# West Renfrewshire (UK Parliament constituency)

West Renfrewshire was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1885 to 1983 and again from 1997 until 2005. In 2005 the constituency was abolished and the area is now represented by Inverclyde, Paisley and Renfrewshire North and Paisley and Renfrewshire South.

## Boundaries

The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 provided that the Western division should consist of "the parishes of Inverkip, Greenock, Port Glasgow, Kilmalcolm, Erskine, Inchinnan, Houston, Kilbarchan, Lochwinnoch, Renfrew, Abbey, Neilston, Beith, and Dunlop".
From 1918 the constituency consisted of "The Lower county District, inclusive of all burghs situated therein, except the burgh of Greenock, together with the burgh of Johnstone."
From 1997 to 2005 the constituency consisted of the Renfrew District electoral divisions of Bargarran and Gryffe, and the Inverclyde District electoral division of Port Glasgow and Kilmacolm.
In 1999 with the creation of the devolved Scottish Parliament, a Scottish Parliamentary constituency of West Renfrewshire was created with the same name and boundaries as the UK Parliament constituency.

### Abolition

Under the Parliamentary Constituencies (Scotland) Order 1983 (SI 1983/422), made under the authority of the House of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) Act 1949, West Renfrewshire was abolished in 1983. The area of the constituency was divided between Renfrew West and Inverclyde, Paisley North and Paisley South.
In 2005, the constituency was again abolished and remains so to the present day. The Parliamentary Constituencies (Scotland) Order 2005 (SI 2005/250) made under the authority of the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986 divided the former West Renfrewshire constituency amongst the new Inverclyde, Paisley and Renfrewshire North and Paisley and Renfrewshire South constituencies.

## Members of Parliament
### MPs 1885–1983

| Election | Election | Member | Party |
| | 1885 | Sir Archibald Campbell, Bt | Unionist |
| | 1892 | Charles Renshaw | Unionist |
| | 1906 | Sir Thomas Glen-Coats, Bt | Liberal |
| | January 1910 | James Greig | Liberal |
| | 1922 | Robert Murray | Labour |
| | 1924 | McInnes Shaw | Unionist |
| | 1929 | Robert Forgan | Labour |
| | 1931 | Henry Scrymgeour-Wedderburn, later Earl of Dundee | Unionist |
| | 1945 | Thomas Scollan | Labour |
| | 1950 | John Maclay later Viscount Muirshiel | National Liberal and Conservative |
| | 1964 | Norman Buchan | Labour |
| 1983 | 1983 | constituency abolished | constituency abolished |
Constituency divided amongst:
   * Renfrew West and Inverclyde
   * Paisley North
   * Paisley South

### MPs 1997–2005

| Election | Election | Member | Party |
| | 1997 | Tommy Graham | Labour then Independent |
| | 2001 | Jim Sheridan | Labour |
| 2005 | 2005 | constituency abolished | constituency abolished |
Constituency divided amongst:
   * Inverclyde
   * Paisley and Renfrewshire North
   * Paisley and Renfrewshire South

## Election results
### Elections in the 1880s

General election 1885: West Renfrewshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Archibald Campbell | 3,618 | 54.8 | |
| | Liberal | Harry Smith | 2,980 | 45.2 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 638 | 9.6 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 6,598 | 85.1 | |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 7,750 | | |
| | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) |
General election 1886: West Renfrewshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Archibald Campbell | 3,434 | 54.4 | −0.4 |
| | Liberal | William Dunn | 2,881 | 45.6 | +0.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 553 | 8.8 | −0.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 6,315 | 81.5 | −3.6 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 7,750 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −0.4 | |

### Elections in the 1890s

General election 1892: West Renfrewshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Charles Renshaw | 3,773 | 53.2 | −1.2 |
| | Liberal | Robert Wallace | 3,322 | 46.8 | +1.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 451 | 6.4 | −2.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 7,095 | 86.6 | +5.1 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 8,192 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −1.2 | |
General election 1895: West Renfrewshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Charles Renshaw | 3,909 | 54.2 | +1.0 |
| | Liberal | Duncan Pirie | 3,306 | 45.8 | −1.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 603 | 8.4 | +2.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 7,215 | 86.0 | −0.6 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 8,386 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +1.0 | |

