A general election was held in the United Kingdom on 15 November 1922. Of the 74 seats representing Scotland, 71 seats represented
burgh
and
county
constituencies contested under the First past the post electoral system, and 3 represented the
Combined Scottish Universities
multi-member
University constituency
.
The election saw major gains for the Labour party, which had entered the election as Scotlands' 6th largest party, and emerged from the election as the largest party in Scotland. In contrast both the Conservatives (represented in Scotland by the Unionist party) and the National Liberals suffered heavy losses. These two parties had composed the
ruling coalition government
under
David Lloyd George
, which had collapsed following the Conservatives withdrawal from the coalition amidst several scandals. Most of the elected Labour MP's had included support for Scottish Home Rule in their manifestos.
[1]
Part of the reason for Labour's success came from a shift in the political alignment of
Scottish Catholics
of Irish descent, who had prior to
Irish independence
voted
Liberal
due to the partys' support for
Irish Home Rule
.
[2]
[
full citation needed
]
Despite this, the two Liberal parties received between them 39.2% of the Scottish vote.
Of the party leaders, two represented Scottish constituencies, with Bonar Law representing
Glasgow Central
and Asquith representing
Paisley
.