1885 Aberdeen Corporation election

Election

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November 3, 1885 (1885-11-03)

1886 →

10 out of 25 seats of City of Aberdeen Council
13 seats needed for a majority

	First party	Second party

Party	Independent	Trades Council
Seats won	8	2
Seats after	21	4
Seat change	2	2
Popular vote	1,431	1,487
Percentage	49.0%	51.0%

Composition of Corporation after the election

An election to the Aberdeen Corporation was held on 3 November 1885, alongside municipal elections across Scotland. 10 of the corporation's 25 seats were up for election.

This election marked a conversion of sitting councillors to a labour programme. John Morgan of Greyfriars, who was elected temporarily after a councillor resigned, stood affiliated with the Aberdeen United Trades Council. The same situation occurred with Alexander Lyon Jr. of St. Nicholas, who had lost to a Trades Council candidate at the previous election. All three seats in Greyfriars ward were up for election as two councillors resigned and one was disqualified from holding office.^[1]

Ward Results

Ferryhill
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	William Henderson	Unopposed
Majority
Turnout
	Independent hold

Greyfriars
3 Seats
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	David Byres (incumbent)	361	26.2
	Trades Council	John Morgan (incumbent)	304	22.1
	Independent	J. S. Anderson	257	18.7
	Trades Council	D. C. Macdonald	238	17.3
	Independent	W. S. Adamson	218	15.8
Majority
Turnout				40.1
	Independent hold
	Trades Council gain from Independent
	Independent hold

Rosemount
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	Charles Gordon	Unopposed
Majority
Turnout
	Independent hold

Rubislaw
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	John Gray	Unopposed
Majority
Turnout
	Independent hold

St. Andrews
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	William Findlay	Unopposed
Majority
Turnout
	Independent hold

St. Clement
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	William Pyper (incumbent)	387	51.3
	Trades Council	J. C. Thompson	367	48.7
Majority			20
Turnout				41.8
	Independent hold

St. Machar
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	William Collie	Unopposed
Majority
Turnout
	Independent hold

St. Nicholas
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Trades Council	Alexander Lyon Jr. (incumbent)	578	73.5
	Independent	George Ogilvie	208	26.5
Majority			370
Turnout				28.7
	Trades Council gain from Independent

^[1]^[2]

References

^ ^a ^b "The Municipal Elections". Daily Free Press (Aberdeen). 4 November 1885. p. 5. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
^ "The Municipal Elections". Evening Express (Scotland). 4 November 1885. p. 2. Retrieved 6 December 2023.