Ross and Cromarty (UK Parliament constituency)

Ross and Cromarty
Ross and Cromarty
Former county constituency; for the House of Commons
Subdivisions of Scotland	1890–1975: Ross and Cromarty; 1975–1983: Highland
1832–1983
Seats	One
Created from	Inverness Burghs, Ross-shire and Cromartyshire
Replaced by	Ross, Cromarty & Skye
During its existence contributed to new seat(s) of:	Na h-Eileanan an Iar or the Western Isles

Ross and Cromarty was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the UK Parliament from 1832 to 1983. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) using the first-past-the-post voting system.

When created in 1832 by the Scottish Reform Act 1832 it combined in one seat the former seats Ross-shire and Cromartyshire.

In 1918 Lewis (a large island several miles offshore) was taken from the seat and merged into the then new Western Isles constituency, and the Fortrose component of the former Inverness Burghs constituency and the Dingwall and Cromarty Parliamentary burghs which formed part of the Wick Burghs constituency were merged into the Ross and Cromarty constituency.

In 1983 the remaining area of the seat was merged with the Isle of Skye and Isle of Raasay areas of the then-Inverness seat to form Ross, Cromarty and Skye.

Local government areas

1890 to 1918

County councils were created in Scotland in 1890, and so the constituency area became also the county council area of Ross and Cromarty, minus the Fortrose, Dingwall and Cromarty parliamentary burghs.

1918 to 1975

When reformed in 1918 the constituency covered the county of Ross and Cromarty (including the former parliamentary burghs) minus Lewis.

1975 to 1983

County councils were abolished in 1975 and replaced with regions and districts and island council areas. The constituency area was then that of the district of Ross and Cromarty plus the Lochalsh area of Skye and Lochalsh. Both districts were within the Highland region.

See also

Members of Parliament

Election		Member ^[1]	Party
	1832	James Alexander Stewart-Mackenzie	Whig^[2]
	1837	Thomas Mackenzie	Conservative^[2]
	1847	Sir James Matheson	Whig^[3]^[4]^[5]
	1859	Sir James Matheson	Liberal
	1868	Alexander Matheson
	1884	Ronald Munro-Ferguson Later Viscount Novar
	1885	Roderick Macdonald	Crofters' Party
	1892	James Galloway Weir	Liberal
	1911	Ian Macpherson (Later made Baron Strathcarron)	Liberal
	1931	Ian Macpherson (Later made Baron Strathcarron)	Liberal National
	1936	Malcolm MacDonald	National Labour
	1945	John MacLeod	Independent Liberal
	1947	John MacLeod	National Liberal
	1964	Alasdair Mackenzie	Liberal
	1970	Hamish Gray	Conservative
1983		constituency abolished

Election results

Ross and successor constituencies election results

Elections in the 1830s

General election 1832: Ross and Cromarty Shire^[6]^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	James Alexander Stewart-Mackenzie	272	64.8
	Tory	Hugh Alexander Johnstone Munro	148	35.2
Majority			124	29.6
Turnout			420	81.4
Registered electors			516
	Whig win (new seat)

General election 1835: Ross and Cromarty Shire^[6]^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	James Alexander Stewart-Mackenzie	241	54.6	−10.2
	Conservative	Thomas Mackenzie	200	45.4	+10.2
Majority			41	9.2	−20.4
Turnout			441	74.2	−7.2
Registered electors			594
	Whig hold		Swing	−10.2

Stewart-Mackenzie resigned after being appointed as Governor Ceylon, causing a by-election.

By-election, 18 April 1837: Ross and Cromarty Shire^[6]^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Thomas Mackenzie	307	61.0	+15.6
	Whig	William Mackenzie	196	39.0	−15.6
Majority			111	22.0	N/A
Turnout			503	66.7	−7.5
Registered electors			754
	Conservative gain from Whig		Swing	+15.6

General election 1837: Ross and Cromarty Shire^[6]^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Thomas Mackenzie	Unopposed
Registered electors			754
	Conservative gain from Whig

Elections in the 1840s

General election 1841: Ross and Cromarty Shire^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Thomas Mackenzie	Unopposed
Registered electors			713
	Conservative hold

General election 1847: Ross and Cromarty Shire^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Whig	James Matheson	Unopposed
Registered electors			827
	Whig gain from Conservative

Elections in the 1850s

General election 1852: Ross and Cromarty Shire^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	James Matheson	288	56.9	*N/A*
	Conservative	George William Holmes Ross^[7]	218	43.1	New
Majority			70	13.8	N/A
Turnout			506	60.8	N/A
Registered electors			832
	Whig hold		Swing	N/A

