A general election was held in the United Kingdom between 24 November and 18 December 1885 and 70 constituency seats in
Scotland were contested. One of the two
university seats for Scotland was also contested. Scotland had gained 12 seats since the previous election as a result of the
Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, and the electorate had
increased from 293,581 to 560,580 as a result of the
Representation of the People Act 1884 (out of 24,397,385 people registered in the
1881 census
Events
January–March
* January 1– 24 – Siege of Geok Tepe: Russian troops under General Mikhail Skobelev defeat the Turkomans.
* January 13 – War of the Pacific – Battle of San Juan and Chorrillos: The ...
).
Of particular note was the splintering of the
Liberal representation in Scotland. Some 7 MPs were returned as Independent Liberals, with
Edinburgh in particular seeing 3 of its 4 constituencies return Independent Liberals.
In the western
Highlands the
Crofters Party
The Crofters' Party was the parliamentary arm of the Highland Land League. It managed to elect five MPs in the 1885 general election and a sixth the following year.
The Highland Land League had started on the isle of Skye and in 1884 protest a ...
emerged as the dominant force, taking four constituencies. The Independent Liberal MP elected for the
Wick Burghs
Wick Burghs, sometimes known as Northern Burghs, was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1832 to 1918. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post voting system.
A similar ...
also aligned with the group. The emergence of the group was owed to the
Representation of the People Act 1884, which had reduced the property qualifications for voters. As a result many Crofters were able to vote for the first time in 1885. The Crofting Party worked in close collaboration with the
Highland Land League
The first Highland Land League ( gd, Dionnasg an Fhearainn) emerged as a distinct political force in Scotland during the 1880s, with its power base in the country's Highlands and Islands. It was known also as the Highland Land Law Reform Associat ...
, and opposed the lack of secure and tenure and the severely reduced access to land for
crofters
A croft is a fenced or enclosed area of land, usually small and arable, and usually, but not always, with a crofter's dwelling thereon. A crofter is one who has tenure and use of the land, typically as a tenant farmer, especially in rural area ...
.
Results
Below is a table summarising the results of the 1885 general election in Scotland.
University constituencies
Votes summary
See also
*
References
1885 in Scotland
1880s elections in Scotland
1885
Events
January–March
* January 3– 4 – Sino-French War – Battle of Núi Bop: French troops under General Oscar de Négrier defeat a numerically superior Qing Chinese force, in northern Vietnam.
* January 4 – ...
#Scotland
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