Ayr Burghs (UK Parliament constituency) explained

Ayr Burghs was a district of burghs constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1708 to 1800 and of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1950. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP), using the first-past-the-post voting system.

Creation

The British parliamentary constituency was created in 1708 following the Acts of Union 1707 and replaced the former Parliament of Scotland burgh constituencies of Ayr, Campbeltown, Inveraray, Irvine and Rothesay.

Boundaries

The list of parliamentary burghs represented by the constituency changed in 1832 and again in 1918:

• 1708 to 1832: the Ayrshire burghs of Ayr and Irvine, the Argyllshire burghs of Campbeltown and Inveraray and the Buteshire burgh of Rothesay^{[1] [2] [3] [4] [5]}
• 1832 to 1918: the Ayrshire burghs of Ayr and Irvine and the Argyllshire burghs of Campbeltown, Inveraray and Oban
• 1918 to 1950: the Ayrshire burghs of Ardrossan, Ayr, Irvine, Prestwick, Saltcoats and Troon

When the Ayr Burghs constituency was abolished in 1950, the Ayr and Prestwick burghs were merged into the county constituency of Ayr. Ardrossan and Saltcoats were merged into Bute and Northern Ayrshire and Irvine and Troon were merged into Central Ayrshire.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party
	1708
	1710
	1720 by-election		Tory
	1721 by-election		Whig
	1722
	1734
	1741
	1747
	1749 by-election	Sir Henry Erskine
	1754
	1761
	1761 by-election
	1768
	1774	Sir George Macartney
	1776 by-election	Frederick Stuart
	1780		Tory
	1790	Charles Stuart
	1794 by-election
	1807
	1809 by-election		Whig
	1818		Whig[6]
	1834 by-election		Whig[7] [8]
	1852		Radical[9] [10] [11]
	1859		Liberal
	1874		Conservative
	1880	Richard Campbell	Liberal
	1886		Liberal Unionist
	1888 by-election	John Sinclair	Liberal
	1890 by-election	James Somervell	Conservative
	1892	William Birkmyre	Liberal
	1895	Charles Lindsay Orr-Ewing	Conservative
	1904 by-election	Joseph Dobbie	Liberal
	1906	Sir George Younger	Conservative
	1922	Sir John Baird	Conservative
	1925
1950		constituency abolished

Sir Thomas was elected, in 1950, as the first MP for the then new constituency of Ayr

Elections

Elections in the 1830s

Kennedy was appointed as a Lord Commissioner of the Treasury, requiring a by-election.

Kennedy resigned, causing a by-election.

Elections in the 1850s

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Elections in the 1860s

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Elections in the 1870s

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Elections in the 1880s

Campbell's death caused a by-election.Back to Elections

Elections in the 1890s

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Elections in the 1900s

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Elections in the 1910s

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Elections in the 1920s

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Elections in the 1930s

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Elections in the 1940s

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See also

• List of former Parliamentary constituencies in the United Kingdom

Notes and References

1. Web site: Ayr Burghs . History of Parliament Online (1690-1715). 27 March 2019 .
2. Web site: Ayr Burghs. History of Parliament Online (1715-1754). 27 March 2019 .
3. Web site: Ayr Burghs. History of Parliament Online (1754-1790). 27 March 2019 .
4. Web site: Ayr Burghs. History of Parliament Online (1790-1820). 27 March 2019 .
5. Web site: Ayr Burghs. History of Parliament Online (1820-1832). 27 March 2019 .
6. Book: Smith. Henry Stooks. The Register of Parliamentary Contested Elections. 1841. Simpkin, Marshall & Company. 196–197. Second. 1 September 2018.
7. Book: Edward. Churton. Edward Churton. The Assembled Commons or Parliamentary Biographer: 1836. 1836. 216. 1 September 2018.
8. News: Election Prospects . 1 September 2018 . Morning Post . 22 June 1841 . 3–4 . British Newspaper Archive. subscription .
9. Book: Huddie . Paul . The Crimean War and Irish History . 2015 . Liverpool University Press . Liverpool . 978-1-78138-254-7 . 27 . 1 September 2018 .
10. Book: Fry . Michael . A New Race of Men: Scotland, 1815–1914 . 2013 . Birlinn . Edinburgh . 309 . 978-0-85790-659-5 . 1 September 2018.
11. Web site: Civil Service Departments in Scotland . The Scottish Continental Herring Trade 1810–1914 . 1 September 2018.