Roxburgh and Selkirk (UK Parliament constituency)

(Redirected from Roxburgh and Selkirk) Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1918–1955

Roxburgh and Selkirk
Former county constituency for the House of Commons
1918–1955
Seats	One
Created from	Roxburghshire Peebles and Selkirk Hawick Burghs
Replaced by	Roxburgh, Selkirk & Peebles

Roxburgh and Selkirk was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (Westminster) from 1918 to 1955. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post voting system.

Boundaries

The constituency was created by the Representation of the People Act 1918, and first used in the 1918 general election, to cover the counties of Roxburgh and Selkirk.

At least nominally, the counties had been covered previously by the Roxburghshire and Peebles and Selkirk constituencies.

For the 1955 general election, as a result of the First Periodical Review of the Boundary Commission, the Roxburgh and Selkirk constituency was abolished and the Roxburgh, Selkirk and Peebles constituency was created, covering the counties of Roxburgh, Selkirk, and Peebles.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party	Notes
	1918	Robert Munro, later Baron Alness	Coalition Liberal
	1922	Sir Thomas Henderson	National Liberal
	1923	Walter Montagu Douglas Scott, Earl of Dalkeith	Unionist	later Duke of Buccleuch & Queensberry
	1935	Lord William Montagu Douglas Scott	Unionist
	1950	Archie Macdonald	Liberal
	1951	Charles Donaldson	Unionist	subsequently MP for Roxburgh, Selkirk & Peebles
1955		constituency abolished: see Roxburgh, Selkirk & Peebles

Election results

Election in the 1910s

General election 1918: Roxburgh & Selkirk
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
C	Liberal	Robert Munro	13,043	70.1
	Labour	Thomas Hamilton	5,574	29.9
Majority			7,469	40.2
Turnout			22,407	55.4
	Liberal win (new seat)
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

Elections in the 1920s

General election 1922: Roxburgh & Selkirk
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	National Liberal	Thomas Henderson	10,356	51.7	−18.4
	Liberal	Alfred Hamilton Grant	9,698	48.3	−21.8
Majority			658	3.4	N/A
Turnout			20,054	60.9	+5.5
	National Liberal gain from Liberal		Swing	N/A

General election 1923: Roxburgh & Selkirk
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Walter Scott	11,258	43.1	*New*
	Liberal	Thomas Henderson	8,046	30.8	−17.5
	Labour	George Dallas	6,811	26.1	New
Majority			3,212	12.3	N/A
Turnout			26,115	78.2	+17.3
	Unionist gain from Liberal		Swing	N/A

General election 1924: Roxburgh & Selkirk
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Walter Scott	12,684	45.8	+2.7
	Liberal	John McIlroy Wylie	7,737	27.9	−2.9
	Labour	George Dallas	7,266	26.2	+0.1
Majority			4,947	17.9	+5.6
Turnout			27,687
	Unionist hold		Swing

General election 1929: Roxburgh & Selkirk
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Walter Scott	13,510	38.0	−7.8
	Liberal	Arthur Robert McDougal	12,232	34.4	+6.5
	Labour	Robert Gibson	9,803	27.6	+1.4
Majority			1,278	3.6	−14.3
Turnout			35,545	78.5
	Unionist hold		Swing	-7.2

Elections in the 1930s

General election 1931: Roxburgh & Selkirk
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Walter Scott	21,394	55.1	+17.1
	Liberal	David Edwin Keir	17,420	44.9	+10.5
Majority			3,974	10.2	+6.6
Turnout			38,814	84.4	+5.9
	Unionist hold		Swing

General election 1935: Roxburgh & Selkirk
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	William Scott	18,342	50.0	−5.1
	Liberal	Arthur Robert McDougal	12,264	33.4	−11.5
	Labour	James Alexander Cuthburt Thomson	6,099	16.6	New
Majority			6,078	16.6	+6.4
Turnout			36,705	78.0	−6.4
	Unionist hold		Swing	+3.2

Elections in the 1940s

A General election was due to take place before the end of 1940, but was postponed due to the Second World War. By 1939, the following candidates had been selected to contest this constituency;

Unionist Party: William Scott
Liberal Party: James Scott

General election 1945: Roxburgh & Selkirk
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	William Scott	13,232	37.9	−12.1
	Liberal	Archie Macdonald	11,604	33.2	−0.2
	Labour	LP Thomas	10,107	28.9	+12.3
Majority			1,628	4.7	−11.9
Turnout			34,943	73.7	−4.3
	Unionist hold		Swing	-6.0

