1906 United Kingdom general election in Scotland

1906 United Kingdom general election in Scotland
12 January – 8 February 1906 (1906-01-12 – 1906-02-08)
All 72 Scottish seats to the House of Commons
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Henry Campbell-Bannerman Arthur Balfour Keir Hardie
Party Liberal Conservative and Liberal Unionist Labour Repr. Cmte.
Last election 34[a] 38[a][c] 0
Seats won 58 10[c] 2
Seat change 24 26 2
Popular vote 336,400[b] 225,802[b][c] 16,897[b]
Percentage 56.4% 37.8% 2.8%
Swing 6.2 pp 11.2 pp New
Results of the 1906 election in Scotland for the county and burgh seats
  Liberal
  Conservative
  Liberal Unionist
  Labour
Main article: 1906 United Kingdom general election

The 1906 United Kingdom general election was held between 12 January and 8 February 1906, and members were returned for all Scottish seats.[1] Scotland was allocated 72 seats in total, with 70 territorial seats, comprising 32 burgh constituencies and 37 county constituencies.[d] There were also two university constituencies, Glasgow and Aberdeen Universities and Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities. As voters in university constituencies voted in addition to their territorial vote, the results are compiled separately.

In Scotland the opposition Liberals under Henry Campbell-Bannerman won a crushing victory, winning 56.4% of vote and 58 out of Scotland's 72 seats. The figure of 56.4% has not been surpassed by any single party in any election since, although the coalition of parties forming the National Government would secure 64.0% at the 1931 election. When combined with results from across the United Kingdom the result was a landslide victory for the Liberals against a bewildered Conservative Party, whose leader, Arthur Balfour, lost his seat; the party won the lowest number of seats it ever had in its history, a nadir unsurpassed until 2024. The primary reason given by historians for the Conservatives' weakness resulted from the party's split over the issue of free trade (Joseph Chamberlain had resigned from government in September 1903 in order to campaign for Tariff Reform, which would allow "preferential tariffs"). Many working-class people at the time saw this as a threat to the price of food, hence the debate was nicknamed "Big Loaf, Little Loaf". The Liberals' landslide victory of 125 seats over all other parties led to the passing of social legislation known as the Liberal reforms.[2][3]

The Scottish Workers' Representation Committee (SWRC) stood five candidates: John Robertson in North East Lanarkshire, Joseph Sullivan in North West Lanarkshire, David Gilmour in Falkirk Burghs, James Brown in North Ayrshire, and Robert Smillie in Paisley. The candidates altogether won a total of 14,877 votes, but all failed to win a single seat.[4] The Labour Representation Committee (which after the election would be renamed the Labour Party) was more successful, picking up 2 Scottish seats (George Barnes in Glasgow Blackfriars and Hutchesontown and Alexander Wilkie in Dundee), alongside a total of 29 seats across the UK. Following the SWRC's failure to secure representation, the organisation decided to align itself more closely with the new Labour Party,[5] eventually becoming the party's Scottish section.

Results

Seats summary

Party Seats Last Election Seats change
  Liberal 58 34 24
  Conservative and Liberal Unionist (Total) 12 38 26
  Conservative 7 20 13
  Liberal Unionist 5 18 13
  Labour Representation Committee 2 0 2
Total 72 72

Burgh & County constituencies

Main article: 1906 United Kingdom general election
Party Seats[1] Seats change Votes[1] % % Change
  Liberal 58 24 336,400 56.4 6.2
  Conservative and Liberal Unionist 10 26 225,802 37.8 11.2
  Labour Representation Committee 2 2 16,897 2.8 New
  Scottish Workers' Representation Committee 0 14,877 2.5 1.9
  Other 0 2,938 0.5
Total 70 596,914 100.0

University constituencies

The two university constituencies each elected an additional member to the house. Both seats were uncontested at the previous election, with the winning candidates having been elected unopposed.

General election 1906: Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities[6][7]
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


General election 1906: Glasgow and Aberdeen Universities[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Henry Craik 3,543 49.0 N/A
Liberal Alexander Murison 2,450 33.9 New
Free Trader W.R. Smith 1,240 17.1 N/A
Majority 1,093 15.1 N/A
Turnout 7,233 68.6 N/A
Registered electors 10,545
Conservative hold Swing N/A

Votes summary

Popular vote[b]
Liberal
 
 56.4%
Conservative and Liberal Unionist[c]
 
 38.2%
Labour
 
 2.8%
SWRC
 
 2.5%
Parliamentary seats[a]
Liberal
 
 80.6%
Conservative
 
 9.7%
Liberal Unionist
 
 6.9%
Labour
 
 2.8%

Notes

  1. ^ a b c Combined results for burgh, county and university seats
  2. ^ a b c d Total and percentage votes given here are for territorial constituencies only
  3. ^ a b c d The seat and vote count figures given here combines the Conservatives and the Liberal Unionists.
  4. ^ One burgh seat, Dundee, was represented by two members of parliament.

References

  1. ^ a b c Colin Rallings; Micheal Thrasher (2006). British Electoral Facts. Total Politics. p. 17. ISBN 978-1-907278-03-7.
  2. ^ BBC NEWS – Programmes – BBC Parliament – 1906: The Liberal landslide, 9 February 2006
  3. ^ "UK general election results live: Rishi Sunak to resign as Conservative Party leader after crushing election defeat". BBC News. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  4. ^ Frank Bealey and Henry Pelling, Labour and Politics, 1900-1906, p.296
  5. ^ Knox, William (1987). James Maxton. Manchester: Manchester University Press. p. 7. ISBN 0719021529.
  6. ^ a b Whitaker's Almanack, 1907
  7. ^ Craig, FWS, ed. (1974). British Parliamentary Election Results: 1885-1918. London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 9781349022984.
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