the local party nominated Bolton and Crum, and Kerr represented "the Irish interest" and Roman Catholicism.[18]

Bolton withdrew before the election.[19]

Elections in the 1860s

General election 1868: Glasgow[20][16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Robert Dalglish	18,287	28.1	−11.3
	Liberal	William Graham	18,062	27.8	−4.6
	Liberal	George Anderson	17,803	27.4	−0.8
	Conservative	George Campbell	10,820	16.7	N/A
Majority			6,983	10.7	+6.4
Turnout			28,871 (est)	60.3 (est)	−1.3
Registered electors			47,854
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A
	Liberal win (new seat)

Seat increased to three members

General election 1865: Glasgow[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Robert Dalglish	8,171	39.4	N/A
	Liberal	William Graham	6,713	32.4	N/A
	Liberal	John Ramsay[21]	5,832	28.2	N/A
Majority			881	4.3	N/A
Turnout			10,358 (est)	61.6 (est)	N/A
Registered electors			16,819
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1850s

General election 1859: Glasgow[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Robert Dalglish	Unopposed
	Liberal	Walter Buchanan	Unopposed
Registered electors			18,611
	Liberal hold
	Liberal hold

General election 1857: Glasgow[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Whig	Walter Buchanan	7,060	37.4	−0.1
	Radical	Robert Dalglish	6,765	35.9	N/A
	Whig	Alexander Hastie	5,044	26.7	−11.6
Turnout			9,435 (est)	52.1 (est)	+25.1
Registered electors			18,118
Majority			295	1.6	−15.8
	Whig hold		Swing	N/A
Majority			1,721	9.1	N/A
	Radical gain from Whig		Swing	N/A

By-election, 6 March 1857: Glasgow[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Whig	Walter Buchanan	5,792	66.3	+28.8
	Radical	James Merry	2,943	33.7	N/A
Majority			2,849	32.6	+15.2
Turnout			8,735	48.2	+21.2
Registered electors			18,118
	Whig hold		Swing	N/A

• Caused by MacGregor's resignation by accepting the office of Steward of the Manor of Northstead

General election 1852: Glasgow[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Whig	Alexander Hastie	3,209	38.3	+11.7
	Whig	John MacGregor	3,140	37.5	+9.5
	Peelite	Peter Blackburn[22]	1,681	20.1	N/A
	Whig	William Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound	354	4.2	N/A
Majority			1,459	17.4	+14.0
Turnout			4,192 (est)	27.0 (est)	−13.8
Registered electors			15,502
	Whig hold		Swing	N/A
	Whig hold		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1840s

General election 1847: Glasgow[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Whig	John MacGregor	2,193	28.0	N/A
	Whig	Alexander Hastie	2,081	26.6	N/A
	Whig	William Dixon[23][24]	1,814	23.2	N/A
	Whig	John Dennistoun	1,745	22.3	−10.7
Majority			267	3.4	−0.4
Turnout			3,917 (est)	40.8 (est)	−9.4
Registered electors			9,589
	Whig hold		Swing	N/A
	Whig hold		Swing	N/A

General election 1841: Glasgow[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Whig	James Oswald	2,776	33.5	+5.0
	Whig	John Dennistoun	2,728	33.0	+4.8
	Conservative	James Campbell[25]	2,416	29.2	−14.1
	Chartist	George Mills[26]	355	4.3	N/A
Majority			312	3.8	−2.6
Turnout			c. 4,138	c. 50.2	c. −5.8
Registered electors			8,241
	Whig hold		Swing	+6.0
	Whig hold		Swing	+6.0

Elections in the 1830s

By-election, 24 June 1839: Glasgow[16][2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	James Oswald	Unopposed
	Whig hold

• Caused by Cavendish-Bentinck's resignation

General election 1837: Glasgow[16][2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Whig	William Cavendish-Bentinck	2,767	28.5	+8.1
	Whig	John Dennistoun	2,743	28.2	+7.8
	Conservative	James Campbell	2,124	21.8	+4.4
	Conservative	Robert Monteith[27]	2,090	21.5	+4.1
Majority			619	6.4	+0.4
Turnout			c. 4,862	c. 56.0	c. −13.2
Registered electors			8,676
	Whig hold		Swing	+1.9
	Whig gain from Radical		Swing	+1.8

By-election, 27 May 1837: Glasgow[16][2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Whig	John Dennistoun	3,049	57.0	+16.2
	Conservative	Robert Monteith	2,298	43.0	+18.6
Majority			751	14.0	+8.0
Turnout			5,347	61.6	−7.6
Registered electors			8,676
	Whig hold		Swing	−1.2

• Caused by Oswald's resignation

By-election, 17 February 1836: Glasgow[16][2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Whig	William Cavendish-Bentinck	1,995	68.8	+28.0
	Radical	George Mills	903	31.2	−3.6
Majority			1,092	37.7	+31.7
Turnout			2,898	32.9	−36.3
Registered electors			8,819
	Whig gain from Radical		Swing	+15.8

