Disqualification of Members of Parliament
David Boothroyd
Member of Parliament being disqualified since the 'Reform Act' of 1832.
The full list is as follows:
* Charles Cowan (L, Edinburgh) - Shortly after the 1847 election it was
discovered that he held a government contract. He was re-elected
unopposed on 15th December 1847.
* William Smith O'Brien (Conf, Limerick County) - O'Brien was the Leader
of the Irish Confederation, a nationalist group which organised an
armed uprising. He was convicted of High Treason in 1849.
* Sir Samuel H. Waterlow (L, Dumfriesshire) - Shortly after the 1868
election it was discovered that he held a government contract. He
narrowly lost his seat to the Conservative candidate at a byelection
on 31st March 1869.
* James O'Donovan Rossa (Ind N, Tipperary) - Rossa was a convicted felon
serving a term of imprisonment for life at the time of his election
in a November 1869 byelection. The Liberals recaptured the seat at
a byelection on 23rd February 1870.
* John Ramsay (L, Falkirk District) - Shortly after the 1874 election it
was discovered that he held a government contract. He was re-elected
unopposed on 26th March 1874.
* John Mitchel (Ind N, Tipperary) - Mitchel had been sentenced to 14 years
transportation to Van Dieman's Land in 1848, but escaped in 1853 and
made his way to the USA. As he had neither served his sentence nor
received a pardon, he was disqualified as a convicted felon when he
was returned unopposed at a byelection on 16th February 1875. He was
re-elected in a contested byelection on 13th March 1875, but his
opponent lodged an election petition. Mitchel died before the hearing
of the petition which awarded the seat to his opponent.
* Michael Davitt (HR, Meath) - Davitt was a convicted felon serving a
term of 15 years' imprisonment when returned unopposed on 22nd February
1882. Another Home Rule candidate was returned unopposed at a
byelection on 14th April 1882.
* John Daly (PN, Limerick City) - Daly was a convicted felon serving a
term of imprisonment for life when returned unopposed at the 1895
election. A non-Parnellite Nationalist won a contested byelection on
11th September 1895.
* A. Lynch (N, Galway Town) - Lynch was convicted of High Treason in 1903.
Another Nationalist was returned unopposed on 9th March 1903.
* Hon. Alban George Henry Gibbs (C, City of London) - Gibbs undertook a
government contract in 1904. He was re-elected unopposed on 9th
February 1904.
* Hon. Vicary Gibbs (C, Hertfordshire, St. Albans) [brother of the last
named] - Gibbs undertook a government contract in 1904. He lost his
seat to a Liberal in a byelection on 12th February 1904.
* Sir Stuart Montagu Samuel, Bt. (L, Tower Hamlets, Whitechapel) - Samuel
undertook a government contract in 1913. He was re-elected in a
contested byelection on 30th April 1913.
* William Preston (C, Walsall) - Shortly after the 1924 election it was
discovered that he held a contract with the Post Office. He was
re-elected at a contested byelection on 27th February 1925.
* Rev. James Godfrey MacManaway (C, Belfast, West) - MacManaway was a
Minister of the Church of Ireland when elected in the 1950 election.
There was a question as to whether this was a disqualification, but
the House of Commons Privileges Committee decided in October 1950
that it was. The Unionists retained the seat in a contested byelection
on 29th November 1950.
* Thomas James Mitchell (SF, Mid-Ulster) - Mitchell was serving a term
of 10 years' penal servitude for his part in a raid on the Royal
Inniskilling Fusiliers on 17th October 1954 when he was elected in
the 1955 election. He was re-elected for the seat in a contested
byelection on 11th August 1955, but the Unionist candidate lodged an
election petition which determined that he was ineligible for election;
the return was amended to declare the Unionist elected.
* Charles Beattie (C, Mid-Ulster) - Beattie was declared elected for
Mid-Ulster after the disqualification of Thomas Mitchell, but shortly
after it was discovered that he held offices of profit under the
crown, namely membership of three Northern Ireland National Insurance
and National Assistance Tribunals. An unofficial Unionist candidate
won a contested byelection on 8th May 1956.
* Fiona Elizabeth Ann Jones (Lab, Nottinghamshire, Newark) - Jones was
convicted of knowingly making a false return as to election expenses
on 19th March 1999. As this was a corrupt practice she was ineligible
for membership of the House of Commons.
