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West Fife — UK General Election Results

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

West Fife was won by Labour at the 1970 general election, with a majority of 17,092 votes over Conservative. This page covers every general election in West Fife from 1885 to 1970.

Full Election History, 1885–1970

Election Elected Votes Vote Share Runner-up Majority Turnout
1885 Robert Preston Bruce (Liberal) Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record 0.0%
1886 Robert Preston Bruce (Liberal) Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record 0.0%
1892 Augustine Birrell (Liberal) 5,215 76.2% Robert Yellowlees (Liberal Unionist) 3,582 (52.3 pts) 69.9%
1895 Augustine Birrell (Liberal) 4,719 61.4% Randolphy Gordon Erskine Wemyss (Liberal Unionist) 1,754 (22.8 pts) 72.2%
1900 John Deans Hope (Liberal) 4,352 64.7% Gavin William Ralston (Conservative) 1,978 (29.4 pts) 60.0%
1906 John Deans Hope (Liberal) 6,692 79.0% Nelson Constable (Conservative) 4,916 (58.1 pts) 55.4%
Jan 1910 John Deans Hope (Liberal) 6,159 47.8% William Adamson (Labour) 1,423 (11.0 pts) 73.1%
Dec 1910 William Adamson (Labour) 6,128 53.0% John Deans Hope (Liberal) 703 (6.1 pts) 61.4%
1918 William Adamson (Labour) 10,664 72.6% Joseph Hume Menzies (Unionist) 6,644 (45.2 pts) 48.2%
1922 William Adamson (Labour) Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record 0.0%
1923 William Adamson (Labour) 12,204 65.4% Philip Hodge (Fife, Kinross and Clackmannan Mineworkers' Reform Union) 5,745 (30.8 pts) 57.4%
1924 William Adamson (Labour) 14,685 70.9% John MacRobert (Unionist) 8,670 (41.9 pts) 63.0%
1929 William Adamson (Labour) 17,668 60.0% William Gallacher (Communist) 11,628 (39.5 pts) 69.7%
1931 Charles Black Milne (Unionist) 12,997 42.1% William Adamson (Labour) 1,934 (6.3 pts) 71.4%
1935 William Gallacher (Communist) 13,462 37.4% William Adamson (Labour) 593 (1.7 pts) 77.8%
1945 William Gallacher (Communist) 17,636 42.2% William Winter Hamilton (Labour) 2,056 (4.9 pts) 75.4%
1950 William Winter Hamilton (Labour) 23,576 54.8% Patrick William Neill Fraser (Conservative) 13,445 (31.3 pts) 84.9%
1951 William Winter Hamilton (Labour) 29,195 64.9% John Patterson Fyfe (Conservative) 18,157 (40.4 pts) 85.5%
1955 William Winter Hamilton (Labour) 26,849 62.6% Norma Russell Wylie (Unionist) 16,211 (37.8 pts) 80.3%
1959 William Winter Hamilton (Labour) 25,554 56.1% Alick Laidlaw Buchanan-Smith (Unionist) 14,297 (31.4 pts) 81.3%
1964 William Winter Hamilton (Labour) 28,806 65.5% John BM Gall (Unionist) 16,926 (38.5 pts) 78.6%
1966 Willie Hamilton (Labour) 27,123 63.1% John Brown Mcewan Gall (Conservative) 18,823 (43.8 pts) 76.8%
1970 Willie Hamilton (Labour) 29,929 61.1% John Gary McLaughlan (Conservative) 17,092 (34.9 pts) 74.3%

Full Result Breakdown by Election

1885

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Robert Preston Bruce Liberal Unopposed Yes

1886

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Robert Preston Bruce Liberal Unopposed Yes

1892

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Augustine Birrell Liberal 5,21576.2% Yes
Robert Yellowlees Liberal Unionist 1,63323.8% No

1895

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Augustine Birrell Liberal 4,71961.4% Yes
Randolphy Gordon Erskine Wemyss Liberal Unionist 2,96538.6% No

1900

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
John Deans Hope Liberal 4,35264.7% Yes
Gavin William Ralston Conservative 2,37435.3% No

1906

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
John Deans Hope Liberal 6,69279.0% Yes
Nelson Constable Conservative 1,77621.0% No

Jan 1910

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
John Deans Hope Liberal 6,15947.8% Yes
William Adamson Labour 4,73636.7% No
Gavin William Ralston Conservative 1,99415.5% No

