# Leith (UK Parliament constituency)

Leith was a burgh constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1918 to 1950. The constituency elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.
There was also an earlier Leith Burghs constituency, 1832 to 1918, and a later Edinburgh Leith constituency, 1950 to 1997.

## Boundaries

The Leith constituency was created under the Representation of the People Act 1918, and first used in the 1918 general election, to cover the burgh of Leith, in the county of Midlothian. The burgh was previously within the Leith Burghs constituency.
1918 boundaries were used also in the general elections of 1922, 1923, 1924, 1929, 1931, 1935 and 1945.
The burgh was merged into the City of Edinburgh in 1920, and for the 1950 general election, under the House of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) Act 1949, the Edinburgh Leith constituency was created as one of seven constituencies covering the city and the Midlothian burgh of Musselburgh.

## Members of Parliament

| Election | Member | Party |
| 1918 | William Wedgwood Benn | Liberal |
| 1927 by-election | Ernest Brown | Liberal |
| 1931 | Ernest Brown | National Liberal |
| 1945 | James Hutchison Hoy, subsequently MP for Edinburgh Leith | Labour |

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

General election 1918: Leith Electorate :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | William Wedgwood Benn | 10,338 | 46.6 | |
| C | Unionist | George Welsh Currie | 7,613 | 34.3 | |
| | Labour | Stanley Burgess | 4,251 | 19.1 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,725 | 12.3 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 22,202 | 52.2 | |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 42,507 | | |
| | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) |
| C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government. ||||||

### Elections in the 1920s

General election 1922: Leith :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | William Wedgwood Benn | 13,971 | 50.1 | +3.5 |
| | Unionist | Alexander Munro MacRobert | 7,372 | 26.4 | −7.9 |
| | Labour | Robert Freeman Wilson | 6,567 | 23.5 | +4.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 6,599 | 23.7 | +11.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 27,910 | 71.5 | +19.3 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 39,048 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | +5.7 | |
General election 1923: Leith :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | William Wedgwood Benn | 15,004 | 64.5 | +14.4 |
| | Labour | Robert Freeman Wilson | 8,267 | 35.5 | +12.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 6,737 | 29.0 | +5.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 23,271 | 59.1 | −12.4 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 39,385 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | +1.2 | |
General election 1924: Leith :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | William Wedgwood Benn | 16,569 | 59.6 | −4.9 |
| | Labour | Robert Freeman Wilson | 11,250 | 40.4 | +4.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,319 | 19.2 | −9.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 27,819 | 70.5 | +11.4 |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | −4.9 | |
1927 Leith by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Ernest Brown | 12,461 | 42.3 | −17.3 |
| | Labour | Robert Freeman Wilson | 12,350 | 42.0 | +1.6 |
| | Unionist | Allan Beaton | 4,607 | 15.7 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 111 | 0.3 | −18.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 29,418 | 73.9 | +3.4 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 39,795 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | −9.5 | |
General election, 30 May 1929: Leith :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Ernest Brown | 20,613 | 56.7 | −2.9 |
| | Labour | Alan H Paton | 15,715 | 43.3 | +2.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,898 | 13.4 | −5.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 36,328 | 71.5 | +1.0 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 50,801 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | −2.9 | |
* change and swing from 1924

### Elections in the 1930s

General election 1931: Leith Electorate 50,979 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | National Liberal | Ernest Brown | 24,847 | 65.0 | +8.3 |
| | Labour | Arthur Woodburn | 13,400 | 35.0 | −8.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 11,447 | 30.0 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 38,247 | 75.0 | +3.5 |
| | National Liberal gain from Liberal | National Liberal gain from Liberal | Swing | | |
General election 1935: Leith :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | National Liberal | Ernest Brown | 18,888 | 57.7 | −7.3 |
| | Labour | David Cleghorn Thomson | 13,818 | 42.2 | +7.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,070 | 15.5 | −14.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 32,706 | 65.5 | −9.5 |
| | National Liberal hold | National Liberal hold | Swing | -7.3 | |
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 from 1939 and by the end of this year, the following candidates had been selected;
* Liberal National: Ernest Brown
* Labour: James Hoy

### Elections in the 1940s

General election 1945: Leith :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | James Hoy | 19,571 | 60.8 | +18.6 |
| | National Liberal | Ernest Brown | 10,116 | 31.4 | −26.3 |
| | Protestant Action | John Cormack | 2,493 | 7.8 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 9,455 | 29.4 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 32,180 | 69.3 | +3.8 |
| | Labour gain from National Liberal | Labour gain from National Liberal | Swing | +22.4 | |