Keith Edkins
>Fiona Jones, former MP for Newark, is only the seventeenth case of a
>Member of Parliament being disqualified since the 'Reform Act' of 1832.
>
sense here or whether your sources are difficient - when I researched the
electoral history for Cambridge I found 4 MPs unseated in Victorian times
causing byelections, which sounds like 'disqualified' to me. I can't beleive
that Cambridge was a unique hotbed of electoral malpractice and so I suspect
there are likely to be many others from this era not in your list. And
wasn't Anthony Wedgwood Benn, Lord Stansgate, disqualified for being a
member of the House of Lords?
Hon J H T M Sutton (Con) was unseated by a select committee (I never got
round to checking why). The Conservatives won a contested byelection on 22
May 1840.
K Macaulay & J H Astell (Con) were unseated by a Select Committee of the
House of Commons, for Bribery. The Liberals won a contested byelection on 17
Aug 1854.
W Forsyth (Con) - an Election Commission held that Mr Forsyth's post of
Standing Counsel to the Secretary of State in Council for India was an
Office of Profit under the Crown such as to disqualify him from sitting in
Parliament, and his election was declared void. The Conservatives won a
contested byelection on 24th April 1866.
Keith Edkins
David Boothroyd
Edkins" <keith....@gwydir.demon.co.uk> wrote:
> David Boothroyd wrote in message ...
> >Fiona Jones, former MP for Newark, is only the seventeenth case of a
> >Member of Parliament being disqualified since the 'Reform Act' of 1832.
> >
> I don't know whether you are using 'disqualified' in a restricted technical
> sense here or whether your sources are difficient - when I researched the
> electoral history for Cambridge I found 4 MPs unseated in Victorian times
> causing byelections, which sounds like 'disqualified' to me.
Disqualification refers to the Member being found not to be qualified to
be elected to Parliament. It does not refer to election results being
declared void after an election petition, or the Member being expelled from
the House of Commons.
My website now contains a file giving the causes of each of the 3,754
byelections since the 'Reform Act' (including Newark), which shows that
petitions were a far more common cause of byelections:
Cause Number of Byelections
Death 1,228
Resignation (voluntary appointment to
an office of profit under the crown of 1,060
an MP who wished to vacate a seat)
Appointment to Ministerial Office (1) 678
Succession to the Peerage 228
Elevation to the Peerage 221
Elections declared void on Petition 193
Members seeking re-election 51
Acceptance of office which necessitated
re-election 36
Members elected for more than one seat
declining those they did not wish to 26
represent
Disqualification from membership of the
House of Commons 17
Expulsion from the House of Commons 8
Members declared bankrupt (2) 3
Creation of a new seat 2
Seat vacant for Members having voted
before taking the oath (3) 2
Member certified as insane (4) 1
TOTAL 3,754
Most causes of byelections are matters of common law. The notes list those
which derive from statute law.
1. Under the Succession to the Crown Act 1707. The Re-Election of
Ministers Act 1919 severely restricted the necessity to seek
re-election on appointment to government office. The Re-Election of
Ministers Act (1919) Amendment Act 1926 ended the practice.
2. Under the Bankruptcy Act 1883. This category also includes one case of
an Irish constituency where the Bankruptcy Act 1883 did not apply and
the situation was governed by the Bankruptcy (Ireland) Amendment Act
1872. Therefore in Ireland, bankruptcy vacated the seat but did not
disqualify; the Member successfully sought re-election.
3. Of which, 1 deliberately and 1 inadvertently.
4. Under the Luncacy (Vacating of Seats) Act 1886. The position of a
Member of Parliament authorised to be detained owing to lunacy is now
governed by s. 141 of the Mental Health Act 1983.
> I can't beleive
> that Cambridge was a unique hotbed of electoral malpractice and so I suspect
> there are likely to be many others from this era not in your list. And
> wasn't Anthony Wedgwood Benn, Lord Stansgate, disqualified for being a
> member of the House of Lords?
There was no byelection. An election petition was lodged by the defeated
Conservative, and the result of this was that the return was amended and
the Conservative was declared elected. The return of Tony Benn was declared
an undue election.
Keith Edkins
David Boothroyd wrote in message ...
>
>be elected to Parliament. It does not refer to election results being
>declared void after an election petition, or the Member being expelled from
>the House of Commons.