Dec 1910

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Adamson Labour 6,12853.0% Yes
John Deans Hope Liberal 5,42547.0% No

1918

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Adamson Labour 10,66472.6% Yes
Joseph Hume Menzies Unionist 4,02027.4% No

1922

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Adamson Labour Unopposed Yes

1923

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Adamson Labour 12,20465.4% Yes
Philip Hodge Fife, Kinross and Clackmannan Mineworkers' Reform Union 6,45934.6% No

1924

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Adamson Labour 14,68570.9% Yes
John MacRobert Unionist 6,01529.1% No

1929

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Adamson Labour 17,66860.0% Yes
William Gallacher Communist 6,04020.5% No
Andrew Betts Brown Unionist 5,72719.5% No

1931

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Charles Black Milne Unionist 12,99742.1% Yes
William Adamson Labour 11,06335.8% No
William Gallacher Communist 6,82922.1% No

1935

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Gallacher Communist 13,46237.4% Yes
William Adamson Labour 12,86935.7% No
Charles Milne Unionist 9,66726.9% No

1945

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Gallacher Communist 17,63642.2% Yes
William Winter Hamilton Labour 15,58037.3% No
Robert Scott Stevenson National Liberal 8,59720.6% No

1950

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Winter Hamilton Labour 23,57654.8% Yes
Patrick William Neill Fraser Conservative 10,13123.6% No
William Gallacher Communist 9,30121.6% No

1951

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Winter Hamilton Labour 29,19564.9% Yes
John Patterson Fyfe Conservative 11,03824.6% No
William Lauchlan Communist 4,72810.5% No

1955

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Winter Hamilton Labour 26,84962.6% Yes
Norma Russell Wylie Unionist 10,63824.8% No
William Lauchlan Communist 5,38912.6% No

1959

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Winter Hamilton Labour 25,55456.1% Yes
Alick Laidlaw Buchanan-Smith Unionist 11,25724.7% No
Lawrence Daly Fife Socialist League 4,88610.7% No
William Lauchlan Communist 3,8288.4% No

1964

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Winter Hamilton Labour 28,80665.5% Yes
John BM Gall Unionist 11,88027.0% No
William Lauchlan Communist 3,2737.4% No

1966

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Willie Hamilton Labour 27,12363.1% Yes
John Brown Mcewan Gall Conservative 8,30019.3% No
Robert Reid Patrick SNP 6,04614.1% No
Archibald Duncan MacMillan Communist 1,5423.6% No

1970

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Willie Hamilton Labour 29,92961.1% Yes
John Gary McLaughlan Conservative 12,83726.2% No
Jimmy Halliday SNP 5,38611.0% No
Archibald Duncan MacMillan Communist 8551.7% No

Margin Over Time

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

1892: Liberal margin 52.3 pts 1895: Liberal margin 22.8 pts 1900: Liberal margin 29.4 pts 1906: Liberal margin 58.1 pts Jan 1910: Liberal margin 11.0 pts Dec 1910: Labour margin 6.1 pts 1918: Labour margin 45.2 pts 1923: Labour margin 30.8 pts 1924: Labour margin 41.9 pts 1929: Labour margin 39.5 pts 1931: Unionist margin 6.3 pts 1935: Communist margin 1.7 pts 1945: Communist margin 4.9 pts 1950: Labour margin 31.3 pts 1951: Labour margin 40.4 pts 1955: Labour margin 37.8 pts 1959: Labour margin 31.4 pts 1964: Labour margin 38.5 pts 1966: Labour margin 43.8 pts 1970: Labour margin 34.9 pts 1892 1895 1900 1906 Jan 1910 Dec 1910 1918 1923 1924 1929 1931 1935 1945 1950 1951 1955 1959 1964 1966 1970

Trend

West Fife has been contested at 23 general elections on record since 1885. Parties that have won a seat here over that span: Liberal, Labour, Unionist, Communist.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who won West Fife in the 1970 general election?

Labour won West Fife in 1970 with 29,929 votes (61.1%), a majority of 17,092 votes over Conservative in second place.

Which parties have won West Fife since 1885?

Since 1885, West Fife has been won by: Communist, Labour, Liberal, Unionist.

What was the closest result in West Fife?

The closest result on record for West Fife was 1935, when Communist beat Labour by just 593 votes (1.7 percentage points).

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