Elliot was the third son of William Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 3rd Earl of Minto, and his wife Emma Eleanor Elizabeth, daughter of General Sir Thomas Hislop, 1st Baronet.
He was a Clerk in House of Commons and was private secretary to William Patrick Adam, M.P.
However, he opposed William Ewart Gladstone's Home Rule policy and was re-elected as a Liberal Unionist in 1886.
Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 4th Earl of Minto, and Arthur Elliot were his elder brothers.
This article about a Liberal Member of the Parliament of the United Kingdom representing a Scottish constituency is a stub.