Kinross and Western Perthshire was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom

Parliament of the United Kingdom

The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...

 from 1918 until 1983, representing, at any one time, a seat for one Member of Parliament (MP), elected by the first past the post system of election

Election

An election is a formal decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy operates since the 17th century. Elections may fill offices in the legislature, sometimes in the...

.

Boundaries

The constituency was first defined by the Representation of the People Act 1918

Representation of the People Act 1918

The Representation of the People Act 1918 was an Act of Parliament passed to reform the electoral system in the United Kingdom. It is sometimes known as the Fourth Reform Act...

, and first used in the 1918 general election

United Kingdom general election, 1918

The United Kingdom general election of 1918 was the first to be held after the Representation of the People Act 1918, which meant it was the first United Kingdom general election in which nearly all adult men and some women could vote. Polling was held on 14 December 1918, although the count did...

, as one of two county constituencies covering the county of Kinross and the county of Perth. The other was the Perth

Perth (UK Parliament constituency)

Perth was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1832 to 1918, 1918 to 1950, and 1997 to 2005. From 1832 to 1918 it was a burgh constituency. From 1918 to 1950, and 1997 to 2005, it was a county constituency...

 constituency.

Prior to the 1918 election the county of Kinross was covered, nominally, by Clackmannanshire and Kinross-shire

Clackmannanshire and Kinross-shire (UK Parliament constituency)

Clackmannanshire and Kinross-shire were constituencies of the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1708 to 1801 and of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1918....

, which also covered, nominally, the county of Clackmannan, and the county of Perth was covered, nominally, by Eastern Perthshire, Perth (as a burgh constituency

Burgh constituency

A burgh constituency is a type of parliamentary constituency in Scotland. It is a constituency which is predominantly urban, and on this basis has been designated as a burgh constituency...

) and Western Perthshire. Constituency boundaries were defined in terms of the Representation of the People (Scotland) Act 1832 and the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885

Redistribution of Seats Act 1885

The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was a piece of electoral reform legislation that redistributed the seats in the House of Commons, introducing the concept of equally populated constituencies, in an attempt to equalise representation across...

 and, by these terms, five detached parish

Parish

A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...

es of the county of Perth and one detached parish of the county of Stirling were within the Clackmannanshire and Kinross-shire constituency. Also, by 1918, for local government purposes, under legislation dating from 1889, county boundaries throughout most of Scotland had been redrawn, and detached parishes had become generally historic.

The Representation of the People Act 1918 took account of new local government boundaries in definitions of new constituency boundaries, and the Kinross and Western Perthshire constituency was defined as covering the county of Kinross and the Central, Highland and Western districts of the county of Perth, including the county of Perth burgh

Burgh

A burgh was an autonomous corporate entity in Scotland and Northern England, usually a town. This type of administrative division existed from the 12th century, when King David I created the first royal burghs. Burgh status was broadly analogous to borough status, found in the rest of the United...

s of Aberfeldy, Auchterarder

Auchterarder

Auchterarder is a small town located north of the Ochil Hills in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, and home to the famous Gleneagles Hotel. The 1.5 mile long High Street of Auchterarder gave the town its popular name of "Lang Toon"....

, Callander

Callander

Callander is a burgh in the region of Stirling, Scotland, situated on the River Teith. The town is located in the former county of Perthshire and is a popular tourist stop to and from the Highlands....

, Crieff

Crieff

Crieff is a market town in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It lies on the A85 road between Perth and Crianlarich and also lies on the A822 between Greenloaning and Aberfeldy. The A822 joins onto the A823 which leads to Dunfermline....

, Doune

Doune

Doune is a burgh in the district of Stirling, Scotland, on the River Teith. Doune's postal address places the town in Perthshire, although geographically it lies within the District of Stirling, and administratively Doune is under the control of Stirling Council...

 and Dunblane

Dunblane

Dunblane is a small cathedral city and former burgh north of Stirling in the Stirling council area of Scotland. The town is situated off the A9 road, on the way north to Perth. Its main landmark is Dunblane Cathedral and the Allan Water runs through the town centre, with the Cathedral and the High...

.

1918 boundaries were used also for the general elections of 1922

United Kingdom general election, 1922

The United Kingdom general election of 1922 was held on 15 November 1922. It was the first election held after most of the Irish counties left the United Kingdom to form the Irish Free State, and was won by Andrew Bonar Law's Conservatives, who gained an overall majority over Labour, led by John...

, 1923

United Kingdom general election, 1923

-Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987*-External links:***...

, 1924

United Kingdom general election, 1924

- Seats summary :- References :* F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987* - External links :* * *...

, 1929

United Kingdom general election, 1929

-Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987*-External links:***...

, 1931

United Kingdom general election, 1931

The United Kingdom general election on Tuesday 27 October 1931 was the last in the United Kingdom not held on a Thursday. It was also the last election, and the only one under universal suffrage, where one party received an absolute majority of the votes cast.The 1931 general election was the...

