Berwick and East Lothian (UK Parliament constituency)

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Berwick and East Lothian
Former County constituency
for the House of Commons
Subdivisions of ScotlandBerwickshire, East Lothian
19501983
SeatsOne
Created fromBerwick and Haddington
Replaced byEast Lothian
Roxburgh & Berwickshire
Tweeddale, Ettrick & Lauderdale[1]

Berwick and East Lothian was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP), using the first past the post system.

History[edit]

The constituency was created in 1950 and abolished in 1983.

Boundaries[edit]

Berwick and East Lothian covered the counties of Berwickshire and East Lothian. It was largely created from Berwick and Haddington and was replaced by East Lothian and part of Roxburgh and Berwickshire for the 1983 general election.

Members of Parliament[edit]

Election Member Party
1950 John Robertson Labour
1951 William Anstruther-Gray Unionist
1966 John Mackintosh Labour
Feb 1974 Michael Ancram Conservative
Oct 1974 John Mackintosh Labour
1978 by-election John Home Robertson Labour
1983 constituency abolished

Elections[edit]

Berwickshire constituencies electoral history

Elections in the 1950s[edit]

General election 1950: Berwick and East Lothian[2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Labour John Robertson 17,105 40.9
Unionist William Anstruther-Gray 15,377 36.8
Liberal Anthony Stodart 9,352 22.4
Majority 1,728 4.1
Turnout 41,834 82.8
Labour win (new seat)
General election 1951: Berwick and East Lothian[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist William Anstruther-Gray 22,510 52.8 +16.0
Labour John Robertson 20,152 47.2 +6.3
Majority 2,358 5.6 N/A
Turnout 42,662 83.8 +1.0
Unionist gain from Labour Swing +2.8
General election 1955: Berwick and East Lothian[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist William Anstruther-Gray 21,739 53.3 +0.5
Labour Penry Jones 19,029 46.7 −0.5
Majority 2,710 6.6 +1.0
Turnout 40,768 80.3 −3.5
Unionist hold Swing +0.5
General election 1959: Berwick and East Lothian[2][3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist William Anstruther-Gray 22,472 53.4 +0.1
Labour Penry Jones 19,622 46.6 −0.1
Majority 2,850 6.8 +0.2
Turnout 42,094 83.2 +2.9
Unionist hold Swing +0.1

Elections in the 1960s[edit]

General election 1964: Berwick and East Lothian[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist William Anstruther-Gray 21,669 50.7 −2.7
Labour John Mackintosh 21,044 49.3 +2.7
Majority 625 1.4 -5.4
Turnout 42,713 85.0 +1.8
Unionist hold Swing −2.7
General election 1966: Berwick and East Lothian[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour John Mackintosh 22,620 51.9 +2.6
Conservative William Anstruther-Gray 20,931 48.1 −2.6
Majority 1,689 3.8 N/A
Turnout 43,551 86.1 +1.1
Labour gain from Conservative Swing +2.6

Elections in the 1970s[edit]

General election 1970: Berwick and East Lothian[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour John Mackintosh 21,107 45.6 −6.3
Conservative J. Donald M. Hardie 20,466 44.2 −3.9
SNP David Rae Fisher Simpson 4,735 10.2 New
Majority 641 1.4 -2.4
Turnout 46,308 83.7 −2.4
Labour hold Swing
General election February 1974: Berwick and East Lothian[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Michael Ancram 21,234 43.4 −0.8
Labour John Mackintosh 20,694 42.3 −3.3
SNP David Rae Fisher Simpson 6,956 14.2 +4.0
Majority 540 1.1 N/A
Turnout 48,884 85.8 +2.1
Conservative gain from Labour Swing +1.3
General election October 1974: Berwick and East Lothian[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour John Mackintosh 20,682 43.3 +1.0
Conservative Michael Ancram 17,942 37.6 −5.8
SNP R. Macleod 6,323 13.2 −1.0
Liberal C. F. Lawson 2,811 5.9 New
Majority 2,740 5.7 +4.6
Turnout 47,758 80.8 −5.0
Labour gain from Conservative Swing +3.4
1978 Berwick and East Lothian by-election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour John Home Robertson 20,530 47.4 +4.1
Conservative Margaret Marshall 17,418 40.2 +2.6
SNP Isobel Lindsay 3,799 8.8 −4.4
Liberal Tam Glen 1,543 3.6 −2.3
Majority 3,112 7.2 +1.5
Turnout 43,290
Labour hold Swing +0.8
General election 1979: Berwick and East Lothian[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour John Home Robertson 21,977 43.5 +0.2
Conservative Margaret Marshall 20,304 40.2 +2.6
Liberal Tam Glen 4,948 9.8 +3.9
SNP Allan Macartney 3,300 6.5 −6.7
Majority 1,673 3.3 -2.4
Turnout 60,919 82.9 +2.1
Labour hold Swing

References[edit]

  1. ^ "'Berwick and East Lothian', Feb 1974 - May 1983". ElectionWeb Project. Cognitive Computing Limited. Archived from the original on 23 March 2016. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i The Times Guide to the House of Commons.
  3. ^ Whitaker's Almanack, 1963.
  4. ^ Whitaker's Almanack, 1977.