>
I don't think I follow the distinction. In the case of Mr Forsyth
which I quoted, his Liberal opponent claimed, successfully, that Mr
Forsyth was, at and before the time of his election, not qualified to
be elected. (They had even pointed this out during the election campaign
and consequently tried to get the result reversed without a byelection,
but the Election Commission didn't buy that one!) The commission's
deliberations were mainly on the point of whether Mr Forsyth's office
was indeed a disqualifying office of profit (I think the fact that it
was a newly created office was somehow relevant). How does this differ
from the government contract cases you quoted? Is there some way that
disqualification can be noticed without a petition - who does the
noticing?
And conversely Fiona Jones was not "found not to be qualified to
be elected to Parliament." Her alleged offence of false expense
returns would actually have been committed several weeks after the
election, there was nothing wrong with her on election day!
> Member certified as insane (4) 1
Do tell us more ...!
>>. And
>> wasn't Anthony Wedgwood Benn, Lord Stansgate, disqualified for being a
>> member of the House of Lords?
>
>There was no byelection. An election petition was lodged by the defeated
>Conservative, and the result of this was that the return was amended and
>the Conservative was declared elected. The return of Tony Benn was declared
>an undue election.
Still sounds like disqualification to me. You didn't mention byelections at
the
start of this thread. How many other results have been varied without a
byelection?
Keith
Paul S. Davison
candidate as opposed to vacating the seat and a requiring a by-election?
Also, is Ms. Jones eligible to stand in the by-election?
Paul Davison
San Antonio, Texas
Keith Edkins wrote in message
<922051318.10488.0...@news.demon.co.uk>...
David Boothroyd
Edkins" <keith....@gwydir.demon.co.uk> wrote:
> David Boothroyd wrote in message ...
> >
> >Disqualification refers to the Member being found not to be qualified to
> >be elected to Parliament. It does not refer to election results being
> >declared void after an election petition, or the Member being expelled from
> >the House of Commons.
>
> I don't think I follow the distinction. In the case of Mr Forsyth
> which I quoted, his Liberal opponent claimed, successfully, that Mr
> Forsyth was, at and before the time of his election, not qualified to
> be elected. (They had even pointed this out during the election campaign
> and consequently tried to get the result reversed without a byelection,
> but the Election Commission didn't buy that one!)
There was no 'Election Commission' then - I think you mean the Election
Court. Election Courts can find the result an 'undue election' which
means altering the return without a further writ being issued. This
was done in Bristol South East in 1961. It was not unusual in the 1830s
and 1840s.
There are four possible outcomes of an Election Petition:
Petition Dismissed - the return was correct and is upheld.
Election declared Void - the return is cancelled, a new writ is issued
and a byelection held.
Undue election - the return is amended without another writ being issued.
Petition withdrawn - the case is ended by the petitioner.
The category of disqualification is where there is no election petition
involved, or where the disqualification arose after the member was
elected.
> Is there some way that disqualification can be noticed without a
> petition - who does the noticing?
Anyone. Any disqualification is automatic.
> And conversely Fiona Jones was not "found not to be qualified to
> be elected to Parliament."
Yes she was. She was found not to be qualified for election, or for
continued membership, as of March 1999.
> > Member certified as insane (4) 1
>
> Do tell us more ...!
The Reverend Charles Leach, Liberal Member for the Colne Valley, who
had gained the seat from the Independent Socialist Victor Grayson
(who had an unusual fate himself) in 1910. Rev. Leach was certified
in 1916. He died c. 1921.
> >>. And
> >> wasn't Anthony Wedgwood Benn, Lord Stansgate, disqualified for being a
> >> member of the House of Lords?
> >
> >There was no byelection. An election petition was lodged by the defeated
> >Conservative, and the result of this was that the return was amended and
> >the Conservative was declared elected. The return of Tony Benn was declared
> >an undue election.
>
> Still sounds like disqualification to me.
You aren't using "disqualification" as a legal term. I am.
> You didn't mention byelections at the start of this thread. How many
> other results have been varied without a byelection?
