Haddingtonshire (UK Parliament constituency)

Haddingtonshire
Former County constituency for the House of Commons
1708–1918
Number of members	One
Replaced by	Berwick and Haddington
Created from	Haddingtonshire

Haddingtonshire was a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1708 until 1918.

Boundaries

The constituency was created in 1708 and encompassed the county of Haddingtonshire, with the exception, until 1885, of 3 towns (Haddington, Dunbar and North Berwick) which formed part of the separate constituency of Haddington Burghs. In 1918 it was amalgamated with neighbouring Berwickshire to form a new Berwick and Haddington constituency. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP), using the first-past-the-post voting system.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member [1]	Party
	1708	John Cockburn
	1741	Lord Charles Hay
	1747	Sir Hew Dalrymple
	1761	Andrew Fletcher
	1768	Sir George Suttie
	1777	William Hamilton Nisbet
	1780	Hew Dalrymple
	1786	John Hamilton
	1795	Hew Dalrymple-Hamilton
	1800	Charles Hope
	1816	Sir James Suttie
	1826	Lord John Hay
	1831	James Balfour
	1835	Robert Ferguson
	1837	Lord Ramsay	Conservative
	1838 by-election	Sir Thomas Buchan-Hepburn	Conservative
	1847	Francis Charteris (styled Lord Elcho from 1853)	Conservative
	1883 by-election	Lord Elcho	Conservative
	1885	Richard Burdon Haldane	Liberal
	1911 by-election	John Deans Hope	Liberal
	1918	constituency abolished

Elections

Elections in the 1880s

General Election 1885: Haddingtonshire ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Richard Burdon Haldane	3,472	64.1	+16.6
	Conservative	Lord Elcho	1,945	35.9	-16.6
Majority
Turnout
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing

General Election 1886: Haddingtonshire ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Richard Burdon Haldane	2,677	61.0	-3.1
	Liberal Unionist	Philip Albert Myburgh	1,714	39.0	+3.1
Majority
Turnout
	Liberal hold		Swing

Elections in the 1890s

General Election 1892: Haddingtonshire ^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Rt Hon. Richard Burdon Haldane	2,551	53.1	-7.9
	Liberal Unionist	The Master of Polwarth	2,255	46.9	+7.9
Majority
Turnout
	Liberal hold		Swing

General Election 1895: Haddingtonshire ^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Rt Hon. Richard Burdon Haldane	2,774	55.8	+2.7
	Conservative	The Master of Polwarth	2,194	44.2	-2.7
Majority
Turnout
	Liberal hold		Swing

Elections in the 1900s

General Election 1900: Haddingtonshire ^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Rt Hon. Richard Burdon Haldane	2,668	53.8	-2.0
	Liberal Unionist	John Kerr	2,290	46.2	+2.0
Majority
Turnout
	Liberal hold		Swing

General Election 1906: Haddingtonshire ^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Rt Hon. Richard Burdon Haldane	3,469	60.2	+6.4
	Conservative	Gerard Craig Sellar	2,289	39.8	-6.4
Majority
Turnout
	Liberal hold		Swing

Elections in the 1910s

B.H.Blyth

General Election Jan 1910: Haddingtonshire ^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Rt Hon. Richard Burdon Haldane	3,771	61.9	+1.7
	Conservative	Benjamin Hall Blyth	3,026	38.1	-1.7
Majority
Turnout
	Liberal hold		Swing

R.B.Haldane

General Election Dec 1910: Haddingtonshire ^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Rt Hon. Richard Burdon Haldane	3,845	54.9	-7.0
	Conservative	Benjamin Hall Blyth	3,158	45.1	+7.0
Majority
Turnout
	Liberal hold		Swing

J.D. Hope

Haddingtonshire by-election, 1911^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	John Deans Hope	3,652	53.4	-1.5
	Conservative	Benjamin Hall Blyth	3,184	46.6	+1.5
Majority
Turnout
	Liberal hold		Swing

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: John Deans Hope
• Unionist: Hugh Pattison Macmillan

References

1. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "H" (part 1)
2. Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench, 1889
3. Whitaker's Almanack, 1893
4. Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench, 1901
5. Whitaker's Almanack, 1907
6. Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench, 1916