[1] The constituency returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system.Alexander Ure had been Liberal Member of Parliament for Linlithgowshire since 1895.Some 2,000 Irish electors lived in the constituency and they were expected to heavily support the Liberal candidate.Local branches of the Independent Labour Party asked local electors to vote for the Unionist Party candidate.For the 1918 elections, Pratt moved to contest Glasgow Cathcart.