Dundee was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1832 to 1950, when it was split into Dundee East and Dundee West. From 1832 to 1868 it elected one Member of Parliament (MP) using the first-past-the-post voting system, and from 1868 until its abolition for the 1950 general election it elected two MPs using the bloc vote system.

Politics and history of the constituency

Winston Churchill became Member of Parliament for Dundee in a by-election of 1908 soon after losing his Manchester North West seat and retained the seat until 1922. In 1906, the explorer Ernest Shackleton unsuccessfully ran as a candidate for the Liberal Unionist Party. From its creation in 1832 the seat did not return a Conservative member until 1931 when Florence Horsbrugh was elected. Originally a Liberal stronghold, the seat was one of the first in Scotland to return a Labour candidate, Alexander Wilkie, who was elected in 1906. At the 1918 general election both Churchill, still then a Liberal, and Wilkie were supported by the local Unionists, as well as their own party organisations. From 1923 onwards the Conservatives/Unionists and Liberals each ran only one candidate in the constituency. This was part of an unofficial agreement between the two parties at a local level, with the understanding being that their supporters would give their other vote to the other party's candidate.

Boundaries

The boundaries of the constituency, as set out in the Representation of the People (Scotland) Act 1832, were-

Members of Parliament

Election results, 1832–1868

Elections in the 1830s

Kinloch's death caused a by-election. <span class='anchor' id='1833_Dundee_by-election'> Parnell was appointed as Paymaster-General of the Land Forces and Treasurer of the Navy, requiring a by-election. <span class='anchor' id='1835_Dundee_by-election'>

Elections in the 1840s

Elections in the 1850s

Elections in the 1860s

Seat increased to two members

Election results, 1873–1918

Elections in the 1870s

Armitstead resigned, causing a by-election.

Elections in the 1880s

Lacita's resignation caused a by-election. Firth's death caused a by-election.

Elections in the 1890s

Robertson is appointed Civil Lord of the Admiralty, requiring a by-election.

Elections in the 1900s

<section begin="By-election 1908" /><section end="By-election 1908" /> # [Robertson | upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/Edmund///Robertson.jpg] # [Wilkie | upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/98/Alexander///Wilkie.JPG] # [Shackleton | upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/99/South///-///the///story///of///Shackleton%27s///last///expedition%2C///1914-1917///-///The///Leader///%28cropped%29.jpg] # [Stuart | upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/93/G///H///Stuart.JPG]

Elections in the 1910s

<section begin="General Election Jan 1910" /> <section end="General Election Jan 1910" /> <section begin="General Election Dec 1910" /><section end="General Election Dec 1910" /> <section begin="By-election 1917" /><section end="By-election 1917" /> <section begin="General Election 1918" /> <section end="General Election 1918" /> In 1918 Wilkie and Churchill were officially supported by the Dundee [Unionist Party Association](https://bliptext.com/articles/unionist-party-scotland) in addition to their own party organisations. # [Churchill | upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bd/Churchill///1904///Q///42037.jpg]

Election results, 1922–1945

Elections in the 1920s

<section begin="General Election 1922" /><section end="General Election 1922" /> # [Pilkington | upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/1922///Robert///Pilkington.jpg] # [Gallacher | upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/58/Willie///Gallacher///1.jpg] # [Morel | upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7a/1922///Edmund///Dene///Morel.jpg] # [Henderson-Stewart | upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/James///Henderson///Stewart.jpg]

Elections in the 1930s

Elections in the 1940s

Sources