, 1935

United Kingdom general election, 1935

The United Kingdom general election held on 14 November 1935 resulted in a large, though reduced, majority for the National Government now led by Conservative Stanley Baldwin. The greatest number of MPs, as before, were Conservative, while the National Liberal vote held steady...

 and 1945

United Kingdom general election, 1945

The United Kingdom general election of 1945 was a general election held on 5 July 1945, with polls in some constituencies delayed until 12 July and in Nelson and Colne until 19 July, due to local wakes weeks. The results were counted and declared on 26 July, due in part to the time it took to...

.

A by-election was held for this seat in 1938 after The Duchess of Atholl resigned her seat in opposition to Neville Chamberlain

Neville Chamberlain

Arthur Neville Chamberlain FRS was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from May 1937 to May 1940. Chamberlain is best known for his appeasement foreign policy, and in particular for his signing of the Munich Agreement in 1938, conceding the...

's policy of appeasement.

For the 1950 general election

United Kingdom general election, 1950

The 1950 United Kingdom general election was the first general election ever after a full term of a Labour government. Despite polling over one and a half million votes more than the Conservatives, the election, held on 23 February 1950 resulted in Labour receiving a slim majority of just five...

, as a result of the House of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) Act 1949

House of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) Act 1949

The House of Commons Act 1949 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that provided for the periodic review of the number and boundaries of parliamentary constituencies....

, the Perth constituency became Perth and East Perthshire

Perth and East Perthshire (UK Parliament constituency)

Perth and East Perthshire was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1950 to 1983. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.- Boundaries :...

, but boundaries were unaltered. 1950 names and boundaries were used also for the general elections of 1951

United Kingdom general election, 1951

The 1951 United Kingdom general election was held eighteen months after the 1950 general election, which the Labour Party had won with a slim majority of just five seats...

, 1955

United Kingdom general election, 1955

The 1955 United Kingdom general election was held on 26 May 1955, four years after the previous general election. It resulted in a substantially increased majority of 60 for the Conservative government under new leader and prime minister Sir Anthony Eden against Labour Party, now in their 20th year...

, 1959

United Kingdom general election, 1959

This United Kingdom general election was held on 8 October 1959. It marked a third successive victory for the ruling Conservative Party, led by Harold Macmillan...

, 1964

United Kingdom general election, 1964

The United Kingdom general election of 1964 was held on 15 October 1964, more than five years after the preceding election, and thirteen years after the Conservative Party had retaken power...

, 1966

United Kingdom general election, 1966

The 1966 United Kingdom general election on 31 March 1966 was called by sitting Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson. Wilson's decision to call an election turned on the fact that his government, elected a mere 17 months previously in 1964 had an unworkably small majority of only 4 MPs...

 and 1970

United Kingdom general election, 1970

The United Kingdom general election of 1970 was held on 18 June 1970, and resulted in a surprise victory for the Conservative Party under leader Edward Heath, who defeated the Labour Party under Harold Wilson. The election also saw the Liberal Party and its new leader Jeremy Thorpe lose half their...

. This also applied to the by-election of late 1963, when newly elected prime minister Sir Alec Douglas-Home won the seat after renouncing his peerage in order to rejoin the House of Commons.

For the February 1974 general election

United Kingdom general election, February 1974

The United Kingdom's general election of February 1974 was held on the 28th of that month. It was the first of two United Kingdom general elections held that year, and the first election since the Second World War not to produce an overall majority in the House of Commons for the winning party,...

, as a result of the Second Periodical Review of the Boundary Commission, there were minor alterations to the boundaries of the Kinross and West Perthshire constituency and the Perth and East Perthshire constituency. Kinross and West Perthshire was defined as covering the county of Kinross and the Central, Highland and Western districts of the county of Perth, including the county of Perth burghs of Aberfeldy, Auchterarder, Callander, Crieff, Doune, Dunblane and Pitlochry

Pitlochry

Pitlochry , is a burgh in the council area of Perth and Kinross, Scotland, lying on the River Tummel. Its population according to the 2001 census was 2,564....

.

February 1974 boundaries were used also in the general elections of October 1974

United Kingdom general election, October 1974

The United Kingdom general election of October 1974 took place on 10 October 1974 to elect 635 members to the British House of Commons. It was the second general election of that year and resulted in the Labour Party led by Harold Wilson, winning by a tiny majority of 3 seats.The election of...

 and 1979

United Kingdom general election, 1979

The United Kingdom general election of 1979 was held on 3 May 1979 to elect 635 members to the British House of Commons. The Conservative Party, led by Margaret Thatcher ousted the incumbent Labour government of James Callaghan with a parliamentary majority of 43 seats...

.

In 1975, under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973

Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973

The Local Government Act 1973 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, that reformed local government in Scotland, on May 16, 1975....

