The Act of Union 1707 and pre-Union Scottish legislation provided for 14 Members of Parliament (MPs) from

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

to be elected from districts of burghs. All the parliamentary burghs ( burghs 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. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

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 a ...

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,

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 district of burghs system was eventually discontinued by the

House of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) Act 1949 The House of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) Act 1949 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that provided for the periodic review of the number and boundaries of parliamentary constituencies. The Act amended the rules for the dist ...

, but the term ''Burghs'' continued in use in the names of some constituencies until 1974.'' Boundaries of Parliamentary Constituencies 1885-1972'' (),

F. W. S. Craig Frederick Walter Scott Craig (10 December 1929 – 23 March 1989) was a Scottish psephologist and compiler of the standard reference books covering United Kingdom Parliamentary election results. He originally worked in public relations, compilin ...

, 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