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1885 United Kingdom general election in Scotland

A general election was held in the United Kingdom between 24 November and 18 December 1885 and members were returned for all 72 seats in Scotland. Scotland was allocated 70 territorial seats, comprising 32 burgh constituencies and 37 county constituencies,[c] and two university constituencies, Glasgow and Aberdeen Universities and Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities.

1885 United Kingdom general election in Scotland
← 1880
24 November – 18 December 1885 (1885-11-24 – 1885-12-18)
1886 →
All 72 Scottish seats to the House of Commons
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader William Ewart Gladstone Marquess of Salisbury Gavin Brown Clark
Party Liberal Conservative Crofters Party
Leader since April 1880 April 1881
Leader's seat Midlothian House of Lords Caithness
Seats before 53[a] 7[a] 0[a]
Seats won 51[a] 10[a] 4[a]
Seat change Decrease 2 Increase 3 Increase 4
Popular vote 238,627[b] 151,137[b] 16,551[b]
Percentage 53.3%[b] 34.3%[b] 3.7%[b]
Swing Decrease 16.8%[b] Increase 4.4%[b] Increase 3.7%[b]
Results of the 1885 election in Scotland
  Liberal
  Conservative
  Independent Liberal
  Crofters

Electoral system

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All constituencies contested under the first past the post electoral system. It was the first general election to be held after enactment of the Representation of the People Act 1884, known also as the Third Reform Act.[1] This was also accompanied with the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885. The former Act brought about an extension of the franchise and voting rights which had already existed in towns to rural areas of the United Kingdom, and together with the latter Act, brought about the general use of single-member constituencies under first-past-the-post voting and increased the general distribution of more rural constituencies amongst the counties.

As part of the general re-distribution, Scotland had gained 12 seats since the previous election as a result of the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, and the electorate had increased from 293,581 to 560,580 (out of 3,735,573 people registered as living in Scotland in the 1881 census)[2] as a result of the Representation of the People Act 1884. This arrangement would last until 1918.[3][4]

It was also the first election following the passing of the Corrupt and Illegal Practices Prevention Act 1883. This Act criminalised attempts to bribe voters and standardised the amount that could be spent on election expenses.[5]

Analysis

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Of particular note was the splintering of the Liberal representation in Scotland. Some 7 MPs were returned as Independent Liberals, with Edinburgh in particular seeing 3 of its 4 constituencies return Independent Liberals.

In the western Highlands the Crofters Party emerged as the dominant force, taking four constituencies. The Independent Liberal MP elected for the Wick Burghs also aligned with the group. The emergence of the group was owed to the Representation of the People Act 1884, which had reduced the property qualifications for voters. As a result many crofters were able to vote for the first time in 1885. The Crofting Party worked in close collaboration with the Highland Land League, and opposed the lack of secure and tenure and the severely reduced access to land for crofters.[6]

Results

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Seats Summary

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Party Seats Last Election Seats change
  Liberal 51 53 Decrease 2
  Conservative 10 7 Increase 3
  Independent Liberal 7 0 Increase 7
  Independent Liberal & Crofters Party 4 0 Increase 4
Total 72 60 Increase 12

Burgh & County constituencies

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Party Seats[7] Seats change Votes[7] % % Change
Liberal 51 Decrease 2 238,627 53.3 Decrease 16.8
Conservative 8 Increase 2 151,137 34.3 Increase 4.4
Independent Liberal & Crofters Party 4 Increase 4 16,551 3.7 Increase 3.7
Independent Liberal 7 Increase 7 38,214 8.6 Increase 8.6
Other 0 Steady
Scottish Land Restoration League 0 Steady 2,359 0.5 Increase 0.5
Total 70 Increase 12 446,888 100.0
Turnout: 82.0[8] Increase 2.0

University constituencies

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General election 1885: Edinburgh & St Andrews Universities
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative John Macdonald CB QC LLD 2,840 53.7%
Liberal John Eric Erichsen 2,453 46.3%
Turnout
Conservative gain from Liberal Swing
General election 1885: Glasgow and Aberdeen Universities
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative James Alexander Campbell Unopposed Unopposed N/A
Conservative hold

Votes summary

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Popular vote[b]
Liberal
 
 53.3%
Conservative
 
 34.3%
Independents & Other
 
 8.6%
Crofters Party
 
 3.7%
Scottish Land Restoration League
 
 0.5%
Parliamentary seats[a]
Liberal
 
 70.83%
Conservative
 
 13.89%
Independents Liberals
 
 9.72%
Crofters Party
 
 5.56%

See also

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Notes

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  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Combined results for burgh, county and university seats
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Total and percentage votes given here are for territorial constituencies only
  3. ↑ One burgh seat, Dundee, was represented by two members of parliament.

References

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  1. ↑ F.W.S. Craig (1976). British Electoral Facts 1885-1975 (3 ed.). Macmillan Press. p. 173. ISBN 0333197348.
  2. ↑ "Population of Scotland". GENUKI. 8 March 2025. Retrieved 14 October 2025.
  3. ↑ F.W.S. Craig (1976). British Electoral Facts 1885-1975 (3 ed.). Macmillan Press. p. 173. ISBN 0333197348.
  4. ↑ Colin Rallings; Micheal Thrasher (2006). British Electoral Facts. Total Politics. p. 20. ISBN 978-1-907278-03-7.
  5. ↑ F.W.S. Craig (1976). British Electoral Facts 1885-1975 (3 ed.). Macmillan Press. p. 173. ISBN 0333197348.
  6. ↑ Chris Cook; Brendan Keith (1975). British Historical Facts, 1830–1900. Springer Verlag. pp. 96–97. ISBN 9781349013487.
  7. 1 2 Colin Rallings; Micheal Thrasher (2006). British Electoral Facts. Total Politics. p. 12. ISBN 978-1-907278-03-7.
  8. ↑ Colin Rallings; Micheal Thrasher (2006). British Electoral Facts. Total Politics. p. 87. ISBN 978-1-907278-03-7.


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