I once did a study on this. Some of them may be wrong, but the list is
as follows:
Election Constituency Poll Winner Member Seated
1832 Carnarvon Dist. Sir Charles Paget (L)* Major O.J.E. Nanney (C)*
1832 Coleraine Adm. Sir J.P. Beresford Alderman W.T. Copeland (L)
Bt. (C)
1832 Galway Borough L. MacLachlan (L) Martin Jos. Blake (L)
1832 Longford Luke White (L) and Viscount Forbes (C) and
Jas. Halpin Rorke (L) Anthony Lefroy (C)
1832 Mallow W.J. O'Neill Daunt (L) Chas. D.O. Jephson (L)
1832 Petersfield J.G. Shaw Lefevre (L) Sir W.G.H. Jolliffe (C)
1832 Salisbury Wadham Wyndham (C) Hon. D.P. Bouverie (L)
1832 Southampton James B. Hoy (C) John S. Penleaze (L)
1834(17/5) Monaghan Hon. H.R. Westenra (L) Edward Lucas (C)
1835 Canterbury Frederick Villiers (L) S.R. Lushington (C)
1835 Carlow N. Aylward Vigors (L) Thomas Kavanagh (C)
and Alex Raphael (L) and Col. Henry Brown (C)
1835 Cork City Joseph Leycester & Col. Daniel Callaghan (L) and
J.C. Chatterton (C) Dr. H. Baldwin (L)
1835 Cork County Feargus O'Connor (L) Richard Longfield (C)
1835 Dublin Daniel O'Connell (L) & Geo. A. Hamilton (C) and
Edward S. Ruthven (L) John Beattie West (C)
1835 Windsor Sir J. de Beauvoir (L) Sir J. Elley (C)
1835(24/4) Drogheda Andrew C. O'Dwyer (L) Hon. Randal E. Plunkett (C)
1836(30/12) Longford Luke White (L) Charles Fox (C)
1837 Bedford Henry Stuart (C) Samuel Crawley (L)
1837 Belfast James Gibson (L) and James E. Tennant (C) and
Earl of Belfast (LC) George Dunbar (C)
1837 Evesham Peter Borthwick (C) Lord Marcus Hill (L)
1837 Ipswich Henry Tufnell (L) Fitz-Roy Kelly (C)
1837 Kinsale Pierce Mahony (L) Lt-Col. H. Thomas (C)
1837 Norwich Hon. R.C. Scarlett (C) Benjamin Smith (L)
1837 Petersfield Sir W.G.H. Joliffe (C) Cornthwaite J. Hector (L)
1837 Shaftesbury John Sayer Poulter (L) Capt. J.B. Mathew (C)
1837 Stirlingshire William Forbes (C) Hon. G.R. Abercromby (L)
1837 Tralee John Bateman (C) Maurice O'Connell (L)
1837 Tynemouth and Geo. Fred. Young (L) Sir Chas. E. Gray (L)
North Shields
1838(26/3) Devizes Capt. J.W.D. Dundas (L) Geo. H.W. Heneage (C)
1841 Clitheroe M. Wilson, jun. (L) Edward Cardwell (LC)
1841 Flintshire Hon. E. Lloyd Mostyn (L) Sir S.R. Glynne, Bt. (LC)
1841 Lewes Summers Harford (L) Hon. Henry Fitz-Roy (C)
1841 Longford Luke White (L) Anthony Lefroy (C)
1841 Lyme Regis William Pinney (L) Thomas Hussey (C)
1841 Marlow Sir W.R. Clayton, Bt. Renn Hampden (C)
(L)
1841 Thetford Earl of Euston (L) Sir James Flower (C)
1841 Wakefield Joseph Holdsworth (L) Hon. W.S. Lascelles (C)
1841 Waterford Wm. Christmas (C) and Sir H.W. Barron, Bt. (L)
W.M. Reade (C) and Thos. Wise (L)
1841 Weymouth and Viscount Villiers (C) Ralph Bernal (L) and
Melcombe Regis and Geo. W. Hope (C) W.D. Christie (L)
1841 Wigan Thos. B. Crosse (C) Chas. Standish (L)
1842(14/6) Newcastle-u-L. J. Quincey Harris (L) J.C. Colquhoun (C)
1846(7/3) Bridport A.D.R.W.B. Cochrane John Romilly (L)
(LC)
1847 Dundalk Chas. C. McTavish (L) W. Torrens McCullagh (L)
1848(28/6) Horsham W.R.S. Fitz-Gerald (C) Lord E. Howard (L)
1852 Derby Thos. Berry Horsfall (C) Laurence Heyworth (L)
1852 Tavistock Samuel Carter (Ch) R.J. Phillimore (L)
1853(25/6) Peterborough G. Hampden Whalley (L) Thomson Hankey (C)
1857 Sligo J.P. Somers (L) Rt. Hon. J.A. Wynne (C)
1859 Clare Col.Hon. Luke White (L) Fras. M. Calcutt (L)
1863(20/10) Barnstaple Thomas Lloyd (L) Richard Bremridge (C)
1865 Boston Thomas Parry (L) J.W. Malcolm (C)
1865 Bridgnorth Sir J.E.E. Dalberg- Henry Whitmore (C)
Acton (L)
1866(1/5) Helston Robert Campbell (L) Wm. B. Brett (C)
1868 Taunton Serj. E.W. Cox (C) Henry James (L)
1869(11/3) Bewdley J.P.C. Cunliffe (C) Major Hon. A. Anson (L)