, counties

Counties of Scotland

The counties of Scotland were the principal local government divisions of Scotland until 1975. Scotland's current lieutenancy areas and registration counties are largely based on them. They are often referred to as historic counties....

 and burghs throughout Scotland had been abolished in favour of regions and districts

Regions and districts of Scotland

The local government areas of Scotland were redefined by the Local Government Act 1973 and redefined again by the Local Government etc Act 1994....

 and islands council areas

Islands council areas of Scotland

Between 1975 and 1996 there were three islands council areas of Scotland:* Orkney* Shetland* Western IslesThe islands council areas were the only unitary councils created under the Local Government Act 1973, which came into force in 1975...

. The county of Kinross and most of the county of Perth had been merged into the Tayside region. The burghs of Callander, Doune, and Dunblane in the county of Perth, the Perth parish of Muckhart

Muckhart

Muckhart commonly refers to two small villages in Clackmannanshire, Scotland, Pool of Muckhart and Yetts o' Muckhart. Muckhart is one of the Hillfoots Villages, situated on the A91 around 3 miles north-east of Dollar...

 and the Western district of the county (except the electoral division of Ardoch

Ardoch

Ardoch Roman Fort is an archaeological site just outside the village of Braco in Perthshire, Scotland, about 7 miles south of Crieff. At Ardoch are the remains of a Roman fort and castra which included Ardoch Tower...

) had been merged into the Central region

Central Region, Scotland

Central Region was a local government region of Scotland from 1975 to 1996. It is now divided into the council areas of Falkirk, Stirling, and Clackmannanshire, which had previously been districts within Central...

.

New constituency boundaries, taking account of new local government boundaries, were adopted for the 1983 general election

United Kingdom general election, 1983

The 1983 United Kingdom general election was held on 9 June 1983. It gave the Conservative Party under Margaret Thatcher the most decisive election victory since that of Labour in 1945...

. Constituencies defined to cover the Tayside region included Perth and Kinross

Perth and Kinross (UK Parliament constituency)

Perth and Kinross was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1983 to 1997. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.- Boundaries :...

, and constituencies designed to cover the Central region included Stirling

Stirling (UK Parliament constituency)

Stirling is a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:...

.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party
	1918 United Kingdom general election, 1918 The United Kingdom general election of 1918 was the first to be held after the Representation of the People Act 1918, which meant it was the first United Kingdom general election in which nearly all adult men and some women could vote. Polling was held on 14 December 1918, although the count did...	James Gardiner James Gardiner (Scottish politician) James Gardiner was a Scottish farmer and Liberal Party politician.-Family and education:Gardiner was born near Crieff in Perthshire in 1860, the son of John Gardiner, a crofter, and his wife Harriet . He was educated at Morrison's Academy in Crieff and also received private tuition...	Unionist
	1923 United Kingdom general election, 1923 -Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987*-External links:***...	The Duchess of Atholl	Unionist
	1938 by-election	William McNair Snadden	Unionist
	1955 United Kingdom general election, 1955 The 1955 United Kingdom general election was held on 26 May 1955, four years after the previous general election. It resulted in a substantially increased majority of 60 for the Conservative government under new leader and prime minister Sir Anthony Eden against Labour Party, now in their 20th year...	Gilmour Leburn Gilmour Leburn Gilmour Leburn was a British company director and politician. He served in the government of Harold Macmillan as a Minister in the Scottish Office; his sudden death opened the way for Macmillan's successor, Sir Alec Douglas-Home to return to the House of Commons.-Early life:Leburn went to...	Unionist
	1963 by-election	Sir Alec Douglas-Home Alec Douglas-Home Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home, Baron Home of the Hirsel, KT, PC , known as The Earl of Home from 1951 to 1963 and as Sir Alec Douglas-Home from 1963 to 1974, was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from October 1963 to October 1964.He is the last...	Conservative Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
	October 1974 United Kingdom general election, October 1974 The United Kingdom general election of October 1974 took place on 10 October 1974 to elect 635 members to the British House of Commons. It was the second general election of that year and resulted in the Labour Party led by Harold Wilson, winning by a tiny majority of 3 seats.The election of...	Sir Nicholas Fairbairn Nicholas Fairbairn Sir Nicholas Hardwick Fairbairn, QC was a British politician.He was the Conservative Member of Parliament for Kinross and Western Perthshire, elected in 1974 and 1979, and Perth and Kinross, elected 1983, 1987, and 1992. He was Solicitor General for Scotland from 1979 to 1982...	Conservative Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
1983 United Kingdom general election, 1983 The 1983 United Kingdom general election was held on 9 June 1983. It gave the Conservative Party under Margaret Thatcher the most decisive election victory since that of Labour in 1945...		Constituency abolished: see Perth and Kinross Perth and Kinross (UK Parliament constituency) Perth and Kinross was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1983 to 1997. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.- Boundaries :...

Election results