General election 1857: Ross and Cromarty Shire^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Whig	James Matheson	Unopposed
Registered electors			825
	Whig hold

General election 1859: Ross and Cromarty Shire^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Liberal	James Matheson	Unopposed
Registered electors			851
	Liberal hold

Elections in the 1860s

General election 1865: Ross and Cromarty Shire^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Liberal	James Matheson	Unopposed
Registered electors			933
	Liberal hold

General election 1868: Ross and Cromarty Shire^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Liberal	Alexander Matheson	Unopposed
Registered electors			1,564
	Liberal hold

Elections in the 1870s

General election 1874: Ross and Cromarty Shire^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Liberal	Alexander Matheson	Unopposed
Registered electors			1,559
	Liberal hold

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: Ross and Cromarty Shire^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Liberal	Alexander Matheson	Unopposed
Registered electors			1,664
	Liberal hold

Matheson's resignation caused a by-election.

By-election, 22 August 1884: Ross and Cromarty Shire^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Ronald Munro-Ferguson	717	55.2	*N/A*
	Conservative	Alasdair Mackenzie	334	25.7	New
	Crofters	Roderick Macdonald	248	19.1	New
Majority			383	29.5	N/A
Turnout			1,299	75.5	N/A
Registered electors			1,721
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

General election 1885: Ross and Cromarty Shire ^[8]^[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent Liberal (Crofters)	Roderick Macdonald	4,942	62.8	*N/A*
	Liberal	Ronald Munro-Ferguson	2,925	37.2	N/A
Majority			2,017	25.6	N/A
Turnout			7,867	76.6	N/A
Registered electors			10,265
	Independent Liberal gain from Liberal		Swing	N/A

General election 1886: Ross and Cromarty Shire ^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal (Crofters)	Roderick Macdonald	4,263	78.1	+40.9
	Liberal Unionist	John Peter Grant	1,197	21.9	New
Majority			3,066	56.2	+30.6
Turnout			5,460	53.2	−23.4
Registered electors			10,265
	Liberal gain from Independent Liberal		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1890s

Weir

General election 1892: Ross and Cromarty Shire ^[10]^[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal (Crofters)	Galloway Weir	3,171	56.8	−21.3
	Liberal Unionist	Neil Maclean	2,413	43.2	+21.3
Majority			758	13.6	−42.6
Turnout			5,584	62.3	+9.1
Registered electors			8,966
	Liberal hold		Swing	−21.3

General election 1895: Ross and Cromarty Shire ^[11]^[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Galloway Weir	3,272	57.6	+0.8
	Liberal Unionist	Randle Jackson	2,409	42.4	−0.8
Majority			863	15.2	+1.6
Turnout			5,681	68.8	+6.5
Registered electors			8,256
	Liberal hold		Swing	+0.8

Elections in the 1900s

General election 1900: Ross and Cromarty Shire ^[11]^[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Galloway Weir	3,554	68.3	+10.7
	Conservative	J.D. Fletcher	1,651	31.7	−10.7
Majority			1,903	36.6	+21.4
Turnout			5,205	65.8	−3.0
Registered electors			7,909
	Liberal hold		Swing	+10.7

General election 1906: Ross and Cromarty Shire ^[12]^[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Galloway Weir	3,883	68.7	+0.4
	Conservative	James Crabb Watt	1,771	31.3	−0.4
Majority			2,112	37.4	+0.8
Turnout			5,654	69.8	+4.0
Registered electors			8,101
	Liberal hold		Swing	+0.4

Elections in the 1910s

General election January 1910: Ross and Cromarty Shire ^[13]^[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Galloway Weir	4,430	75.8	+7.1
	Liberal Unionist	Neil Maclean	1,418	24.2	−7.1
Majority			3,012	51.6	+14.2
Turnout			5,848	71.2	+1.4
Registered electors			8,211
	Liberal hold		Swing	+7.1

General election December 1910: Ross and Cromarty Shire ^[13]^[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Galloway Weir	Unopposed
	Liberal hold

1911 Ross and Cromarty by-election^[13]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Ian Macpherson	3,717	74.8	*N/A*
	Liberal Unionist	William Templeton	1,253	25.2	New
Majority			2,464	49.6	N/A
Turnout			4,970	60.2	N/A
Registered electors			8,259
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

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 July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;

Liberal: Ian Macpherson
Unionist: MacLeod

General election 1918: Ross and Cromarty Shire ^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
C	Liberal	Ian Macpherson	8,358	78.9	*N/A*
	Highland Land League	Hector Munro	2,238	21.1	New
Majority			6,120	57.8	N/A
Turnout			10,636	51.2	N/A
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

