# East Fife (UK Parliament constituency)

East Fife was a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1885 to 1983. Along with West Fife, it was formed by splitting the old Fife constituency.
It elected one Member of Parliament using the first-past-the-post voting system, and from 1886 to 1918 it was represented by the Liberal Prime Minister (1908–16), H. H. Asquith.

## Boundaries

In 1885, the constituency comprised the parishes of Abdie, Abernethy, Anstruther Wester, Anstruther Easter, Auchtermuchty, Balmerino, Cameron, Carnbee, Ceres, Collessie, Crail, Creich, Cults, Cupar, Dairsie, Dunbog, Dunino, Elie, Falkland, Ferry-Port-on-Craig, Flisk, Forgan, Kemback, Kennoway, Kettle, Kilconquhar, Kilmany, Kilrenny, Kingsbarns, Largo, Leuchars, Logie, Monimail, Moonzie, Newburgh, Newburn, Pittenweem, St Andrews, St Leonards, St Monance, Scoonie and Strathmiglo.
In 1918, on the dissolution of the St Andrews Burghs constituency, the burghs of St Andrews, Anstruther Easter, Anstruther Wester, Crail, Cupar, Kilrenny and Pittenweem were added to the constituency. It then consisted of "The Cupar and St. Andrews County Districts, inclusive of all burghs situated therein, together with the burgh of Leven and so much of the Kirkcaldy County District as is contained within the extra-burghal portion of the parish of Scoonie and the parish of Kennoway."

## Members of Parliament

| Election | Member | Party |
| 1885 | John Boyd Kinnear | Liberal |
| 1886 | John Boyd Kinnear | Liberal Unionist |
| 1886 | H. H. Asquith | Liberal |
| 1918 | Alexander Sprot | Unionist |
| 1922 | James Duncan Millar | Liberal |
| 1924 | Archibald Cochrane | Unionist |
| 1929 | James Duncan Millar | Liberal |
| 1931 | James Duncan Millar | National Liberal |
| 1933 by-election | James Henderson-Stewart | National Liberal |
| 1961 by-election | John Gilmour | Unionist |
| 1979 | Barry Henderson | Conservative |
| 1983 | Constituency abolished | Constituency abolished |

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

General election 1885: East Fife :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | John Boyd Kinnear | 4,533 | 63.8 | |
| | Conservative | John Gilmour | 2,577 | 36.2 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,956 | 27.6 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 7,110 | 77.0 | |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 9,233 | | |
| | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) |
General election 1886: East Fife :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | H. H. Asquith | 2,863 | 53.5 | −10.3 |
| | Liberal Unionist | John Boyd Kinnear | 2,489 | 46.5 | +10.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 374 | 7.0 | −20.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 5,352 | 58.0 | −19.0 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 9,233 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | −10.3 | |

### Elections in the 1890s

General election 1892: East Fife :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | H. H. Asquith | 3,743 | 52.0 | −1.5 |
| | Conservative | John Gilmour | 3,449 | 48.0 | +1.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 294 | 4.0 | −3.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 7,192 | 78.7 | +20.7 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 9,133 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | −1.5 | |
Asquith is appointed Secretary of State for the Home Department, requiring a by-election.
By-election, 1892: East Fife :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | H. H. Asquith | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold |
General election 1895: East Fife :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | H. H. Asquith | 4,332 | 54.5 | +2.5 |
| | Conservative | John Gilmour | 3,616 | 45.5 | −2.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 716 | 9.0 | +5.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 7,948 | 84.3 | +5.6 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 9,432 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | +2.5 | |

### Elections in the 1900s

General election 1900: East Fife :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | H. H. Asquith | 4,141 | 60.4 | +5.9 |
| | Conservative | Arthur Constable | 2,710 | 39.6 | −5.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,431 | 20.8 | +11.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 6,851 | 72.1 | −12.2 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 9,505 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | +5.9 | |
General election 1906: East Fife :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | H. H. Asquith | 4,723 | 59.0 | −1.4 |
| | Conservative | John Gilmour | 3,279 | 41.0 | +1.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,444 | 18.0 | −2.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 8,002 | 80.0 | +7.9 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 9,998 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | −1.4 | |