### Elections in the 1900s

General election 1900: West Renfrewshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Charles Renshaw | 4,323 | 51.6 | −2.6 |
| | Liberal | Thomas Glen-Coats | 4,053 | 48.4 | +2.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 270 | 3.2 | −5.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 8,376 | 84.9 | −1.1 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 9,861 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −2.6 | |
General election 1906: West Renfrewshire 12,079 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Thomas Glen-Coats | 5,858 | 56.6 | +8.2 |
| | Conservative | John Charles Cunninghame | 4,490 | 43.4 | −8.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,368 | 13.2 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 10,348 | 85.7 | +0.8 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 12,079 | | |
| | Liberal gain from Conservative | Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | +8.2 | |

### Elections in the 1910s

General election January 1910: West Renfrewshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | James Greig | 6,480 | 53.5 | −3.1 |
| | Conservative | John Charles Cuninghame | 5,631 | 46.5 | +3.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 849 | 7.0 | −6.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 12,111 | 87.1 | +1.4 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 13,900 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | −3.1 | |
General election December 1910: West Renfrewshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | James Greig | 6,366 | 51.1 | −2.4 |
| | Conservative | Henry Mechan | 6,082 | 48.9 | +2.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 284 | 2.2 | −4.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 12,448 | 86.7 | −0.4 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 14,363 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | −2.4 | |
General Election 1914–15:
Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1915. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by the July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;
* Liberal: James Greig
* Unionist: Henry Mechan
General election 1918: West Renfrewshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| C | Liberal | James Greig | 11,524 | 61.8 | +10.7 |
| | Labour | Robert Murray | 7,126 | 38.2 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,398 | 23.6 | +21.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 18,650 | 65.3 | −21.4 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 28,542 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | N/A | |
| C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government. ||||||

### Elections in the 1920s

General election 1922: West Renfrewshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Robert Murray | 11,787 | 54.0 | +15.8 |
| | National Liberal | James Greig | 10,051 | 46.0 | −15.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,736 | 8.0 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 21,838 | 75.6 | +10.3 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 28,868 | | |
| | Labour gain from Liberal | Labour gain from Liberal | Swing | +15.8 | |
General election 1923: West Renfrewshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Robert Murray | 10,904 | 48.1 | −5.9 |
| | Unionist | Alexander Thomson Taylor | 7,602 | 33.6 | New |
| | Liberal | James Scott | 4,149 | 18.3 | −27.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,302 | 14.5 | +6.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 22,655 | 77.0 | +1.4 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 29,426 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +10.9 | |
General election 1924: West Renfrewshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | McInnes Shaw | 13,267 | 54.1 | +20.5 |
| | Labour | Robert Murray | 11,252 | 45.9 | −2.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,015 | 8.2 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 24,519 | 84.5 | +7.5 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 29,029 | | |
| | Unionist gain from Labour | Unionist gain from Labour | Swing | +9.2 | |
General election 1929: West Renfrewshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Robert Forgan | 14,419 | 46.5 | +0.6 |
| | Unionist | Alexander Thomson Taylor | 12,183 | 39.4 | −14.7 |
| | Liberal | Francis Anderson | 2,682 | 8.7 | New |
| | National (Scotland) | Roland Muirhead | 1,667 | 5.4 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,236 | 7.1 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 30,951 | 81.6 | −2.9 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 37,947 | | |
| | Labour gain from Unionist | Labour gain from Unionist | Swing | +7.7 | |

### Elections in the 1930s

General election 1931: West Renfrewshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | Henry Scrymgeour-Wedderburn | 17,318 | 53.5 | +14.1 |
| | Ind. Labour Party | Jean Mann | 10,203 | 31.5 | N/A |
| | National (Scotland) | Roland Muirhead | 3,547 | 11.0 | +5.6 |
| | New Party | Robert Forgan | 1,304 | 4.0 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7,115 | 22.0 | +14.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 32,372 | 83.2 | +1.6 |
| | Unionist gain from Labour | Unionist gain from Labour | Swing | | |
General election 1935: West Renfrewshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | Henry Scrymgeour-Wedderburn | 15,906 | 49.7 | −3.8 |
| | Labour | Jean Mann | 12,407 | 38.8 | +7.3 |
| | SNP | Roland Muirhead | 3,697 | 11.5 | +0.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,499 | 10.9 | −11.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 32,010 | 81.2 | −2.0 |
| | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 1940s

General Election 1939–40
Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1940. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by the Autumn of 1939, the following candidates had been selected;
* Unionist: Henry Scrymgeour-Wedderburn
* Labour: David Cleghorn Thomson
* SNP:
General election 1945: West Renfrewshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Thomas Scollan | 15,050 | 48.9 | +10.1 |
| | Unionist | Henry Scrymgeour-Wedderburn | 13,836 | 44.9 | −4.8 |
| | SNP | Robert Blair Wilkie | 1,955 | 6.3 | −5.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,214 | 4.0 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 30,841 | 70.0 | −11.2 |
| | Labour gain from Unionist | Labour gain from Unionist | Swing | +7.4 | |

