# North Ayrshire (UK Parliament constituency)

North Ayrshire was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1868 until 1918. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP), using the first-past-the-post voting system.

## Boundaries

The Representation of the People (Scotland) Act 1868 provided that the new North Ayrshire constituency was to consist of the District of Cunningham, consisting of the parishes of Ardrossan, Dalry, Dreghorn, Fenwick, Irvine, Kilbirnie, Kilmarnock, Kilmaurs, Kilwinning, Largs, Loudoun, Stevenston, Stewarton, West Kilbride and Beith, and the parish of Dunlop so far as situated within the County of Ayr.

## Members of Parliament

| Election | Election | Member | Party |
| | 1868 | William Finnie | Liberal |
| | 1874 | Roger Montgomerie | Conservative |
| | 1880 | Robert Cochran-Patrick | Conservative |
| | 1885 | Hugh Elliot | Liberal |
| | 1886 | Hugh Elliot | Liberal Unionist |
| | 1892 | Thomas Cochrane | Liberal Unionist |
| | 1910 | Andrew Anderson | Liberal |
| | 1911 | Duncan Campbell | Unionist |
| | 1916 | Aylmer Hunter-Weston | Unionist |
| 1918 | 1918 | constituency abolished | constituency abolished |

## Election results
### Elections in the 1860s

General election 1868: North Ayrshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | William Finnie | 1,397 | 51.4 | |
| | Conservative | Roger Montgomerie | 1,322 | 48.6 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 75 | 2.8 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,719 | 84.5 | |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 3,219 | | |
| | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) |

### Elections in the 1870s

General election 1874: North Ayrshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Roger Montgomerie | 1,562 | 54.6 | +6.0 |
| | Liberal | William Finnie | 1,301 | 45.4 | −6.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 261 | 9.2 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,863 | 84.0 | −0.5 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 3,407 | | |
| | Conservative gain from Liberal | Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | +6.0 | |

### Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: North Ayrshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Robert Cochran-Patrick | 1,636 | 50.9 | −3.7 |
| | Liberal | John Balfour | 1,581 | 49.1 | +3.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 55 | 1.8 | −7.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,217 | 88.3 | +4.3 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 3,642 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −3.7 | |
General election 1885: North Ayrshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Hugh Elliot | 5,700 | 54.6 | +5.5 |
| | Conservative | Robert Cochran-Patrick | 4,740 | 45.4 | −5.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 960 | 9.2 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 10,440 | 83.8 | −4.5 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 12,465 | | |
| | Liberal gain from Conservative | Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | +5.5 | |
General election 1886: North Ayrshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Unionist | Hugh Elliot | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Liberal Unionist gain from Liberal | Liberal Unionist gain from Liberal | Liberal Unionist gain from Liberal | Liberal Unionist gain from Liberal | Liberal Unionist gain from Liberal |

### Elections in the 1890s

General election 1892: North Ayrshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Unionist | Thomas Cochrane | 5,346 | 52.2 | N/A |
| | Liberal | William Wedderburn | 4,898 | 47.8 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 448 | 4.4 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 10,244 | 83.5 | N/A |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 12,261 | | |
| | Liberal Unionist hold | Liberal Unionist hold | Swing | N/A | |
General election 1895: North Ayrshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Unionist | Thomas Cochrane | 5,612 | 53.4 | +1.2 |
| | Liberal | William Robertson | 4,902 | 46.6 | −1.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 710 | 6.8 | +2.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 10,514 | 81.9 | −1.6 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 12,837 | | |
| | Liberal Unionist hold | Liberal Unionist hold | Swing | 1.2 | |

### Elections in the 1900s

General election 1900: North Ayrshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Unionist | Thomas Cochrane | 5,985 | 55.5 | +2.1 |
| | Liberal | A. Williamson | 4,791 | 44.5 | −2.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,194 | 11.0 | +4.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 10,776 | 78.9 | −3.0 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 13,657 | | |
| | Liberal Unionist hold | Liberal Unionist hold | Swing | +2.1 | |
General election 1906: North Ayrshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Unionist | Thomas Cochrane | 5,603 | 43.6 | −11.9 |
| | Liberal | Andrew Anderson | 4,587 | 35.6 | −8.9 |
| | Scottish Workers | James Brown | 2,683 | 20.8 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,106 | 8.0 | −3.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 12,873 | 82.5 | +3.6 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 15,597 | | |
| | Liberal Unionist hold | Liberal Unionist hold | Swing | −1.5 | |

### Elections in the 1910s

General election January 1910: Ayrshire North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Andrew Anderson | 6,189 | 44.4 | +8.8 |
| | Liberal Unionist | Thomas Cochrane | 5,951 | 42.7 | −0.9 |
| | Labour | James Brown | 1,801 | 12.9 | −7.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 238 | 1.7 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 13,941 | 84.7 | +2.2 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 16,453 | | |
| | Liberal gain from Liberal Unionist | Liberal gain from Liberal Unionist | Swing | +3.5 | |
General election December 1910: Ayrshire North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Andrew Anderson | 7,286 | 51.2 | +6.8 |
| | Unionist | Duncan Campbell | 6,932 | 48.8 | +6.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 354 | 2.4 | +0.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 14,218 | 85.3 | +0.6 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 16,665 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | +0.4 | |
1911 North Ayrshire by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | Duncan Campbell | 7,318 | 50.9 | +2.1 |
| | Liberal | Andrew Anderson | 7,047 | 49.1 | −2.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 271 | 1.8 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 14,365 | 84.9 | −0.4 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 16,926 | | |
| | Unionist gain from Liberal | Unionist gain from Liberal | Swing | +2.1 | |
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;
* Unionist: Duncan Campbell
* Liberal: Andrew Anderson
1916 North Ayrshire by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | Aylmer Hunter-Weston | 7,149 | 84.6 | +35.7 |
| | Peace by Negotiation | Humphrey Chalmers* | 1,300 | 15.4 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,849 | 69.2 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 8,449 | 48.6 | −36.7 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 17,385 | | |
| | Unionist gain from Liberal | Unionist gain from Liberal | Swing | N/A | |
*Chalmers was supported by the Union of Democratic Control and contested the 1918 general election as a Labour Party candidate.