A by-election for a Scottish representative peer took place on 1 October 1958 at the

Palace of Holyroodhouse The Palace of Holyroodhouse ( or ), commonly referred to as Holyrood Palace or Holyroodhouse, is the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland. Located at the bottom of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, at the opposite end to Edinburgh ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

. The election was caused by the death of Archibald Murray, 16th Lord Sinclair. It turned out to be the last by-election for representative peers before all holders of titles in the

Peerage of Scotland The Peerage of Scotland ( gd, Moraireachd na h-Alba, sco, Peerage o Scotland) is one of the five divisions of peerages in the United Kingdom and for those peers created by the King of Scots before 1707. Following that year's Treaty of Union, ...

were made eligible to sit in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

in 1963.

Procedure

The date, time and place of the meeting was set in a Royal Proclamation of 11 September 1958, issued by the Queen at

Balmoral Castle Balmoral Castle () is a large estate house in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, and a residence of the British royal family. It is near the village of Crathie, west of Ballater and west of Aberdeen. The estate and its original castle were bought ...

. The Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry, who held the role of

Lord Clerk Register The office of Lord Clerk Register is the oldest surviving Great Officer of State in Scotland, with origins in the 13th century. It historically had important functions in relation to the maintenance and care of the public records of Scotland. Tod ...

, presided. When the Principal Clerk of Session George Macdonald read the roll of Peers of Scotland, 115 names were read, and 18 answered that they were present - the highest number at a byelection since 1890. Peers present were also asked to produced any proxies for those who were absent, and

Lord Saltoun Lord Saltoun, of Abernethy, is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1445 for Sir Lawrence Abernethy. The title remained in the Abernethy family until the death in 1669 of his descendant the tenth Lady Saltoun. She was succeeded ...

was admitted as a proxy for

Lord Sempill Lord Sempill (also variously rendered as Semple or Semphill) is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in circa 1489 for Sir John Sempill, founder of the collegiate Church of Lochwinnoch. Sempill was killed at the Battle of Flodde ...

. In addition 29 Peers had submitted "Signed Lists" as a form of absent voting. Unusually the Duke of Buccleuch chose to vote in the election; it was tradition since 1879 for the Lord Clerk Register not to vote, but several previous Lords Clerk Register had broken it.

Result

The 48 voting peers distributed their votes among six peers; after the process had concluded, the Lord Clerk Register noted that the Earl of Mar and Kellie, Lord Sinclair, and Lord Belhaven, "had not in fact been candidates for election".Minutes, HL 5 1958-59, p. 6.

Votes cast

References

* "MINUTES OF MEETING held on the 1st October, 1958, of PEERS OF SCOTLAND for the ELECTION OF THEIR REPRESENTATIVES to sit and vote in the ensuing Parliament of Great Britain and Northern Ireland." House of Lords paper 5 of Session 1958–59, HMSO. {{reflist Peerage of Scotland Scottish representative peer by-election Scottish representative peer by-election Scottish representative peer by-election Scottish representative peers

Procedure

Result

Votes cast

See also

References