The

Act of Union 1707 The Acts of Union ( gd, Achd an Aonaidh) were two 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 into effect the t ...

and pre-Union Scottish legislation provided for 14 Members of Parliament (MPs) from

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

to be elected from districts of burghs. All the

parliamentary burgh 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 " constitue ...

s (

burgh A burgh is an autonomous municipal corporation in Scotland and Northern England, usually a city, town, or toun in Scots. This type of administrative division existed from the 12th century, when King David I created the first royal burghs. Bur ...

s represented in the pre-Union

Parliament of Scotland The Parliament of Scotland ( sco, Pairlament o Scotland; gd, Pàrlamaid 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 ...

) were assigned to a district, except for

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 ...

which had an MP to itself. The burghs in a district were not necessarily adjacent or even close together. Until 1832 the Council of each burgh in a district elected a commissioner, who had one vote for the MP. The commissioner from the Returning Burgh (which function rotated amongst the burghs in successive elections) had an additional casting vote if the numbers were equal. The

Scottish Reform 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 ...

amended the composition of the districts, and the boundaries of a burgh for parliamentary purposes ceased to be necessarily those of the burgh for other purposes. The franchise was extended, and votes from all the burghs were added together. There were further changes to the number and the composition of the districts under 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 the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It carried on from the Representation of the People Act 1867, and created seven additional Scottish seats in the House ...

Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 (48 & 49 Vict., c. 23) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was a piece of electoral reform legislation that redistributed the seats in the House of Commons, introducing the concept of equal ...

, and

Representation of the People Act 1918 The Representation of the People Act 1918 was an Act of Parliament passed to reform the electoral system in Great Britain and Ireland. It is sometimes known as the Fourth Reform Act. The Act extended the franchise in parliamentary elections, al ...

. The district of burghs system was eventually discontinued by the House of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) Act 1949, but the term ''Burghs'' continued in use in the names of some constituencies until 1974.''

Boundaries of Parliamentary Constituencies 1885-1972 Boundary or Boundaries may refer to: * Border, in political geography Entertainment * ''Boundaries'' (2016 film), a 2016 Canadian film * ''Boundaries'' (2018 film), a 2018 American-Canadian road trip film *Boundary (cricket), the edge of the pla ...

'' (), F. W. S. Craig, 1972 The idea of parliamentary burghs continues to this day, in the form of

burgh constituencies 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 ...

, which are distinct from

county constituencies 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 " constitue ...

. This distinction is significant in terms of the expenses allowed to election candidates.

List of districts and burghs

Summary of districts and burghs by period

1708-1832 (14 Districts) (65 Burghs) # Aberdeen Burghs (5) # Anstruther Easter Burghs (5) # Ayr Burghs (5) # Dumfries Burghs (5) # Dysart Burghs (4) # Elgin Burghs (5) # Glasgow Burghs (4) # Haddington Burghs (5) # Inverness Burghs (4) # Linlithgow Burghs (4) # Perth Burghs (5) # Stirling Burghs (5) # Tain Burghs (5) # Wigtown Burghs (4) 1832-1868 (14 Districts) (69 Burghs) # Ayr Burghs (5) # Dumfries Burghs (5) # Elgin Burghs (6) # Falkirk Burghs (5) # Haddington Burghs (5) # Inverness Burghs (4) # Kilmarnock Burghs (5) # Kirkcaldy Burghs (4) # Leith Burghs (3) # Montrose Burghs (5) # St Andrews Burghs (7) # Stirling Burghs (5) # Wick Burghs (6) # Wigtown Burghs (4) 1868-1885 (15 Districts) (72 Burghs) # Ayr Burghs (5) # Dumfries Burghs (5) # Elgin Burghs (6) # Falkirk Burghs (5) # Haddington Burghs (5) # Inverness Burghs (4) # Hawick Burghs (3) # Kilmarnock Burghs (5) # Kirkcaldy Burghs (4) # Leith Burghs (3) # Montrose Burghs (5) # St Andrews Burghs (7) # Stirling Burghs (5) # Wick Burghs (6) # Wigtown Burghs (4) 1885-1918 (13 Districts) (62 Burghs) # Ayr Burghs (5) # Dumfries Burghs (5) # Elgin Burghs (6) # Falkirk Burghs (5) # Hawick Burghs (3) # Inverness Burghs (4) # Kilmarnock Burghs (5) # Kirkcaldy Burghs (4) # Leith Burghs (3) # Montrose Burghs (5) # St Andrews Burghs (7) # Stirling Burghs (5) # Wick Burghs (6) 1918-1950 (6 Districts) (26 Burghs) # Ayr Burghs (6) # Dumbarton Burghs (2) # Dunfermline Burghs (4) # Kirkcaldy Burghs (6) # Montrose Burghs (5) # Stirling & Falkirk Burghs (3)

Notes and references

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List of districts and burghs

Summary of districts and burghs by period

See also

Notes and references