| Re Bristol South-East Parliamentary Election 1961 | |
|---|---|
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| Court | Election court |
| Citation | [1964] 2 QB 257, [1961] 3 All ER 354 |
| Case history | |
| Related action | Peerage Act 1963 |
| Court membership | |
| Judges sitting | Mr Justice Gorman, Mr Justice McNair |
| Keywords | |
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Re Bristol South-East Parliamentary Election ([1964] 2 QB 257, [1961] 3 All ER 354) is a 1961 United Kingdom election court case brought about by an election petition by Malcolm St Clair against Anthony Wedgewood Benn, 2nd Viscount Stansgate (also known as Tony Benn), the winner of the 1961 Bristol South-East by-election where Benn had won the most votes but was disqualified from taking his seat in the House of Commons as he had inherited a hereditary peerage as 2nd Viscount Stansgate.[1] Benn argued that as he had not applied for a writ of summons, he was not a member of the House of Lords and that the voters had the right to choose who they wanted to represent them.[2]
The court made a ruling of undue election because the voters were aware that Benn was legally disqualified from sitting in the House of Commons, their votes had to be counted as being "thrown away" and Malcolm St Clair as the runner-up would take the seat instead.[3]
- ^ "No parity for peers". The Modern Law Review. 24 (6): 757–802. 1961. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2230.1961.tb00672.x.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
nljwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Legal challenge to elections" (PDF). Law Commission. Retrieved 4 May 2018.