| West Fife | |
|---|---|
| Formercounty constituency for theHouse of Commons | |
| Subdivisions of Scotland | Fife |
| 1885–1974 (1974) | |
| Seats | One |
| Created from | Fife |
| Replaced by | Central Fife, Dunfermline, Kirkcaldy[1] |
West Fife was aparliamentary constituency represented in theHouse of Commons of theParliament of the United Kingdom from 1885 to 1974. Along withEast Fife, it was formed by dividing the oldFife constituency.
Willie Gallacher of theCommunist Party of Great Britain is notable as the longest-serving Member of Parliament (from 1935 to 1950) and the last MP in Parliament (until 1950) for the party.
1885–1918:
1918–1950:
1950–1974: The Burghs of Culross, Leslie, andMarkinch; the Districts ofDunfermline,Kirkcaldy, andLochgelly; and part of the District ofWemyss.

| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Robert Preston Bruce | Unopposed | |||
| Liberalwin (new seat) | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Robert Preston Bruce | Unopposed | |||
| Liberalhold | |||||
Bruce's resignation caused a by-election.

| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Augustine Birrell | 3,551 | 56.3 | N/A | |
| Liberal Unionist | Rosslyn Wemyss | 2,758 | 43.7 | New | |
| Majority | 793 | 12.6 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 6,309 | 71.6 | N/A | ||
| Registered electors | 8,812 | ||||
| Liberalhold | Swing | N/A | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Augustine Birrell | 5,215 | 76.2 | N/A | |
| Liberal Unionist | Robert Yellowlees | 1,633 | 23.8 | N/A | |
| Majority | 3,582 | 52.4 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 6,848 | 69.9 | N/A | ||
| Registered electors | 9,800 | ||||
| Liberalhold | Swing | N/A | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Augustine Birrell | 4,719 | 61.4 | −14.8 | |
| Liberal Unionist | Randolph Wemyss | 2,965 | 38.6 | +14.8 | |
| Majority | 1,754 | 22.8 | −29.6 | ||
| Turnout | 7,684 | 72.2 | +2.3 | ||
| Registered electors | 10,637 | ||||
| Liberalhold | Swing | -14.8 | |||

| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | John Deans Hope | 4,352 | 64.7 | +3.3 | |
| Conservative | Gavin William Ralston | 2,374 | 35.3 | −3.3 | |
| Majority | 1,978 | 29.4 | +6.6 | ||
| Turnout | 6,726 | 60.0 | −12.2 | ||
| Registered electors | 11,206 | ||||
| Liberalhold | Swing | +3.3 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | John Deans Hope | 6,692 | 79.0 | +14.3 | |
| Conservative | Nelson B Constable | 1,776 | 21.0 | −14.3 | |
| Majority | 4,916 | 58.0 | +28.6 | ||
| Turnout | 8,468 | 55.4 | −4.6 | ||
| Registered electors | 15,272 | ||||
| Liberalhold | Swing | +14.3 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | John Deans Hope | 6,159 | 47.8 | −31.2 | |
| Labour | William Adamson | 4,736 | 37.7 | New | |
| Conservative | Gavin William Ralston | 1,994 | 15.5 | −5.5 | |
| Majority | 1,423 | 10.1 | −47.9 | ||
| Turnout | 12,889 | 73.1 | +17.7 | ||
| Liberalhold | Swing | N/A | |||

| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | William Adamson | 6,128 | 53.0 | +15.3 | |
| Liberal | John Deans Hope | 5,425 | 47.0 | −0.8 | |
| Majority | 703 | 6.0 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 11,553 | 61.4 | −11.7 | ||
| Labourgain fromLiberal | Swing | ||||
General Election 1914–15:
Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1915. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | William Adamson | 10,664 | 72.6 | +19.6 | |
| C | Unionist | Joseph Hume Menzies | 4,020 | 27.4 | New |
| Majority | 6,644 | 45.2 | +39.2 | ||
| Turnout | 14,684 | 48.2 | −13.2 | ||
| Registered electors | 30,452 | ||||
| Labourhold | Swing | N/A | |||
| Cindicatescandidate endorsed by the coalition government. | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | William Adamson | Unopposed | |||
| Labourhold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | William Adamson | 12,204 | 65.4 | N/A | |
| Fife, Kinross and Clackmannan Mineworkers' Reform Union | Philip Hodge | 6,459 | 34.6 | New | |
| Majority | 5,745 | 30.8 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 18,663 | 57.4 | N/A | ||
| Registered electors | 32,491 | ||||
| Labourhold | Swing | N/A | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | William Adamson | 14,685 | 70.9 | +5.5 | |
| Unionist | J MacRobert | 6,015 | 29.1 | New | |
| Majority | 8,670 | 41.8 | +11.0 | ||
| Turnout | 20,700 | 63.0 | +5.6 | ||
| Registered electors | 32,882 | ||||
| Labourhold | Swing | N/A | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | William Adamson | 17,668 | 60.0 | −10.9 | |
| Communist | Willie Gallacher | 6,040 | 20.5 | New | |
| Unionist | A.B. Brown | 5,727 | 19.5 | −9.6 | |
| Majority | 11,628 | 39.5 | −2.3 | ||
| Turnout | 29,435 | 69.7 | +6.7 | ||
| Registered electors | 42,252 | ||||
| Labourhold | Swing | −0.7 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unionist | Charles Milne | 12,977 | 42.1 | +22.6 | |
| Labour | William Adamson | 11,063 | 35.8 | −24.2 | |
| Communist | Willie Gallacher | 6,829 | 22.1 | +1.6 | |
| Majority | 1,914 | 6.3 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 30,889 | 71.4 | +1.7 | ||
| Unionistgain fromLabour | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Communist | Willie Gallacher | 13,462 | 37.4 | +15.4 | |
| Labour | William Adamson | 12,869 | 35.7 | −0.1 | |
| Unionist | Charles Milne | 9,667 | 26.9 | −15.2 | |
| Majority | 593 | 1.7 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 35,998 | 77.8 | +6.4 | ||
| Communistgain fromUnionist | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Communist | Willie Gallacher | 17,636 | 42.1 | +4.7 | |
| Labour | Willie Hamilton | 15,580 | 37.3 | +1.6 | |
| National Liberal | Robert Scott Stevenson | 8,597 | 20.6 | −6.3 | |
| Majority | 2,056 | 4.8 | +3.1 | ||
| Turnout | 41,813 | 75.4 | −2.4 | ||
| Communisthold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Willie Hamilton | 23,576 | 54.8 | +17.5 | |
| National Liberal | Patrick William Neill Fraser | 10,131 | 23.6 | +3.0 | |
| Communist | Willie Gallacher | 9,301 | 21.6 | −20.5 | |
| Majority | 13,445 | 31.2 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 43,008 | 84.9 | +9.5 | ||
| Labourgain fromCommunist | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Willie Hamilton | 29,195 | 64.9 | +10.1 | |
| National Liberal | John Patterson Fyfe | 11,038 | 24.6 | +1.0 | |
| Communist | William Lauchlan | 4,728 | 10.5 | −11.1 | |
| Majority | 18,157 | 40.3 | +9.1 | ||
| Turnout | 44,961 | 85.6 | +0.7 | ||
| Labourhold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Willie Hamilton | 26,849 | 62.6 | −2.3 | |
| Unionist | Norman Wylie | 10,638 | 24.8 | +0.2 | |
| Communist | William Lauchlan | 5,389 | 12.6 | +2.1 | |
| Majority | 16,211 | 37.8 | −2.5 | ||
| Turnout | 42,876 | 80.3 | −5.3 | ||
| Labourhold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Willie Hamilton | 25,554 | 56.1 | −6.5 | |
| Unionist | Alick Buchanan-Smith | 11,257 | 24.7 | −0.1 | |
| Fife Socialist League | Lawrence Daly | 4,886 | 10.7 | New | |
| Communist | William Lauchlan | 3,828 | 8.4 | −4.2 | |
| Majority | 14,297 | 31.4 | −6.4 | ||
| Turnout | 45,525 | 81.3 | +1.0 | ||
| Labourhold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Willie Hamilton | 28,806 | 65.5 | +9.4 | |
| Unionist | John B. M. Gall | 11,880 | 27.0 | +2.3 | |
| Communist | William Lauchlan | 3,273 | 7.5 | −0.9 | |
| Majority | 16,926 | 38.5 | +7.1 | ||
| Turnout | 43,959 | 78.6 | −2.7 | ||
| Labourhold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Willie Hamilton | 27,123 | 63.1 | −2.4 | |
| Conservative | John B. M. Gall | 8,300 | 19.3 | −7.7 | |
| SNP | Robert R. Patrick | 6,046 | 14.1 | New | |
| Communist | Archibald D. MacMillan | 1,542 | 3.6 | −3.9 | |
| Majority | 18,823 | 43.8 | +5.3 | ||
| Turnout | 43,011 | 76.8 | −1.8 | ||
| Labourhold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Willie Hamilton | 29,929 | 61.1 | −2.0 | |
| Conservative | Gary McLaughlan | 12,837 | 26.2 | +6.9 | |
| SNP | Jimmy Halliday | 5,386 | 11.0 | −3.1 | |
| Communist | Archibald D. MacMillan | 855 | 1.7 | −1.9 | |
| Majority | 17,092 | 34.9 | −8.9 | ||
| Turnout | 49,007 | 74.2 | −2.6 | ||
| Labourhold | Swing | ||||