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Dunbartonshire — UK General Election Results

Compiled by EveryElectionResult.com's data team · Last updated 2026-08-30

Dunbartonshire was won by Labour at the 1945 general election, with a majority of 747 votes over Unionist. This page covers every general election in Dunbartonshire from 1832 to 1945.

Full Election History, 1832–1945

Election Elected Votes Vote Share Runner-up Majority Turnout
1832 John Campbell Colquhoun (Whig) 422 52.9% James Colquhoun (Whig) 47 (5.9 pts) 86.0%
1835 Alexander Dennistoun (Whig) 436 52.2% Alexander Smollett (Conservative) 37 (4.4 pts) 83.6%
1837 James Colquhoun (Whig) 452 52.4% Alexander Smollett (Conservative) 41 (4.8 pts) 75.8%
1841 Alexander Smollett (Conservative) Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record 0.0%
1847 Alexander Smollett (Conservative) 536 64.6% Thomas Campbell Robertson (Whig) 242 (29.2 pts) 64.4%
1852 Alexander Smollett (Conservative) Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record 0.0%
1857 Alexander Smollett (Conservative) Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record 0.0%
1859 Patrick Boyle Smollett (Conservative) 490 55.1% William Cunninghame Bontine (Liberal) 91 (10.2 pts) 64.5%
1865 Patrick Boyle Smollett (Conservative) 574 50.0% James Stirling (Liberal) 0 (0.0 pts) 71.9%
1868 Archibald Orr-Ewing (Conservative) Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record 0.0%
1874 Archibald Orr-Ewing (Conservative) 995 51.4% John William Burns (Liberal) 53 (2.7 pts) 85.5%
1880 Archibald Orr-Ewing (Conservative) 1,333 50.2% John William Burns (Liberal) 9 (0.3 pts) 89.3%
1885 Archibald Orr-Ewing (Conservative) 4,514 50.9% Robert Threshie Reid (Liberal) 157 (1.8 pts) 88.2%
1886 Archibald Orr-Ewing (Conservative) 4,249 50.2% Ronald Craufurd Munro Ferguson (Liberal) 32 (0.4 pts) 84.1%
1892 John Sinclair (Liberal) 5,249 51.4% Alexander Wylie (Conservative) 293 (2.9 pts) 86.6%
1895 Alexander Wylie (Conservative) 5,375 50.2% John Sinclair (Liberal) 33 (0.3 pts) 87.2%
1900 Alexander Wylie (Conservative) 6,083 53.0% Patrick Robertson Buchanan (Liberal) 690 (6.0 pts) 83.6%
1906 James Dundas White (Liberal) 7,404 51.6% Henry Brock (Conservative) 467 (3.3 pts) 87.8%
Jan 1910 James Dundas White (Liberal) 8,640 53.2% Henry Brock (Conservative) 1,033 (6.4 pts) 88.3%
Dec 1910 Arthur Acland Allen (Liberal) 8,579 54.1% William Thomas Shaw (Conservative) 1,312 (8.3 pts) 84.5%
1918 William Hannay Raeburn (Unionist) 12,765 55.8% William Henry Porteous Martin (Labour) 5,693 (24.9 pts) 66.8%
1922 William Hannay Raeburn (Unionist) 13,407 50.4% William Henry Porteous Martin (Labour) 191 (0.7 pts) 69.0%
1923 William Henry Porteous Martin (Labour) 11,705 43.0% David Pinkerton Fleming (Unionist) 1,903 (7.0 pts) 70.7%
1924 David Pinkerton Fleming (Unionist) 16,223 55.8% William Henry Porteous Martin (Labour) 3,351 (11.5 pts) 75.6%
1929 Willie Brooke (Labour) 18,153 45.6% John Gibb Thom (Unionist) 1,577 (4.0 pts) 81.0%
1931 John Gibb Thom (Unionist) 28,762 63.6% Willie Brooke (Labour) 12,288 (27.2 pts) 82.8%
1935 Archibald Douglas Cochrane (Unionist) 24,776 50.3% Thomas Cassells (Labour) 4,097 (8.3 pts) 80.5%
1945 Adam Storey McKinlay (Labour) 28,383 50.7% Robert Allan (Unionist) 747 (1.3 pts) 71.7%

Full Result Breakdown by Election

1832

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
John Campbell Colquhoun Whig 42252.9% Yes
James Colquhoun Whig 37547.1% No

1835

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Alexander Dennistoun Whig 43652.2% Yes
Alexander Smollett Conservative 39947.8% No

1837

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
James Colquhoun Whig 45252.4% Yes
Alexander Smollett Conservative 41147.6% No

1841

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Alexander Smollett Conservative Unopposed Yes

1847

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Alexander Smollett Conservative 53664.6% Yes
Thomas Campbell Robertson Whig 29435.4% No

1852

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Alexander Smollett Conservative Unopposed Yes

1857

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Alexander Smollett Conservative Unopposed Yes

