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
Outline map
Boundary of West Renfrewshire in Scotland for the 2001 general election
Subdivisions of ScotlandRenfrewshire
1997–2005
SeatsOne
Replaced byInverclyde
Paisley & Renfrewshire North
Paisley & Renfrewshire South
1885–1983
SeatsOne
Created fromRenfrewshire
Replaced byRenfrew 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

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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

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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

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MPs 1885–1983

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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:

MPs 1997–2005

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

Constituency divided amongst:

Election results

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Elections in the 1880s

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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

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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

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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

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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;

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
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

Elections in the 1920s

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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

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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

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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;

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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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  1. ^ Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, Seventh Schedule, Part II
  2. ^ a b 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. ^ a b Debrett's House of Commons and Judicial Bench, 1889
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Craig, FWS, ed. (1974). British Parliamentary Election Results: 1885–1918. London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 9781349022984.
  7. ^ Whitaker's Almanack, 1893
  8. ^ a b Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench, 1901
  9. ^ Whitaker's Almanack, 1907
  10. ^ a b 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.
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