Elections in the 1950s

General election 1950: Roxburgh & Selkirk
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Archie Macdonald	15,347	39.4	+6.2
	Unionist	William Scott	14,191	36.4	−1.5
	Labour	LP Thomas	9,413	24.2	−4.7
Majority			1,156	3.0	−N/A
Turnout			38,951	82.1	+8.4
	Liberal gain from Unionist		Swing	+3.9

General election 1951: Roxburgh & Selkirk
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Charles Donaldson	16,438	40.6	+4.2
	Liberal	Archie Macdonald	15,609	38.6	−0.8
	Labour	Thomas White	8,395	20.8	−3.4
Majority			829	2.0	N/A
Turnout			40,442	84.9	+2.8
	Unionist gain from Liberal		Swing	+2.5

References

Whitaker's Almanack, 1920
The Times, 17 November 1922
The Times, 8 December 1923
Oliver & Boyd's Edinburgh Almanack, 1927
The Times, 1 June 1929
Whitaker's Almanack, 1934
Whitaker's Almanack, 1939

Sources

Craig, F. W. S. (1983) . British parliamentary election results 1918–1949 (3rd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.
Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "R" (part 2)

v t e Scottish Westminster constituencies
1708 to 1832 1832 to 1868 1868 to 1885 1885 to 1918 1918 to 1950 1950 to 1955 1955 to 1974 1974 to 1983 1983 to 1997 1997 to 2005 2005 to 2024
Current constituencies (2024)
Aberdeen North Aberdeen South Aberdeenshire North and Moray East Airdrie & Shotts Alloa & Grangemouth Angus & Perthshire Glens Arbroath & Broughty Ferry Argyll, Bute & South Lochaber Ayr, Carrick & Cumnock Bathgate & Linlithgow Berwickshire, Roxburgh & Selkirk Caithness, Sutherland & Easter Ross Central Ayrshire Coatbridge & Bellshill Cowdenbeath & Kirkcaldy Cumbernauld & Kirkintilloch Dumfries & Galloway Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale & Tweeddale Dundee Central Dunfermline & Dollar East Kilbride & Strathaven East Renfrewshire Edinburgh East & Musselburgh Edinburgh North & Leith Edinburgh South Edinburgh South West Edinburgh West Falkirk Glasgow East Glasgow North Glasgow North East Glasgow South Glasgow South West Glasgow West Glenrothes & Mid Fife Gordon & Buchan Hamilton & Clyde Valley Inverclyde & Renfrewshire West Inverness, Skye & West Ross-shire Kilmarnock & Loudoun Livingston Lothian East Mid Dunbartonshire Midlothian Moray West, Nairn & Strathspey Motherwell, Wishaw & Carluke Na h-Eileanan an Iar North Ayrshire & Arran North East Fife Orkney & Shetland Paisley & Renfrewshire North Paisley & Renfrewshire South Perth & Kinross-shire Rutherglen Stirling & Strathallan West Aberdeenshire & Kincardine West Dunbartonshire

v t e « 1918–1950 « Scottish Westminster constituencies 1950–1955 » 1955–1974 »
Burgh constituencies	Aberdeen North Aberdeen South Coatbridge and Airdrie Dundee East Dundee West Dunfermline Burghs Edinburgh Central Edinburgh East Edinburgh Leith Edinburgh North Edinburgh Pentlands Edinburgh West Glasgow Bridgeton Glasgow Camlachie Glasgow Cathcart Glasgow Central Glasgow Gorbals Glasgow Govan Glasgow Hillhead Glasgow Kelvingrove Glasgow Maryhill Glasgow Pollok Glasgow Scotstoun Glasgow Shettleston Glasgow Springburn Glasgow Tradeston Glasgow Woodside Greenock Kirkcaldy Burghs Paisley Stirling and Falkirk Burghs
County constituencies	Argyll Ayr Banffshire Berwick and East Lothian Bothwell Bute and Northern Ayrshire Caithness and Sutherland Central Ayrshire CC Clackmannan and Eastern Stirlingshire Dumfriesshire East Aberdeenshire East Dunbartonshire East Fife East Renfrewshire Galloway Hamilton Inverness Kilmarnock Kinross and Western Perthshire Lanark Midlothian and Peebles Moray and Nairn Motherwell North Angus and Mearns North Lanarkshire Orkney and Shetland Perth and East Perthshire Ross and Cromarty Roxburgh and Selkirk Rutherglen South Angus South Ayrshire West Aberdeenshire West Dunbartonshire West Fife West Lothian West Renfrewshire West Stirlingshire Western Isles
Lists	1708–1832 1832–1868 1868–1885 1885–1918 1918–1950 1950–1955 1955–1974 1974–1983 1983–1997 1997–2005 2005–2024 2024–present

Categories: