Lanark Burghs (UK Parliament constituency) facts for kids

Lanark Burghs (also known as Linlithgow Burghs) was a special area in Scotland that used to elect one person to represent it in the British Parliament. This person was called a Member of Parliament, or MP. The Parliament is where laws are made for the whole country. Lanark Burghs existed for a long time, from 1708 until 1832.

There was also a later area called Lanark that elected MPs from 1918 to 1983.

How Lanark Burghs Was Created

Before 1707, Scotland and England had separate parliaments. In 1707, they joined together to form Great Britain. This was called the Acts of Union. After this, new areas were set up to elect MPs to the new British Parliament in Westminster.

Lanark Burghs was one of these new areas. It was created in 1708. It took the place of four older Scottish areas that used to elect their own representatives. These were Linlithgow, Lanark, Peebles, and Selkirk.

Where Was Lanark Burghs?

This area included four important towns, known as burghs. These towns were:

• Linlithgow, located in the area known as the county of Linlithgow.
• Lanark, found in the county of Lanark.
• Peebles, which was in the county of Peebles (also called Peeblesshire).
• Selkirk, located in the county of Selkirk.

These four towns worked together to elect one MP to represent them all.

The History of Lanark Burghs in Parliament

The Lanark Burghs area always elected just one MP. This MP was chosen using a system called "first past the post." This means the candidate with the most votes won, even if they didn't get more than half of all the votes.

Lanark Burghs continued to elect an MP until the general election in 1832. At that time, big changes were made to how MPs were elected across the country.

Changes in 1832

In 1832, a new law called the Representation of the People (Scotland) Act 1832 changed the election map of Scotland.

• The town of Peebles joined a larger area called Peeblesshire for elections.
• Selkirk joined the area known as Selkirkshire.
• The remaining towns of Linlithgow and Lanark were grouped with two new towns, Airdrie and Hamilton. These new towns were both in the county of Lanark.
• Together, these towns formed a new election area called Falkirk Burghs.

After these changes, the Lanark Burghs area no longer existed as a single election district.

Members of Parliament for Lanark Burghs

The table below shows some of the people who were elected as MPs for Lanark Burghs during its time. An MP's job is to speak for the people in their area and help make laws for the country.