# Kincardineshire (UK Parliament constituency)

Kincardineshire was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1708 to 1801 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1918. It was represented by one Member of Parliament (MP).

## Creation

The British parliamentary constituency was created in 1708 following the Acts of Union, 1707 and replaced the former Parliament of Scotland shire constituency of Kincardineshire. The first election to a Parliament of Great Britain was in 1708. In 1707-08 members of the 1702-1707 Parliament of Scotland were co-opted to serve in the 1st Parliament of Great Britain. See Scottish representatives to the 1st Parliament of Great Britain, for further details.

## Boundaries

The constituency represented the county of Kincardineshre., which had previously been represented by two commissioners in the former Parliament of Scotland. The constituency included the whole shire, except for the Royal burgh of Inverbervie which formed part of the Aberdeen Burghs constituency.

## History

The constituency elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system until the seat was reorganised in 1918.
In 1918, the constituency was combined with part of Western Aberdeenshire to form the Kincardine and Western Aberdeenshire constituency.

## Members of Parliament

* Constituency created (1708)
| Year | Member | Party |
| 1708 | Sir David Ramsay, Bt | |
| 1710 | Sir Alexander Ramsay, Bt | |
| 1713 | James Scott | |
| 1734 | John Falconer | |
| 1741 | Sir James Carnegie, Bt | |
| 1765 | Sir Alexander Ramsay-Irvine, 6th Bt | |
| 1768 | Robert Hepburn | |
| 1774 | Lord Adam Gordon | |
| 1788 | Robert Barclay Allardice | |
| 1797 | Sir John Wishart-Belches | |
| 1806 | William Adam | |
| 1812 | George Harley Drummond | |
| 1820 | Sir Alexander Ramsay, Bt | |
| 1826 | Sir Hugh Arbuthnot | Tory |
| 1834 | Sir Hugh Arbuthnot | Conservative |
| 1865 | James Dyce Nicol | Liberal |
| 1872 | Sir George Balfour | Liberal |
| 1892 | John William Crombie | Liberal |
| 1908 | Arthur Murray | Liberal |
* Constituency abolished (1918)

## Elections
### Elections in the 1830s

General election 1830: Kincardineshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Tory | Hugh Arbuthnot | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 82 | |
| | Tory hold | Tory hold | Tory hold | Tory hold |
General election 1831: Kincardineshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Tory | Hugh Arbuthnot | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 82 | |
| | Tory hold | Tory hold | Tory hold | Tory hold |
General election 1832: Kincardineshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Tory | Hugh Arbuthnot | 388 | 59.1 |
| | Whig | Thomas Burnett | 269 | 40.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 119 | 18.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 657 | 86.1 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 763 | |
| | Tory hold | Tory hold | Tory hold | Tory hold |
General election 1835: Kincardineshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Hugh Arbuthnot | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 844 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold |
General election 1837: Kincardineshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Hugh Arbuthnot | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 906 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold |

### Elections in the 1840s

General election 1841: Kincardineshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Hugh Arbuthnot | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 914 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold |
General election 1847: Kincardineshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Hugh Arbuthnot | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 808 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold |

### Elections in the 1850s

General election 1852: Kincardineshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Hugh Arbuthnot | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 951 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold |
General election 1857: Kincardineshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Hugh Arbuthnot | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 997 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold |
General election 1859: Kincardineshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Hugh Arbuthnot | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 1,021 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold |

### Elections in the 1860s

General election 1865: Kincardineshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | James Dyce Nicol | 490 | 63.0 | New |
| | Conservative | Thomas Gladstone | 288 | 37.0 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 202 | 26.0 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 778 | 78.8 | N/A |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 987 | | |
| | Liberal gain from Conservative | Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | N/A | |
General election 1868: Kincardineshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | James Dyce Nicol | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 1,731 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold |

### Elections in the 1870s

Nicol's death caused a by-election.
By-election, 10 Dec 1872: Kincardineshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | George Balfour | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold |
General election 1874: Kincardineshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | George Balfour | 941 | 63.8 | N/A |
| | Conservative | James Badenach Nicolson | 533 | 36.2 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 408 | 27.6 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,474 | 83.4 | N/A |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 1,767 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | N/A | |

### Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: Kincardineshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | George Balfour | 1,037 | 67.5 | +3.7 |
| | Conservative | David Sinclair | 500 | 32.5 | −3.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 537 | 35.0 | +7.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,537 | 83.6 | +0.2 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 1,838 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | +3.7 | |
General election 1885: Kincardineshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | George Balfour | 3,160 | 71.4 | +3.9 |
| | Conservative | David Scott Porteous | 1,267 | 28.6 | −3.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,893 | 42.8 | +7.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,427 | 79.3 | −4.3 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 5,580 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | +3.9 | |
General election 1886: Kincardineshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | George Balfour | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold |

### Elections in the 1890s

General election 1892: Kincardineshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | John William Crombie | 2,444 | 64.0 | N/A |
| | Kincardineshire Church Defence | Johnston Stephen | 1,376 | 36.0 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,068 | 28.0 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,820 | 66.8 | N/A |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 5,719 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | N/A | |
General election 1895: Kincardineshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | John William Crombie | 2,603 | 56.1 | −7.9 |
| | Conservative | Charles Hepburn-Stuart-Forbes-Trefusis | 2,040 | 43.9 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 563 | 12.2 | −15.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,643 | 78.7 | +11.9 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 5,897 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold |

### Elections in the 1900s

General election 1900: Kincardineshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | John William Crombie | 3,092 | 66.8 | +10.7 |
| | Conservative | James Mowat | 1,536 | 33.2 | −10.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,556 | 33.6 | +21.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,628 | 72.2 | −6.5 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 6,410 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | +10.7 | |
General election 1906: Kincardineshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | John William Crombie | 3,877 | 71.8 | +5.0 |
| | Conservative | Sydney Gammell | 1,524 | 28.2 | −5.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,353 | 43.6 | +10.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 5,401 | 76.4 | +4.2 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 7,067 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | +5.0 | |
1908 Kincardineshire by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Arthur Murray | 3,661 | 65.1 | −6.7 |
| | Conservative | Sydney Gammell | 1,963 | 34.9 | +6.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,698 | 30.2 | −13.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 5,624 | 79.0 | +2.6 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 7,119 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | −6.7 | |

### Elections in the 1910s

General election January 1910: Kincardineshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Arthur Murray | 3,926 | 67.5 | +2.4 |
| | Conservative | Robert Pearson | 1,891 | 32.5 | −2.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,035 | 35.0 | +4.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 5,817 | 81.0 | +2.0 |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | +2.4 | |
General election December 1910: Kincardineshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Arthur Murray | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold |
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 July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;
* Liberal: Arthur Murray
* Unionist: Sidney Herbert