John Rigby, previously member for Wisbech in Cambridgeshire, England, was chosen by the Liberals as their candidate at the 1892 general election.
Following his appointment as Attorney General for England and Wales, he was obliged to seek re-election, and was returned unopposed in August 1892.
The towns of the county were very diverse socially: the burghs of Broughty Ferry, Carnoustie and Monifieth were largely suburbs of the City of Dundee.
They contained large numbers of wealthy manufacturers and merchants, as well as working class voters engaged in the fishing, chemical, boot-making and textile industries.
Kirriemuir, at the north of the constituency, was regarded as Radical: in the past Chartism had been strong among the weavers of the town.
The choice of the "stranger", Robson, rather than the popular Dundee merchant, Martin White, was resented locally.