From 1708 to 1832 Buteshire and
Caithness were paired as alternating constituencies: one of the constituencies
elected a
Member of Parliament (MP) to one parliament, the other to the next. The areas which were covered by the two constituencies are quite remote from each other, Caithness in the northeast of
Scotland and Buteshire in the southwest.[1][2][3][4][5]
From 1832 to 1918, Buteshire was represented continuously by its own MP.
By 1892, Bute had become a
local governmentcounty and, throughout Scotland, under the
Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889, county boundaries had been redefined for all purposes except parliamentary representation. 26 years were to elapse before constituency boundaries were redrawn, by the
Representation of the People Act 1918, to take account of new local government boundaries.
In 1918, the
Bute and Northern Ayrshire county constituency was created, to cover the county of Bute and a northern portion of the
county of Ayr. The rest of the county of Ayr was divided between three other constituencies, all entirely within the county: the county constituencies of
South Ayrshire and
Kilmarnock, and a remodelled Ayr Burghs.
^"Buteshire". History of Parliament Online (1690-1715). Retrieved 27 March 2019.
^"Buteshire". History of Parliament Online (1715-1754). Retrieved 27 March 2019.
^"Buteshire". History of Parliament Online (1754-1790). Retrieved 27 March 2019.
^"Buteshire". History of Parliament Online (1790-1820). Retrieved 27 March 2019.
^"Buteshire". History of Parliament Online (1820-1832). Retrieved 27 March 2019.
^Marjoribanks,Roger (2014) "Edinburgh Portrait, Sir John Marjoribanks , Bart, MP (1763–1833)" The Book of the Edinburgh Club, Volume 10, Pp 151-156,
ISBN0-9517284-9-0