Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities
Former parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom
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Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities was a university constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1868 until 1918. It was merged with the Glasgow and Aberdeen Universities constituency to form the Combined Scottish Universities constituency.
Seats1
Replaced byCombined Scottish Universities
| Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities | |
|---|---|
| Former university constituency for the House of Commons | |
| 1868–1918 | |
| Seats | 1 |
| Replaced by | Combined Scottish Universities |
Electorate
As a university constituency, the constituency had no geographical basis. Instead, its electorate consisted of graduates from the University of Edinburgh and the University of St Andrews.
Members of Parliament
| Election | Member | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1868 | Lyon Playfair, later Baron Playfair | Liberal | |
| 1885 | John Macdonald | Conservative | |
| 1888 by-election | Moir Tod Stormonth Darling | Conservative | |
| 1890 by-election | Sir Charles Pearson | Conservative | |
| 1896 by-election | Sir William Overend Priestley | Conservative | |
| 1900 by-election | Sir John Batty Tuke | Conservative | |
| Jan. 1910 | Sir Robert Finlay, later Viscount Finlay | Liberal Unionist | |
| 1912 | Unionist | ||
| 1916 by-election | Christopher Nicholson Johnston | Unionist | |
| 1917 by-election | Sir Watson Cheyne | Unionist | |
| 1918 | constituency abolished: see Combined Scottish Universities | ||
Election results
Elections in the 1910s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unionist | Watson Cheyne | Unopposed | |||
| Unionist hold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unionist | Christopher Nicholson Johnston | Unopposed | |||
| Unionist hold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal Unionist | Robert Finlay | Unopposed | |||
| Liberal Unionist hold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal Unionist | Robert Finlay | 5,205 | 65.9 | −2.0 | |
| Liberal | Alexander Russell Simpson | 2,693 | 34.1 | N/A | |
| Majority | 2,512 | 31.8 | −4.0 | ||
| Turnout | 7,898 | 69.8 | +5.1 | ||
| Registered electors | 11,319 | ||||
| Liberal Unionist hold | Swing | N/A | |||
Elections in the 1900s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | John Batty Tuke | 4,893 | 67.9 | N/A | |
| Free Trader | John Strachey | 2,310 | 32.1 | N/A | |
| Majority | 2,583 | 35.8 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 7,203 | 64.7 | N/A | ||
| Registered electors | 11,131 | ||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | N/A | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | John Batty Tuke | Unopposed | |||
| Conservative hold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | John Batty Tuke | Unopposed | |||
| Conservative hold | |||||
Elections in the 1890s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | William Priestley | Unopposed | |||
| Conservative hold | |||||
- Pearson was raised to the Bench, as a Senator of the College of Justice.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Charles Pearson | Unopposed | |||
| Conservative hold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Charles Pearson | Unopposed | |||
| Conservative hold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Charles Pearson | Unopposed | |||
| Conservative hold | |||||
- Stormonth-Darling was raised to the Bench, as a Senator of the College of Justice.
Elections in the 1880s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Moir Tod Stormont Darling | Unopposed | |||
| Conservative hold | |||||
- Caused by Macdonald's appointment as Lord Justice Clerk, becoming Lord Kingsburgh.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | John Macdonald | Unopposed | |||
| Conservative hold | |||||
- Caused by Macdonald being appointed Lord Advocate.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | John Macdonald | Unopposed | |||
| Conservative hold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | John Macdonald | 2,840 | 53.7 | +4.4 | |
| Liberal | John Eric Erichsen | 2,453 | 46.3 | −4.4 | |
| Majority | 387 | 7.4 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 5,293 | 77.2 | −6.1 | ||
| Registered electors | 6,860 | ||||
| Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | +4.4 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Lyon Playfair | 2,522 | 50.7 | N/A | |
| Conservative | Edward Robert Bickersteth[10] | 2,448 | 49.3 | New | |
| Majority | 74 | 1.4 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 4,970 | 83.3 | N/A | ||
| Registered electors | 5,966 | ||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | ||||
At Edinburgh Playfair had received 1,742 votes and Bickersteth 1,526, and at St Andrew's Playfair received 512 votes and Bickersteth 698. Eleven of Playfair's ballot papers had not been counted "Owing to certain information".
Elections in the 1870s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Lyon Playfair | Unopposed | |||
| Registered electors | 4,861 | ||||
| Liberal hold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Lyon Playfair | Unopposed | |||
| Liberal hold | |||||
- Caused by Playfair's appointment as Postmaster General of the United Kingdom.
Elections in the 1860s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Lyon Playfair | 2,322 | 52.9 | ||
| Conservative | Archibald Campbell Swinton | 2,067 | 47.1 | ||
| Majority | 255 | 5.8 | |||
| Turnout | 4,389 | 89.9 | |||
| Registered electors | 4,880 | ||||
| Liberal win (new seat) | |||||