Elections in the 1920s

Ian MacPherson

General election 1922: Ross and Cromarty ^[15]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	National Liberal	Ian Macpherson	5,923	56.7	−22.2
	Liberal	John Macdonald	4,521	43.3	−35.6
Majority			1,402	13.4	−44.4
Turnout			10,444	42.4	−8.8
	National Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

General election 1923: Ross and Cromarty ^[16]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Ian Macpherson	Unopposed	*N/A*	*N/A*
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

General election 1924: Ross and Cromarty ^[17]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Ian Macpherson	Unopposed	*N/A*	*N/A*
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

General election 1929: Ross and Cromarty ^[18]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Ian Macpherson	9,564	58.8	*N/A*
	Labour	Hugh Donald MacIntosh	6,710	41.2	New
Majority			2,854	17.6	N/A
Turnout			16,274	55.6	N/A
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1930s

General election 1931: Ross and Cromarty^[19]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	National Liberal	Ian Macpherson	Unopposed	*N/A*	*N/A*
	National Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

General election 1935: Ross and Cromarty
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	National Liberal	Ian Macpherson	10,810	76.7	*N/A*
	Labour	John MacKinnon MacDiarmid	3,284	23.3	New
Majority			7,526	53.4	N/A
Turnout			14,094	50.8	N/A
	National Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

1936 Ross and Cromarty by-election^[20]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	National Labour	Malcolm MacDonald	8,949	49.5	*N/A*
	Labour	Hector McNeil	5,967	33.0	+9.7
	Unionist	Randolph Churchill	2,427	13.4	N/A
	Liberal	Russell Thomas	738	4.1	N/A
Majority			2,982	16.5	N/A
Turnout			18,081	62.4	+11.6
	National Labour gain from National Liberal		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1940s

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;

National Labour: Malcolm MacDonald
Labour: Malcolm MacEwen

General election 1945: Ross and Cromarty
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent Liberal	John MacLeod	10,061	62.8	*New*
	Labour	Angus Mackay Mackintosh	5,959	37.2	+13.9
Majority			4,102	25.6	N/A
Turnout			16,020	62.4	+11.6
	Independent Liberal gain from National Labour		Swing

Elections in the 1950s

General election 1950: Ross and Cromarty^[21]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	National Liberal	John MacLeod	10,912	62.6	*New*
	Labour	Alastair C Reid	6,521	37.4	+0.2
Majority			4,391	25.2	N/A
Turnout			17,433	63.1	+0.7
	National Liberal gain from Independent Liberal		Swing

General election 1951: Ross and Cromarty^[22]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	National Liberal	John MacLeod	10,969	64.25	+1.6
	Labour	Alastair C Reid	6,104	35.75	−1.7
Majority			4,865	28.5	+3.3
Turnout			17,073	57.5	−5.6
	National Liberal hold		Swing

General election 1955: Ross and Cromarty^[23]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	National Liberal	John MacLeod	9,929	62.3	−1.9
	Labour	Jane B Saggar	6,003	37.7	+2.0
Majority			3,926	24.6	−3.9
Turnout			15,932	61.9	+4.4
	National Liberal hold		Swing

General election 1959: Ross and Cromarty
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	National Liberal	John MacLeod	7,813	47.2	−15.1
	Labour	Jane B Saggar	4,815	29.1	−8.6
	Liberal	Colin Murchison	3,918	23.7	New
Majority			2,998	18.1	−6.5
Turnout			21,902	75.2	+13.3
	National Liberal hold		Swing

Elections in the 1960s

General election 1964: Ross and Cromarty
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Alasdair Mackenzie	6,923	40.2	+16.5
	National Liberal	John MacLeod	5,516	32.1	−15.1
	Labour	William Alexander Ross	4,767	27.7	−1.4
Majority			1,407	8.2	N/A
Turnout			17,306	69.4	−5.8
	Liberal gain from National Liberal		Swing

General election 1966: Ross and Cromarty
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Alasdair Mackenzie	7,348	42.1	+1.9
	Labour	William Alexander Ross	5,304	30.4	+2.7
	Conservative	Allan John Cameron	4,820	27.6	−4.5
Majority			2,044	11.7	+3.5
Turnout			17,472	71.2	+1.8
	Liberal hold		Swing

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1970: Ross and Cromarty
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Hamish Gray	6,418	33.2	+5.6
	Liberal	Alasdair Mackenzie	5,617	29.1	−13.0
	Labour	Ronald D. Maclean	5,023	26.0	−4.4
	SNP	George Nicholson	2,268	11.7	New
Majority			801	4.1	N/A
Turnout			19,326	71.7	+0.5
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing

