Representation of the People (Scotland) Act 1868
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| Act of Parliament | |
.svg) | |
| Long title | An Act for the Amendment of the Representation of the People in Scotland. |
|---|---|
| Citation | 31 & 32 Vict. c. 48 |
| Territorial extent | Scotland[b] |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 13 July 1868 |
| Commencement | 1 January 1868[c] |
| Other legislation | |
| Amended by | |
| Relates to | |
Status: Amended | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
| Revised text of statute as amended | |
| Text of the Representation of the People (Scotland) Act 1868 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk. | |
The Representation of the People (Scotland) Act 1868 (31 & 32 Vict. c. 48) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It carried on from the Representation of the People Act 1867 (30 & 31 Vict. c. 102), and created seven additional Scottish seats in the House of Commons at the expense of seven English borough constituencies, which were disenfranchised.
Two University constituencies were created; Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities and Glasgow and Aberdeen Universities. These each returned one member to Parliament.[1] Two burgh constituencies received an additional member; these were Glasgow (raised to 3 members) and Dundee (raised to 2).[2] A third burgh constituency, Hawick Burghs, was newly created, receiving one member.[3] Three county constituencies each received one additional member, and were split in half accordingly; these were Lanarkshire, Ayrshire and Aberdeenshire.[4]
This totalled eight new seats, and accordingly the county constituencies of Selkirkshire and Peeblesshire were merged to form Peebles and Selkirk, returning one member, for a net increase of seven seats.[5]
This was offset by the disenfranchisement of Arundel, Ashburton, Dartmouth, Honiton, Lyme Regis, Thetford and Wells, all English borough constituencies, leaving the overall number of seats in the House unchanged.[6]
Section 3 of the act was repealed by section 175(1) of, and the ninth schedule to, the Representation of the People Act 1949 (12, 13 & 14 Geo. 6. c. 68), which came into force on 3 April 150.[7]
