An election for 16 Scottish representative peers took place on 6 October 1959 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 ...
in
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 ...
. It turned out to be the last election for representative peers as in 1963 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 ...
.
Procedure
The date, time and place of the meeting was set in a Royal Proclamation of 18 September 1959, issued on the day that the previous Parliament was dissolved. 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 25 answered that they were present.
None of the Peers produced any proxies for those who were absent, but 28 Peers had submitted "Signed Lists" as a form of absent voting.
[Minutes, HL 14 1959-60, p. 2.] The Duke of Buccleuch himself chose not to vote; this was the "customary but not compulsory practice" of the Lord Clerk Register.
Result
Four new representative peers were elected who had not sat in the previous Parliament - the Earls of Mar and Kellie, Northesk, and Dundonald, and Lord Sinclair.
Votes cast
See also
*
List of Scottish representative peers
This is a list of representative peers elected from the Peerage of Scotland to sit in the House of Lords after the Acts of Union 1707 abolished the Parliament of Scotland, where, as a unicameral legislature, all Scottis ...
References
* "MINUTES OF MEETING held on the 6th October, 1959, 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 14 of Session 1959–60, HMSO.
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Peerage of Scotland
Scottish representative peers election
Scottish representative peers election
Scottish representative peers election
Scottish representative peers