### Elections in the 1950s

General election 1950: West Renfrewshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | National Liberal | John Maclay | 20,810 | 54.03 | |
| | Labour | Thomas Scollan | 17,708 | 45.97 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,102 | 8.06 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 38,518 | 77.42 | |
| | National Liberal gain from Labour | National Liberal gain from Labour | Swing | | |
General election 1951: West Renfrewshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | National Liberal | John Maclay | 21,456 | 53.71 |
| | Labour | Bruce Millan | 18,493 | 46.29 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,963 | 7.42 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 39,949 | 84.66 |
| | National Liberal hold | National Liberal hold | Swing | |
General election 1955: West Renfrewshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | National Liberal | John Maclay | 21,283 | 55.24 |
| | Labour Co-op | Dickson Mabon | 17,243 | 44.76 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,040 | 10.48 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 38,526 | 83.02 |
| | National Liberal hold | National Liberal hold | Swing | |
General election 1959: West Renfrewshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | National Liberal | John Maclay | 20,959 | 53.51 |
| | Labour | Charles Minihan | 18,206 | 46.49 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,753 | 7.02 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 39,165 | 82.64 |
| | National Liberal hold | National Liberal hold | Swing | |

### Elections in the 1960s

General election 1964: West Renfrewshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Norman Buchan | 19,518 | 46.17 | |
| | Unionist | Roy Pickering Paton | 18,507 | 43.77 | |
| | Liberal | Gavin E McFadyean | 4,253 | 10.06 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,011 | 2.40 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 42,278 | 82.87 | |
| | Labour gain from National Liberal | Labour gain from National Liberal | Swing | | |
General election 1966: West Renfrewshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Norman Buchan | 23,849 | 54.31 |
| | Conservative | Roy Pickering Paton | 20,060 | 45.69 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,789 | 8.62 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 43,909 | 81.62 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |

### Elections in the 1970s

General election 1970: West Renfrewshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Norman Buchan | 22,999 | 48.02 | |
| | Conservative | Alexander Fletcher | 20,699 | 43.22 | |
| | SNP | Allan Macartney | 4,195 | 8.76 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,300 | 4.80 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 47,893 | 79.41 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
General election February 1974: West Renfrewshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Norman Buchan | 22,178 | 40.25 | |
| | Conservative | J. Ross-Harper | 19,510 | 35.41 | |
| | SNP | Charles Cameron | 8,394 | 15.23 | |
| | Liberal | David Young | 5,022 | 9.11 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,668 | 4.84 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 55,104 | 82.92 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
General election October 1974: West Renfrewshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Norman Buchan | 20,674 | 38.49 |
| | SNP | Charles Cameron | 15,374 | 28.62 |
| | Conservative | J. Ross-Harper | 14,399 | 26.80 |
| | Liberal | D Brown | 3,271 | 6.09 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,300 | 9.87 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 53,718 | 80.08 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |
General election 1979: West Renfrewshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Norman Buchan | 28,236 | 44.47 | +5.98 |
| | Conservative | W Boyle | 19,664 | 30.97 | +4.17 |
| | SNP | Charles Cameron | 8,333 | 13.13 | −15.49 |
| | Liberal | Ross Finnie | 7,256 | 11.43 | +5.34 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 8,572 | 13.50 | +4.63 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 63,489 | 81.17 | +1.09 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: West Renfrewshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Tommy Graham | 19,525 | 46.6 | +3.7 |
| | SNP | Colin Campbell | 10,546 | 26.5 | +5.9 |
| | Conservative | Charles J.S. Cormack | 7,387 | 18.6 | −9.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Bruce J.S. Macpherson | 3,045 | 7.7 | −0.8 |
| | Referendum | Shaw T. Lindsay | 283 | 0.7 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7,979 | 20.1 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 39,786 | 76.0 | |
| | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) |

### Elections in the 2000s

General election 2001: West Renfrewshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Jim Sheridan | 15,720 | 46.9 | +0.3 |
| | SNP | Carol Puthucheary | 7,145 | 21.3 | −5.2 |
| | Conservative | David Sharpe | 5,522 | 16.5 | −2.1 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Clare Hamblen | 4,185 | 12.5 | +4.8 |
| | Scottish Socialist | Arlene Nunnery | 925 | 2.8 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 8,575 | 25.6 | +5.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 33,497 | 63.3 | −12.7 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |