# Combined Scottish Universities (UK Parliament constituency)

The Combined Scottish Universities was a three-member university constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1918 until 1950. It was created by merging the single-member constituencies of Glasgow and Aberdeen Universities and Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities.

## Boundaries

The constituency was not a physical area but was rather elected by the graduates of the Scottish Universities of St Andrews, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen.
The constituency returned three Members of Parliament to Westminster, elected by Single Transferable Vote. The by-elections used the first past the post voting system.
This University constituency was created by the Representation of the People Act 1918 and abolished in 1950 by the Representation of the People Act 1948.

## Members of Parliament

| Election | First member | First member | First party | Second member | Second member | Second party | Third member | Third member | Third party |
| 1918 | | Sir William Cheyne | Coalition Conservative | | Dugald McCoig Cowan | Coalition Liberal | | Sir Henry Craik | Coalition Conservative |
| 1922 | | Sir George Berry | Unionist | | Dugald McCoig Cowan | Liberal | | Sir Henry Craik | Unionist |
| Apr 1927 | | Sir George Berry | Unionist | | Dugald McCoig Cowan | Liberal | | John Buchan | Unionist |
| 1931 | | Noel Skelton | Unionist | | Dugald McCoig Cowan | Liberal | | John Buchan | Unionist |
| Mar 1934 | | Noel Skelton | Unionist | | George Alexander Morrison | Liberal | | John Buchan | Unionist |
| Jun 1935 | | Noel Skelton | Unionist | | George Alexander Morrison | National Liberal | | Sir John Kerr | Unionist |
| Jan 1936 | | Ramsay MacDonald | National Labour | | George Alexander Morrison | National Liberal | | Sir John Kerr | Unionist |
| Feb 1938 | | Sir John Anderson | National | | George Alexander Morrison | National Liberal | | Sir John Kerr | Unionist |
| Apr 1945 | | Sir John Anderson | National | | Sir John Boyd-Orr | Independent | | Sir John Kerr | Unionist |
| Nov 1946 | | Sir John Anderson | National | | Walter Elliot | Unionist | | Sir John Kerr | Unionist |
| 1950 | University constituencies abolished | University constituencies abolished | University constituencies abolished | University constituencies abolished | University constituencies abolished | University constituencies abolished | University constituencies abolished | University constituencies abolished | University constituencies abolished |

## Election results
### Elections in the 1910s

General election, November 1918: Combined Scottish Universities :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | YWatson Cheyne | 3,719 | 28.7 | |
| | Liberal | YDugald Cowan | 3,499 | 27.0 | |
| | Unionist | YHenry Craik | 3,286 | 25.4 | |
| | Labour | Peter Macdonald | 1,581 | 12.2 | |
| | Independent | William Robert Smith | 850 | 6.6 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,705 | 13.2 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 12,935 | | |
| | Unionist win (new seat) | Unionist win (new seat) | Unionist win (new seat) | Unionist win (new seat) | Unionist win (new seat) |
| | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) |
| | Unionist win (new seat) | Unionist win (new seat) | Unionist win (new seat) | Unionist win (new seat) | Unionist win (new seat) |

### Elections in the 1920s

General election 1922: Combined Scottish Universities :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| Unionist | George Andreas Berry | Unopposed | N/A | N/A |
| Liberal | Dugald Cowan | Unopposed | N/A | N/A |
| Unionist | Henry Craik | Unopposed | N/A | N/A |
General election 1923: Combined Scottish Universities :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| Unionist | George Andreas Berry | Unopposed | N/A | N/A |
| Liberal | Dugald Cowan | Unopposed | N/A | N/A |
| Unionist | Henry Craik | Unopposed | N/A | N/A |
General election 1924: Combined Scottish Universities :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | Henry Craik | 7,188 | 40.8 | N/A |
| | Liberal | Dugald Cowan | 5,011 | 28.4 | N/A |
| | Unionist | George Andreas Berry | 3,781 | 21.5 | N/A |
| | Labour | John Martin Munro | 1,639 | 9.3 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,142 | 12.2 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 17,619 | | |
| | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Swing | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | | |
| | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Swing | | |
1927 Combined Scottish Universities by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | John Buchan | 16,963 | 87.7 | +66.2 |
| | Labour | Hugh Guthrie | 2,378 | 12.3 | +3.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 14,585 | 75.4 | +63.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 19,341 | 55.1 | 0.0 |
| | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Swing | | |
General election 1929: Combined Scottish Universities (3 seats) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 |
| | Unionist | John Buchan | 39.7 | 9,959 | |
| | Liberal | Dugald Cowan | 26.7 | 6,698 | |
| | Unionist | George Berry | 22.9 | 5,755 | 9,262 |
| | Labour | James Kerr (Scottish doctor) | 10.7 | 2,691 | 2,867 |
| Electorate: 43,192 Valid: 25,103 Quota: 6,276 Turnout: 25,103 ||||||