General election February 1974: Ross and Cromarty
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Hamish Gray	7,908	36.1	+2.9
	SNP	Willie McRae	5,037	23.0	+11.3
	Liberal	John C. Robertson	4,621	21.1	−8.0
	Labour	Ronald D. Maclean	4,336	19.8	−6.2
Majority			2,871	13.1	+9.0
Turnout			21,902	75.2	+3.5
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election October 1974: Ross and Cromarty
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Hamish Gray	7,954	38.9	+2.8
	SNP	Willie McRae	7,291	35.7	+12.7
	Labour	Brian Wilson	3,440	16.8	−3.0
	Liberal	Tam Glen	1,747	8.6	−12.5
Majority			663	3.2	−9.9
Turnout			20,432	69.5	−5.7
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1979: Ross and Cromarty
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Hamish Gray	10,650	42.4	+3.5
	SNP	Willie McRae	5,915	23.6	−12.1
	Labour	Keir Bloomer	5,055	20.1	+3.3
	Liberal	Hamish Morrison	3,496	13.9	+5.3
Majority			4,735	18.8	+15.6
Turnout			25,116	76.4	+6.9
	Conservative hold		Swing

References

^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "R" (part 2)
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Stooks Smith, Henry (1842). The Register of Parliamentary Contested Elections: Containing the Uncontested Elections Since 1830. London: Simpkin, Marshall, & Co. p. 210.
^ Stooks Smith, Henry. (1973) [1844–1850]. Craig, F. W. S. (ed.). The Parliaments of England (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 63. ISBN 0-900178-13-2.
^ "Ashburton Election". London Evening Standard. 10 March 1843. p. 4. Retrieved 14 September 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^ "Ashburton Election". Freeman's Journal. 11 March 1843. p. 2. Retrieved 14 September 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832–1885 (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.
^ "Elgin Courier". 2 July 1852. p. 3. Retrieved 14 September 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^ ^a ^b Debrett's House of Commons and Judicial Bench, 1889
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Craig, FWS, ed. (1974). British Parliamentary Election Results: 1885–1918. London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 9781349022984.
^ Whitaker's Almanack, 1893
^ ^a ^b Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench, 1901
^ Whitaker's Almanack, 1907
^ ^a ^b ^c Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench, 1916
^ Whitaker's Almanack, 1920
^ The Times, 17 November 1922
^ The Times, 8 December 1923
^ Oliver & Boyd's Edinburgh Almanac, 1927
^ The Times, 1 June 1929
^ Whitaker's Almanack, 1934
^ Whitaker's Almanack, 1939
^ The Times' Guide to the House of Commons. 1950.
^ The Times' Guide to the House of Commons. 1951.
^ The Times' Guide to the House of Commons. 1955.

[1] Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "R" (part 2)

[stookssmith-2] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Stooks Smith, Henry (1842). The Register of Parliamentary Contested Elections: Containing the Uncontested Elections Since 1830. London: Simpkin, Marshall, & Co. p. 210.

[stooks-smith-3] Stooks Smith, Henry. (1973) [1844–1850]. Craig, F. W. S. (ed.). The Parliaments of England (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 63. ISBN 0-900178-13-2.

[4] "Ashburton Election". London Evening Standard. 10 March 1843. p. 4. Retrieved 14 September 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.

[5] "Ashburton Election". Freeman's Journal. 11 March 1843. p. 2. Retrieved 14 September 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.

[craig1832-6] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832–1885 (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.

[7] "Elgin Courier". 2 July 1852. p. 3. Retrieved 14 September 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.

[ReferenceA-8] Debrett's House of Commons and Judicial Bench, 1889

[craig1885-9] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Craig, FWS, ed. (1974). British Parliamentary Election Results: 1885–1918. London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 9781349022984.

[10] Whitaker's Almanack, 1893

[ReferenceB-11] Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench, 1901

[12] Whitaker's Almanack, 1907

[ReferenceC-13] Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench, 1916

[14] Whitaker's Almanack, 1920

[15] The Times, 17 November 1922

[16] The Times, 8 December 1923

[17] Oliver & Boyd's Edinburgh Almanac, 1927

[18] The Times, 1 June 1929

[19] Whitaker's Almanack, 1934

[20] Whitaker's Almanack, 1939

[21] The Times' Guide to the House of Commons. 1950.

[22] The Times' Guide to the House of Commons. 1951.

[23] The Times' Guide to the House of Commons. 1955.

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Ross and Cromarty
Former county constituency for the House of Commons
Subdivisions of Scotland	1890–1975: Ross and Cromarty 1975–1983: Highland
1832–1983
Seats	One
Created from	Inverness Burghs, Ross-shire and Cromartyshire
Replaced by	Ross, Cromarty & Skye
During its existence contributed to new seat(s) of:	Na h-Eileanan an Iar or the Western Isles