### Elections in the 1910s

General election January 1910: East Fife :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | H. H. Asquith | 5,242 | 62.2 | +3.2 |
| | Conservative | Alexander Sprot | 3,183 | 37.8 | −3.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,059 | 24.4 | +6.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 8,425 | 81.2 | +1.2 |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | | |
General election December 1910: East Fife :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | H. H. Asquith | 5,149 | 60.6 | −1.6 |
| | Conservative | Alexander Sprot | 3,350 | 39.4 | +1.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,799 | 21.2 | −3.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 8,499 | 78.0 | −3.2 |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | | |
By-election, 1914: East Fife :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | H. H. Asquith | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold |
General election 1918: East Fife :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | Alexander Sprot | 8,996 | 54.2 | +14.8 |
| | Liberal | H. H. Asquith | 6,996 | 42.2 | −18.4 |
| | Independent Progressive | William Pritchard Morgan | 591 | 3.6 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,002 | 12.0 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 16,581 | 54.0 | −24.0 |
| | Unionist gain from Liberal | Unionist gain from Liberal | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 1920s

General election 1922: East Fife :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | James Duncan Millar | 12,697 | 56.0 | +13.8 |
| | Unionist | Alexander Sprot | 9,987 | 44.0 | −10.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,710 | 12.0 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 22,684 | 67.2 | +13.2 |
| | Liberal gain from Unionist | Liberal gain from Unionist | Swing | +12.0 | |
General election 1923: East Fife :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | James Duncan Millar | 12,825 | 55.5 | −0.5 |
| | Unionist | Alexander Sprot | 10,275 | 44.5 | +0.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,550 | 11.0 | −1.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 23,100 | 67.8 | +0.6 |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | -0.5 | |
General election 1924: East Fife :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | Archibald Cochrane | 12,664 | 53.0 | +8.5 |
| | Liberal | James Duncan Millar | 11,242 | 47.0 | −8.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,422 | 6.0 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 23,906 | 69.2 | +1.4 |
| | Unionist gain from Liberal | Unionist gain from Liberal | Swing | | |
General election 1929: East Fife :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | James Duncan Millar | 14,329 | 42.9 | −4.1 |
| | Unionist | Archibald Cochrane | 13,748 | 41.1 | −11.9 |
| | Labour | W R Garson | 5,350 | 6.0 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 581 | 1.8 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 33,427 | 73.3 | +4.1 |
| | Liberal gain from Unionist | Liberal gain from Unionist | Swing | +3.9 | |

### Elections in the 1930s

1931 general election: East Fife :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | National Liberal | James Duncan Millar | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | National Liberal gain from Liberal | National Liberal gain from Liberal | National Liberal gain from Liberal | National Liberal gain from Liberal | National Liberal gain from Liberal |
1933 East Fife by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | National Liberal | James Henderson-Stewart | 15,770 | 52.2 | N/A |
| | Labour | Joseph Westwood | 6,635 | 22.0 | New |
| | Agricultural Party | J. L. Anderson | 4,404 | 14.6 | New |
| | Independent Liberal | David Edwin Keir | 2,296 | 7.6 | New |
| | National (Scotland) | Eric Linklater | 1,083 | 3.6 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 9,135 | 30.2 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 30,188 | 65.6 | N/A |
| | National Liberal hold | National Liberal hold | Swing | | |
General election 1935: East Fife :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | National Liberal | James Henderson-Stewart | 27,915 | 82.3 | +30.1 |
| | Labour | Alexander Kerr Davidson | 6,016 | 17.7 | −4.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 21,899 | 64.6 | +34.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 33,931 | 71.0 | +5.4 |
| | National Liberal hold | National Liberal hold | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 1940s

General election 1945: East Fife :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | National Liberal | James Henderson-Stewart | 24,765 | 69.4 | −12.9 |
| | Labour Co-op | Samuel McLaren | 10,920 | 30.6 | +12.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 13,845 | 38.8 | −25.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 35,685 | 70.8 | −0.2 |
| | National Liberal hold | National Liberal hold | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 1950s

