Peeblesshire was a Scottish
county constituency
In the United Kingdom (UK), each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one member to the House of Commons.
Within the United Kingdom there are five bodies with members elected by electoral districts called "constituenc ...
of the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
of the
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...
(
Westminster
Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster.
The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...
) from 1708 until 1868. It elected one
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
(MP) by the
first past the post
In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast their ...
voting system.
Creation
The British parliamentary constituency was created in 1708 following the
Acts of Union, 1707 and replaced the former
Parliament of Scotland
The Parliament of Scotland ( sco, Pairlament o Scotland; gd, PĆ rlamaid na h-Alba) was the legislature of the Kingdom of Scotland from the 13th century until 1707. The parliament evolved during the early 13th century from the king's council o ...
shire constituency of
Peeblesshire
Peeblesshire ( gd, Siorrachd nam PĆ¹ballan), the County of Peebles or Tweeddale is a historic county of Scotland. Its county town is Peebles, and it borders Midlothian to the north, Selkirkshire to the east, Dumfriesshire to the south, and Lan ...
.
Boundaries
The name relates the constituency to the
county of Peebles. Article XII of the
Union with Scotland Act 1706
The Acts of Union ( gd, Achd an Aonaidh) were two Act of Parliament, Acts of Parliament: the Union with Scotland Act 1706 passed by the Parliament of England, and the Union with England Act 1707 passed by the Parliament of Scotland. They put ...
(Act settling the Manner of electing the Representatives of Scotland), provided that one representative should be chosen for every shire and steuartry (except for some shires which were to take turns).
History
The constituency elected one
Member of Parliament (MP)
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members often ...
by the
first past the post
In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast their ...
system until the seat was abolished for the
1868 general election.
This arrangement was continued by the
Representation of the People (Scotland) Act 1832
The Scottish Reform Act 1832 was an Act of Parliament that introduced wide-ranging changes to the election laws of Scotland. The act was passed at approximately the same time as the Reform Act 1832, which applied to England and Wales. The chief ar ...
.
The
Representation of the People (Scotland) Act 1868
The Representation of the People (Scotland) Act 1868 (31 & 32 Vict c 48) was an Act of Parliament, Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It carried on from the Representation of the People Act 1867, and created seven additional Scottish se ...
abolished the rights of the counties of Peebles and Selkirk to return a member, and provided that those counties should jointly return a member, thereby establishing the
Peebles and Selkirk
Peebles and Selkirk was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (Westminster) from 1868 to 1918. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post voting system.
Boundaries
The ...
constituency.
[Representation of the People (Scotland) Act 1868, section 10.]
Members of Parliament
Election results
Elections in the 1830s
Montgomery resigned, causing a by-election.
Montgomery's death caused a by-election.
Elections in the 1840s
Mackenzie was appointed a
Lord Commissioner of the Treasury
In the United Kingdom there are at least six Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury, serving as a commission for the ancient office of Treasurer of the Exchequer. The board consists of the First Lord of the Treasury, the Second Lord of the ...
, requiring a by-election.
Elections in the 1850s
Elections in the 1860s
Graham-Montgomery was appointed a
Lord Commissioner of the Treasury
In the United Kingdom there are at least six Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury, serving as a commission for the ancient office of Treasurer of the Exchequer. The board consists of the First Lord of the Treasury, the Second Lord of the ...
, requiring a by-election.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peeblesshire (Uk Parliament Constituency)
Historic parliamentary constituencies in Scotland (Westminster)
Peeblesshire
Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1708
Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom disestablished in 1868