• Caused by Dunlop's resignation

General election 1835: Glasgow[16][2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Whig	James Oswald	3,832	40.8	+17.9
	Radical	Colin Dunlop	3,267	34.8	N/A
	Conservative	James Ewing	2,297	24.4	−1.5
Turnout			5,479	69.2	c. −19.6
Registered electors			7,922
Majority			565	6.0	+0.6
	Whig hold		Swing	+9.7
Majority			970	10.3	N/A
	Radical gain from Whig		Swing	−9.7

General election 1832: Glasgow[16][2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	James Ewing	3,214	25.9
	Whig	James Oswald	2,838	22.9
	Whig	Daniel Sandford	2,168	17.5
	Radical	John Crawfurd	1,850	14.9
	Radical	John Douglas	1,340	10.8
	Whig	Joseph Dixon	995	8.0
Majority			670	5.4
Turnout			c. 6,203	c. 88.8
Registered electors			6,989
	Whig win (new seat)
	Whig win (new seat)

References

1. Representation of the People (Scotland) Act 1832, Schedule (M).
2. Smith, Henry Stooks (1842). The Register of Parliamentary Contested Elections (Second ed.). Simpkin, Marshall & Company. pp. 202–203. Retrieved 2 September 2018 – via Google Books.
3. "Scotland". Derry Journal. 20 January 1835. p. 1. Retrieved 16 August 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
4. The Reformers' Gazette. Glasgow: Muir, Gowans and Co. 1835. p. 227. Retrieved 16 August 2019 – via Internet Archive.
5. Churton, Edward (1838). The Assembled Commons or Parliamentary Biographer. p. 29. Retrieved 16 August 2019 – via Google Books.
6. "Kentish Gazette". 23 February 1836. p. 2. Retrieved 16 August 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
7. "Manchester Times". 27 May 1837. p. 2. Retrieved 16 August 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
8. Bumsted, J. M. (2003). "MacGREGOR, John". Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 8. University of Toronto/Université Laval. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
9. "Election Intelligence". Dundee, Perth and Cupar Advertiser. 6 July 1852. p. 2. Retrieved 2 September 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
10. McCaffrey, John F. (1998). Scotland in the Nineteenth Century. Basingstoke: Macmillan Press. p. 67. doi:10.1007/978-1-349-26828-3. ISBN 978-1-349-26828-3. Retrieved 2 September 2018 – via Google Books.
11. "Glasgow Election". Ulster Gazette. 7 March 1857. p. 3. Retrieved 2 September 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
12. "Latest Intelligence". Worcester Journal. 7 March 1857. p. 5. Retrieved 2 September 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
13. "Robert Dalglish". The Gazetteer for Scotland. 2016. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
14. Devine, Thomas Martin (1996). Glasgow: 1830 to 1912. Glasgow: Manchester University Press. pp. 198, 205. ISBN 9780719036927. Retrieved 2 September 2018 – via Google Books.
15. Howe, Anthony; Morgan, Simon, eds. (2015). The Letters of Richard Cobden. Volume IV ~ 1860-1865. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 219. ISBN 978-0-19-921198-2. LCCN 2014953104. Retrieved 2 September 2018 – via Google Books.
16. Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (e-book)|format= requires |url= (help) (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. pp. 545–546. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.
17. "Glasgow Election". The Inverness Courier. 5 February 1874. p. 3. Retrieved 30 December 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
18. Devine, Thomas Martin; Jackson, Gordon; Hamish Fraser, W; Maver, Irene, eds. (1995). Glasgow: 1830 to 1912. Glasgow: Manchester University Press. ISBN 9780719036927. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
19. "Advertisements & Notices". Glasgow Herald. 4 February 1874. p. 1. Retrieved 30 December 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
20. Debrett's House of Commons and Judicial Bench, 1870
21. "The General Election". The Examiner. 15 July 1865. pp. 7–11. Retrieved 13 February 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
22. "Glasgow Election". Glasgow Gazette. 3 July 1852. p. 2. Retrieved 2 September 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
23. "Forthcoming Elections". Morning Post. 27 July 1847. p. 2. Retrieved 16 August 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
24. "Opinions of Public Men on Excise Reform". Leicestershire Mercury. 17 July 1847. p. 1. Retrieved 16 August 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
25. "Evening Mail". 5 July 1841. p. 6. Retrieved 16 August 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
26. "Scotland". Westmorland Gazette. 3 July 1841. p. 2. Retrieved 16 August 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
27. "Page 3". Sun. 10 July 1837. Retrieved 7 May 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.

• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "G" (part 1)
• Craig, F. W. S. (1989) [1974]. British parliamentary election results 1885–1918 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. pp. 546–547. ISBN 0-900178-27-2.