14-647: Ayr Burghs was a district of burghs constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1708 to 1800 and of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1950. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP), using the first-past-the-post voting system. The British parliamentary constituency was created in 1708 following the Acts of Union 1707 and replaced
28-687: A draft Order in Council , to be approved by both houses of parliament. Once approved, the draft order would be presented to the Privy Council , and enacted via a statutory instrument . Any changes in seats would not take place until the next dissolution of parliament and calling of a general election . The Act contained a number of rules to guide the work of the commissions. "As far as practicable" in England and Wales : In Scotland : In Northern Ireland : The electorate of any constituency
42-651: The Representation of the People Act 1948 . Under the 1949 Act, each commission was to make its first periodic report within seven years of the passing of the Representation of the People Act 1948 . Subsequent reports were to be issued not less than three and not more than seven years after the first periodic report. Reports were to be made to the Home Secretary , and were to contain the proposed constituency boundaries. The Home Secretary could then issue
56-556: The parliamentary burghs ( burghs represented in the pre-Union Parliament of Scotland ) were assigned to a district, except for Edinburgh which had an MP to itself. The burghs in a district were not necessarily adjacent or even close together. Until 1832, the self-elected Council of each burgh in a district elected a commissioner, who had one vote for the MP. The commissioner from the Returning Burgh (which function rotated amongst
70-460: The 1949 Act in respect to Northern Ireland, increasing the number of constituencies in the province to 17 in number. Northern Ireland had been under-represented in the Commons to compensate for the existence of a devolved parliament. However, this had been abolished in 1973 . The number of seats could be decreased to 16 or increased to 18 in the future. The 1949, 1958 and 1979 Acts were repealed by
84-699: The Director General of the Ordnance Survey from each commission, and in each case appointed a judge to be deputy chairman. It also modified the definition of "electoral quota" so that it – in England, Scotland and Wales – would mean respective quotas for each country, based on the prior number of constituencies. A new procedure was established, forcing a local inquiry to be held if many objections arose to changes. The House of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) Act 1979 (c. 15) amended
98-510: The burgh for other purposes. The franchise was extended, and votes from all the burghs were added together. There were further changes to the number and the composition of the districts under the Representation of the People (Scotland) Act 1868 , Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 , and Representation of the People Act 1918 . The district of burghs system was eventually discontinued by the House of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) Act 1949 , but
112-401: The burghs in successive elections) had an additional casting vote if the numbers were equal. Burgh councils had small memberships, with the result that the combined electorate for all 14 constituencies in 1831 was no more than 1,270. The Scottish Reform Act 1832 amended the composition of the districts, and the boundaries of a burgh for parliamentary purposes ceased to be necessarily those of
126-610: The former Parliament of Scotland burgh constituencies of Ayr , Campbeltown , Inveraray , Irvine and Rothesay . The list of parliamentary burghs represented by the constituency changed in 1832 and again in 1918: When the Ayr Burghs constituency was abolished in 1950, the Ayr and Prestwick burghs were merged into the county constituency of Ayr . Ardrossan and Saltcoats were merged into Bute and Northern Ayrshire and Irvine and Troon were merged into Central Ayrshire . Sir Thomas
140-667: The term Burghs continued in use in the names of some constituencies until 1974. The idea of parliamentary burghs continues to this day, in the form of burgh constituencies , which are distinct from county constituencies . This distinction is significant in terms of the expenses allowed to election candidates. 1708-1832 (14 Districts) (65 Burghs) 1832-1868 (14 Districts) (69 Burghs) 1868-1885 (15 Districts) (72 Burghs) 1885-1918 (13 Districts) (62 Burghs) 1918-1950 (6 Districts) (26 Burghs) House of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) Act 1949 The House of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) Act 1949 ( 12, 13 & 14 Geo. 6 . c. 66)
154-517: The total electorate for either Great Britain or Northern Ireland by the number of allocated seats. Each commission were allowed to depart from the rules on areas or electorate in special cases "including in particular the size, shape and accessibility of a constituency" in order to form constituencies. Following successful legal action the Act was amended by the House of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) Act 1958 ( 6 & 7 Eliz. 2 . c. 26). This removed
SECTION 10
#1732780278848168-552: 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 Act amended the rules for the distribution of seats to be followed by the boundary commissions for each of the constituent countries of the United Kingdom . The commissions had been created under the House of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) Act 1944 , and their initial reviews of constituencies had been implemented by
182-760: Was elected, in 1950, as the first MP for the then new constituency of Ayr Kennedy was appointed as a Lord Commissioner of the Treasury, requiring a by-election. Kennedy resigned, causing a by-election. Back to Elections Back to Elections Back to Elections Campbell's death caused a by-election. Back to Elections Back to Elections Back to Elections Back to Elections Back to Elections Back to Elections Back to Top District of burghs The Act of Union 1707 and pre-Union Scottish legislation provided for 14 Members of Parliament (MPs) from Scotland to be elected from districts of burghs . All
196-413: Was to be as close as possible to a country-specific electoral quota to reduce malapportionment ; where rigid adherence to the "as far as practicable" guidelines would mean a large disparity between electorates, the commissions were expressly empowered to form seats which combine parts of two (and where major disparity still remains, more) local government areas. The electoral quota was obtained by dividing
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