An election for 16 Scottish representative peers took place on Monday 23 May 1955 at the Parliament House in Edinburgh.

Procedure

The venue for the meeting caused some difficulty as the general election was called for the week when the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland was due to meet; by tradition the Church would not meet on the day of the general election, which meant the only day for the Peers to meet was Monday 23 May. This was the day before the Church Assembly opened and the day on which the Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland took up residence at Holyrood Palace, which was the normal location for the Peers to meet. Instead it was decided the peers should meet at Parliament House, built for the Parliament of Scotland but now part of the law courts. The Lord President of the Court of Session and the Faculty of Advocates agreed to the use of Parliament House.[1]

Accordingly, the date, time and place of the meeting was set in a Royal Proclamation of 6 May 1955. Lord Elphinstone, who held the role of Lord Clerk Register, presided for the last time. When the Principal Clerk of Session George Watson read the roll of Peers of Scotland, 113 names were read, and 32 answered that they were present.[2] Lord Polwarth produced a proxy on behalf of the Duke of Montrose, and 22 Peers had submitted "Signed Lists" as a form of absent voting.[3] Lord Elphinstone himself chose not to vote; this was the "customary but not compulsory practice" of the Lord Clerk Register.[2]

Result

Two new representative peers were elected who had not sat in the previous Parliament - Lord Forbes and Lord Reay.

Peer Votes
Earl of Haddington54
Earl of Airlie54
Lord Sempill54
Lord Polwarth54
Earl of Lindsay53
Earl of Selkirk53
Lord Balfour of Burleigh53
Lord Fairfax of Cameron53
Earl of Rothes52
Earl of Breadalbane and Holland52
Lord Saltoun52
Earl of Caithness51
Earl of Perth51
Lord Sinclair41
Lord Forbes37
Lord Reay37
Unsuccessful
Earl of Dundonald31
Earl of Northesk18
Viscount of Arbuthnott11
Lord Belhaven and Stenton2
Earl of Leven1

Votes cast

Peer voting Peers voted for
Rothes, E.
Caithness, E.
Perth, E.
Haddington, E.
Lindsay, E.
Airlie, E.
Leven, E.
Selkirk, E.
Northesk, E.
Dundonald, E.
Breadalbane, E.
Arbuthnott, V.
Forbes, L.
Saltoun, L.
Sinclair, L.
Sempill, L.
Balfour of Burleigh, L.
Fairfax of Cameron, L.
Reay, L.
Belhaven, L.
Polwarth, L.
Peers present who answered to the calling of their titles
Duke of Argyll1111111111111111
Duke of Atholl1111111111111111
Marquess of Huntly1111111111111111
Marquess of Lothian1111111111111111
Earl of Crawford1111111111111111
Earl of Caithness1111111111111111
Earl of Home1111111111111111
Earl of Perth1111111111111111
Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorn1111111111111111
Earl of Haddington1111111111111111
Earl of Lindsay1111111111111111
Earl of Elgin1111111111111111
Earl of Wemyss1111111111111111
Earl of Selkirk1111111111111111
Earl of Northesk1111111111111111
Earl of Dundee1111111111111111
Earl of Breadalbane1111111111111111
Earl of Stair1111111111111111
Earl of Glasgow1111111111111111
Viscount of Arbuthnott1111111111111111
Lord Forbes1111111111111111
Lord Saltoun1111111111111111
Lord Gray1111111111111111
Lord Sinclair1111111111111111
Lord Sempill1111111111111111
Lord Elphinstone
Lord Colville of Culross1111111111111111
Lord Balfour of Burleigh1111111111111111
Lord Fairfax of Cameron1111111111111111
Lord Reay1111111111111111
Lord Ruthven1111111111111111
Lord Polwarth1111111111111111
Peers called as Proxies
Lord Polwarth (Proxy for the Duke of Montrose)1111111111111111
Peers who had submitted Signed Lists
Duke of Hamilton1111111111111111
Duke of Buccleuch1111111111111111
Earl of Sutherland1111111111111111
Earl of Mar1111111111111111
Earl of Rothes1111111111111111
Earl of Eglinton1111111111111111
Earl of Cassilis1111111111111111
Earl of Abercorn1111111111111111
Earl of Galloway1111111111111111
Earl of Lauderdale1111111111111111
Earl of Dumfries1111111111111111
Earl of Southesk1111111111111111
Earl of Dalhousie1111111111111111
Earl of Airlie1111111111111111
Earl of Dundonald1111111111111111
Earl of Aberdeen1111111111111111
Earl of Rosebery1111111111111111
Viscount of Stormont1111111111111111
Lord Herries1111111111111111
Lord Napier1111111111111111
Lord Elibank1111111111111111
Lord Rollo1111111111111111

See also

References

  • "MINUTES OF MEETING held on the 23rd May, 1955, of PEERS OF SCOTLAND for the ELECTION OF THEIR REPRESENTATIVES to sit and vote in the ensuing Parliament of Great Britain and Northern Ireland." House of Lords paper 4 of Session 1955–56, HMSO.
  1. Sir James Fergusson, "The Sixteen Peers of Scotland", Oxford University Press, 1960, p. 105-106.
  2. 1 2 "Scottish Peers Ballot". The Times. London. 24 May 1955. p. 14.
  3. Minutes, HL 4 1955-56, p. 4.
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