1859

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Patrick Boyle Smollett Conservative 49055.1% Yes
William Cunninghame Bontine Liberal 39944.9% No

1865

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Patrick Boyle Smollett Conservative 57450.0% Yes
James Stirling Liberal 57450.0% No

1868

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Archibald Orr-Ewing Conservative Unopposed Yes

1874

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Archibald Orr-Ewing Conservative 99551.4% Yes
John William Burns Liberal 94248.6% No

1880

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Archibald Orr-Ewing Conservative 1,33350.2% Yes
John William Burns Liberal 1,32449.8% No

1885

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Archibald Orr-Ewing Conservative 4,51450.9% Yes
Robert Threshie Reid Liberal 4,35749.1% No

1886

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Archibald Orr-Ewing Conservative 4,24950.2% Yes
Ronald Craufurd Munro Ferguson Liberal 4,21749.8% No

1892

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
John Sinclair Liberal 5,24951.4% Yes
Alexander Wylie Conservative 4,95648.6% No

1895

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Alexander Wylie Conservative 5,37550.2% Yes
John Sinclair Liberal 5,34249.8% No

1900

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Alexander Wylie Conservative 6,08353.0% Yes
Patrick Robertson Buchanan Liberal 5,39347.0% No

1906

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
James Dundas White Liberal 7,40451.6% Yes
Henry Brock Conservative 6,93748.4% No

Jan 1910

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
James Dundas White Liberal 8,64053.2% Yes
Henry Brock Conservative 7,60746.8% No

Dec 1910

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Arthur Acland Allen Liberal 8,57954.1% Yes
William Thomas Shaw Conservative 7,26745.9% No

1918

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Hannay Raeburn Unionist 12,76555.8% Yes
William Henry Porteous Martin Labour 7,07230.9% No
Arthur Acland Allen Liberal 3,04813.3% No

1922

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Hannay Raeburn Unionist 13,40750.4% Yes
William Henry Porteous Martin Labour 13,21649.6% No

1923

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Henry Porteous Martin Labour 11,70543.0% Yes
David Pinkerton Fleming Unionist 9,80236.0% No
Joseph Stanley Holmes Liberal 5,72621.0% No

1924

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
David Pinkerton Fleming Unionist 16,22355.8% Yes
William Henry Porteous Martin Labour 12,87244.2% No

1929

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Willie Brooke Labour 18,15345.6% Yes
John Gibb Thom Unionist 16,57641.6% No
Thomas Maule Guthrie Liberal 5,07112.7% No

1931

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
John Gibb Thom Unionist 28,76263.6% Yes
Willie Brooke Labour 16,47436.4% No

1935

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Archibald Douglas Cochrane Unionist 24,77650.3% Yes
Thomas Cassells Labour 20,67941.9% No
Robert Gray SNP 3,8417.8% No

1945

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Adam Storey McKinlay Labour 28,38350.7% Yes
Robert Allan Unionist 27,63649.3% No

Margin Over Time

Winning margin (percentage points) at each election, coloured by the winning party.

1832: Whig margin 5.9 pts 1835: Whig margin 4.4 pts 1837: Whig margin 4.8 pts 1847: Conservative margin 29.2 pts 1859: Conservative margin 10.2 pts 1865: Conservative margin 0.0 pts 1874: Conservative margin 2.7 pts 1880: Conservative margin 0.3 pts 1885: Conservative margin 1.8 pts 1886: Conservative margin 0.4 pts 1892: Liberal margin 2.9 pts 1895: Conservative margin 0.3 pts 1900: Conservative margin 6.0 pts 1906: Liberal margin 3.3 pts Jan 1910: Liberal margin 6.4 pts Dec 1910: Liberal margin 8.3 pts 1918: Unionist margin 24.9 pts 1922: Unionist margin 0.7 pts 1923: Labour margin 7.0 pts 1924: Unionist margin 11.5 pts 1929: Labour margin 4.0 pts 1931: Unionist margin 27.2 pts 1935: Unionist margin 8.3 pts 1945: Labour margin 1.3 pts 1832 1835 1837 1847 1859 1865 1874 1880 1885 1886 1892 1895 1900 1906 Jan 1910 Dec 1910 1918 1922 1923 1924 1929 1931 1935 1945

Trend

Dunbartonshire has been contested at 28 general elections on record since 1832. Parties that have won a seat here over that span: Whig, Conservative, Liberal, Unionist, Labour.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who won Dunbartonshire in the 1945 general election?

Labour won Dunbartonshire in 1945 with 28,383 votes (50.7%), a majority of 747 votes over Unionist in second place.

Which parties have won Dunbartonshire since 1832?

Since 1832, Dunbartonshire has been won by: Conservative, Labour, Liberal, Unionist, Whig.

What was the closest result in Dunbartonshire?

The closest result on record for Dunbartonshire was 1865, when Conservative beat Liberal by just 0 votes (0.0 percentage points).

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