Gary D. Hutchinson

The existence of corrupt ‘rotten boroughs’ in England is a well-documented phenomenon before the ‘Great’ Reform Act of 1832. Similarly, many Scottish constituencies possessed characteristics which made them particularly closed, even by the limited standards of the pre-Reform political system. The Wigtown District of Burghs, (hereafter the Wigtown Burghs), which was almost entirely controlled by a number of prominent local families, was one of these. By using its politics after 1832 as a case-study, it is possible to question how far the Scottish Reform Act went in creating a more open and democratic political culture. Moreover, it raises the possibility that the political culture of non-contiguous Burgh Districts, which were unique to Scotland and Wales, possessed characteristics which set them apart from other types of constituency.