General election 1950: East Fife :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | National Liberal | James Henderson-Stewart | 25,749 | 63.7 | −5.7 |
| | Labour Co-op | Samuel McLaren | 10,694 | 26.5 | −4.1 |
| | Liberal | David Alexander Freeman | 3,975 | 9.8 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 15,055 | 37.2 | −1.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 40,418 | 81.1 | +1.3 |
| | National Liberal hold | National Liberal hold | Swing | | |
General election 1951: East Fife :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | National Liberal | James Henderson-Stewart | 28,446 | 70.6 | +6.9 |
| | Labour | John McGowan | 11,844 | 29.4 | +2.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 16,602 | 41.2 | +4.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 40,290 | 78.7 | −2.4 |
| | National Liberal hold | National Liberal hold | Swing | | |
General election 1955: East Fife :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | National Liberal | James Henderson-Stewart | 26,104 | 70.6 | 0.0 |
| | Labour | John McGowan | 10,872 | 29.4 | 0.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 15,522 | 41.2 | 0.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 36,976 | 73.2 | −5.5 |
| | National Liberal hold | National Liberal hold | Swing | | |
General election 1959: East Fife :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | National Liberal | James Henderson-Stewart | 26,585 | 69.9 | −0.6 |
| | Labour | John Nicol | 11,421 | 30.0 | +0.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 15,164 | 39.9 | −1.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 38,006 | 75.2 | +2.0 |
| | National Liberal hold | National Liberal hold | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 1960s

1961 East Fife by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | John Gilmour | 15,948 | 47.5 | −22.4 |
| | Labour | John Smith | 8,882 | 26.4 | −3.6 |
| | Liberal | Donald Leach | 8,786 | 26.1 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7,066 | 21.1 | −18.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 33,616 | | |
| | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Swing | -9.3 | |
General election 1964: East Fife :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | John Gilmour | 21,001 | 54.2 | −15.7 |
| | Labour | John Smith | 9,765 | 25.2 | −4.8 |
| | Liberal | Derek C Wood | 5,075 | 13.1 | N/A |
| | SNP | James Braid | 2,635 | 6.8 | New |
| | Independent Loyalist | Leslie M.C. Greene | 257 | 0.7 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 11,236 | 29.0 | −10.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 38,733 | 77.8 | +2.6 |
| | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Swing | | |
General election 1966: East Fife :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | John Gilmour | 19,323 | 51.5 | −2.7 |
| | Labour | Harry Peaker | 9,229 | 24.6 | −0.6 |
| | SNP | James Braid | 5,394 | 14.4 | +7.6 |
| | Liberal | Derek A. Barrie | 3,574 | 9.5 | −3.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 10,094 | 26.9 | −2.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 37,520 | 76.1 | −1.7 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 1970s

General election 1970: East Fife :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | John Gilmour | 21,619 | 54.6 | +3.1 |
| | Labour | Harry Ewing | 9,756 | 24.6 | 0.0 |
| | SNP | James Braid | 4,666 | 11.8 | −2.6 |
| | Liberal | Willis Pickard | 3,577 | 9.0 | −0.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 11,863 | 30.0 | +3.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 39,618 | 74.4 | −1.7 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
General election February 1974: East Fife :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | John Gilmour | 21,172 | 47.9 | −6.7 |
| | SNP | James Braid | 8,593 | 19.5 | +7.7 |
| | Liberal | Willis Pickard | 7,766 | 17.6 | +8.6 |
| | Labour | Bashir Maan | 6,634 | 15.0 | −9.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 12,579 | 28.4 | −1.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 44,165 | 78.8 | +4.4 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
General election October 1974: East Fife :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | John Gilmour | 16,116 | 38.8 | −9.1 |
| | SNP | James Braid | 13,202 | 31.8 | +12.3 |
| | Labour | Helen Liddell | 7,040 | 16.9 | +1.9 |
| | Liberal | D.W.C. Docherty | 5,247 | 12.6 | −5.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,914 | 7.0 | −21.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 41,605 | 73.7 | −5.1 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
General election 1979: East Fife :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Barry Henderson | 20,117 | 43.0 | +4.2 |
| | Liberal | Menzies Campbell | 10,762 | 23.0 | +10.4 |
| | Labour | Henry McLeish | 9,339 | 19.9 | +3.0 |
| | SNP | J. Marshall | 6,612 | 14.1 | −17.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 9,355 | 20.0 | +13.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 46,830 | 79.0 | +5.3 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |