Peebles and Southern Midlothian (UK Parliament constituency)

Peebles and Southern Midlothian was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (Westminster) from 1918 to 1950. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post voting system.

Peebles and Southern Midlothian
Former County constituency
for the House of Commons
1918–1950
SeatsOne
Created fromPeebles & Selkirk
Midlothian
Replaced byMidlothian & Peeblesshire

Boundaries

The Peebles and Southern Midlothian constituency was described in the Representation of the People Act 1918 as comprising:

The county of Peebles with all the burghs situated therein, and the Gala Water and Lasswade County Districts of Midlothian (except that part of the latter district which is included in the Northern Division) with all burghs situated therein except the burghs of Leith and Musselburgh.

Until 1918 the area of the constituency was, at least nominally, partly within the Peebles and Selkirk constituency and partly within the Midlothian constituency.

When the constituency was abolished in 1950 the Midlothian and Peeblesshire constituency was created.

Members of Parliament
ElectionMember [1]Party
1918 Sir Donald Maclean
Previously MP for Peebles and Selkirk		 Liberal
1922 Joseph Westwood Labour
1923
1924
1929
1931 Archibald Maule Ramsay
Interned under Defence Regulation 18B in 1940 on suspicion of being a Nazi sympathiser		 Unionist
1935
1945 David Pryde
Subsequently member for Midlothian and Peebles		 Labour
1950 constituency abolished

Election results

Elections in the 1910s
Donald Maclean
General election 1918: Peebles and Southern Midlothian[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Donald Maclean 7,429 60.6
Labour James Gold 4,830 39.4
Majority 2,599 21.2
Turnout 12,259 52.6
Liberal win

Elections in the 1920s
General election 1922: Peebles and Southern Midlothian [3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Joseph Westwood 6,394 36.0 -3.4
Unionist Archibald Crawford 5,992 33.7 New
Liberal Donald Maclean 5,377 30.3 -30.3
Majority 402 2.3 N/A
Turnout 17,723 75.7 +23.1
Labour gain from Liberal Swing n/a
General election 1923: Peebles and Southern Midlothian [4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Joseph Westwood 7,882 43.0 +7.0
Unionist Archibald Crawford 6,203 33.8 +0.1
Liberal William Mitchell 4,245 23.2 -7.1
Majority 1,679 9.2 +6.9
Turnout 18,330 76.9 +1.2
Labour hold Swing +3.4
General election 1924: Peebles and Southern Midlothian [5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Joseph Westwood 7,797 40.8 -2.2
Unionist Charles Baillie-Hamilton 6,723 35.3 +1.5
Liberal William Mitchell 4,550 23.9 +0.7
Majority 1,074 5.5 -3.7
Turnout 19,070 78.8 +1.9
Labour hold Swing -1.8
General election 1929: Peebles and Southern Midlothian [6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Joseph Westwood 11,161 45.5 +4.7
Unionist Hylton Murray-Philipson 7,736 31.5 -3.8
Liberal James McGowan 5,648 23.0 -0.9
Majority 3,425 14.0 +8.5
Turnout 24,545 75.7 -3.1
Labour hold Swing +4.2

Elections in the 1930s
General election 1931: Peebles and Southern Midlothian[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Archibald Maule Ramsay 17,435 65.5 +34.0
Labour Joseph Westwood 9,185 34.5 -11.0
Majority 8,250 31.0 N/A
Turnout 26,620 79.7 +4.0
Unionist gain from Labour Swing
General election 1935: Peebles and Southern Midlothian [8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Archibald Maule Ramsay 13,671 52.8 -12.7
Labour David Pryde 12,209 47.2 +12.7
Majority 1,462 5.6 -25.4
Turnout 25,880 74.9 -4.8
Unionist hold Swing

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;

Elections in the 1940s
General election 1945: Peebles and Southern Midlothian[10] Electorate 37,844
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour David Pryde 15,546 55.7 +8.5
Unionist James Latham McDiarmid Clyde 9,050 32.4 -20.4
Liberal Leonard Gellatly 3,299 11.8 New
Majority 6,496 23.3 N/A
Turnout 27,895 73.7 -1.2
Labour gain from Unionist Swing

References
  1. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "P" (part 1)
  2. Whitaker's Almanack, 1920
  3. The Times, 17 November 1922
  4. The Times, 8 December 1923
  5. Oliver & Boyd's Edinburgh Almanac, 1927
  6. The Times, 1 June 1929
  7. Whitaker's Almanack, 1934
  8. Whitaker's Almanack, 1939
  9. Report of the Annual Conference of the Labour Party, 1939
  10. British Parliamentary Election Results 1918–1949, FWS Craig
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