### Elections in the 1930s

General election, October 1931: Combined Scottish Universities :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| Unionist | John Buchan | Unopposed | N/A | N/A |
| Liberal | Dugald Cowan | Unopposed | N/A | N/A |
| Unionist | Noel Skelton | Unopposed | N/A | N/A |
1934 Combined Scottish Universities by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | George Morrison | 18,070 | 79.2 | N/A |
| | Labour | Robert Gibson | 4,750 | 20.8 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 13,320 | 58.4 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 22,820 | 44.3 | N/A |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | | |
1935 Combined Scottish Universities by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | John Graham Kerr | 20,507 | 82.7 | N/A |
| | Labour | Naomi Mitchison | 4,293 | 17.3 | −3.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 16,214 | 65.4 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 24,800 | 48.1 | N/A |
| | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Swing | N/A | |
General election, November 1935: Combined Scottish Universities :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | John Graham Kerr | 8,252 | 30.4 | N/A |
| | National Liberal | George Morrison | 7,529 | 27.7 | N/A |
| | Unionist | Noel Skelton | 7,479 | 27.6 | N/A |
| | SNP | Andrew Dewar Gibb | 3,865 | 14.2 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 723 | 13.4 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 27,125 | | N/A |
| | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Swing | | |
1936 Combined Scottish Universities by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | National Labour | Ramsay MacDonald | 16,393 | 56.5 | New |
| | SNP | Andrew Dewar Gibb | 9,034 | 31.1 | +16.9 |
| | Labour | David Cleghorn Thomson | 3,597 | 12.4 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7,359 | 37.4 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 29,024 | 54.8 | +3.6 |
| | National Labour gain from Unionist | National Labour gain from Unionist | Swing | N/A | |
1938 Combined Scottish Universities by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | National | John Anderson | 14,042 | 48.8 | −7.7 |
| | Independent | Frances H. Melville | 5,618 | 19.5 | New |
| | SNP | Andrew Dewar Gibb | 5,246 | 18.2 | −12.9 |
| | Independent Progressive | Peter Chalmers Mitchell | 3,868 | 13.5 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 8,424 | 29.3 | +3.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 28,774 | 52.1 | −2.7 |
| | National hold | National hold | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 1940s

1945 Combined Scottish Universities by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Independent | John Boyd-Orr | 20,197 | 71.2 | N/A |
| | National Liberal | R.M. Munro | 8,177 | 28.8 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 12,020 | 43.4 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 28,374 | 44.6 | −7.5 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 63,581 | | |
| | Independent gain from National Liberal | Independent gain from National Liberal | Swing | | |
1945 general election: Combined Scottish Universities :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | National | YJohn Anderson | 16,011 | 48.8 | New |
| | Independent | YJohn Boyd-Orr | 10,685 | 32.6 | New |
| | Labour | Halliday Sutherland | 2,860 | 8.7 | N/A |
| | Liberal | Ralph Somerville Weir | 1,872 | 5.7 | N/A |
| | Unionist | YJohn Graham Kerr | 1,361 | 4.2 | −53.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7,825 | 23.9 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 32,789 | 51.6 | +3.5 |
| | National hold | National hold | Swing | N/A | |
| | Independent hold | Independent hold | Swing | N/A | |
| | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Swing | N/A | |
1946 Combined Scottish Universities by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | Walter Elliot | 22,152 | 68.2 | +64.0 |
| | Labour | C. E. M. Joad | 3,731 | 11.5 | +2.8 |
| | Liberal | John Bannerman | 2,593 | 8.0 | +2.3 |
| | Independent | J. G. Jameson | 2,080 | 6.4 | N/A |
| | National Liberal | Robert Scott Stevenson | 1,938 | 5.9 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 18,421 | 56.7 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 32,494 | 50.7 | −0.9 |
| | Unionist gain from Independent | Unionist gain from Independent | Swing | | |