1872(8/2) Galway County Capt. J.P. Nolan (HR) Hon. W. Le Poer Trench (C)
1874 Wigtown Mark John Stewart (C) Rt. Hon. Geo. Young (L)
1875(13/3) Tipperary John Mitchel (HR) Stephen Moore (C)
1880(8/7) Evesham F. Lehmann (L) F.D. Dixon Hartland (C)
1955(11/8) Mid-Ulster T.J. Mitchell (SF) C. Beattie (C)
1961(4/5) Bristol SE A.N.W. Benn (Lab) M.A.J. St. Clair (C)
* - This decision of 6th March 1833 was reversed on 23rd May 1833, and Sir
Charles Paget was finally seated.
This list does not include petitions allowed following a scrutiny and
amendment of the result of the poll to show that the second-placed candidate
actually had more votes.
David Boothroyd
<paul.d...@worldnet.att.net> wrote:
> What is the distinction which justifies simply seating the second-place
> candidate as opposed to vacating the seat and a requiring a by-election?
There is no formal distinction. However, Election Courts have tended
to give this outcome if it was widely known at the time of the election
that the candidate was ineligible for election. This was the case with
one of the two Sinn Fein members returned in 1955 who were serving terms
of imprisonment for their part in an IRA attack. The other was disqualified
without a petition.
> Also, is Ms. Jones eligible to stand in the by-election?
Not at present. If her appeal against the conviction is successful,
she may stand.
Henry Potts
>What is the distinction which justifies simply seating the second-place
>candidate as opposed to vacating the seat and a requiring a by-election?
>
And what happens if she wins her appeal?
--
Henry
Colin Rosenstiel
> What is the distinction which justifies simply seating the second-place
> candidate as opposed to vacating the seat and a requiring a by-election?
>
> Also, is Ms. Jones eligible to stand in the by-election?
Only if she wins an appeal against conviction. The unseating has a
disqualification to go with it.
--
Cllr. Colin Rosenstiel
Cambridge http://www.cix.co.uk/~rosenstiel/
Cambridge Liberal Democrats: http://www.gwydir.demon.co.uk/camlibdems/
Keith Edkins
David Boothroyd wrote in message ...
>There was no 'Election Commission' then - I think you mean the
> Election Court.
I was quoting the phrase used by "The Times" contemporary report. Just shows
you can't believe what you read in the papers!
Keith
David Boothroyd
Potts) wrote:
> "Paul S. Davison" <paul.d...@worldnet.att.net> says:
> >What is the distinction which justifies simply seating the second-place
> >candidate as opposed to vacating the seat and a requiring a by-election?
> >
> >Also, is Ms. Jones eligible to stand in the by-election?
>
> And what happens if she wins her appeal?
The disqualification is lifted, Fiona Jones no longer has to perform
100 hours community service, and all of us in political campaigns breathe
a sigh of relief.
h.p...@ucl.ac.uk
> h.p...@ucl.ac.uk (Henry Potts) wrote:
> > "Paul S. Davison" <paul.d...@worldnet.att.net> says:
> > >What is the distinction which justifies simply seating the second-place
> > >candidate as opposed to vacating the seat and a requiring a by-election?
> > >
> > >Also, is Ms. Jones eligible to stand in the by-election?
> >
> > And what happens if she wins her appeal?
>
> The disqualification is lifted, Fiona Jones no longer has to perform
But she isn't reinstated as the MP? Seems a bit unfair that.
--
Henry
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David Boothroyd
> da...@election.demon.co.uk (David Boothroyd) wrote:
> > h.p...@ucl.ac.uk (Henry Potts) wrote:
> > > "Paul S. Davison" <paul.d...@worldnet.att.net> says:
> > > >What is the distinction which justifies simply seating the second-place
> > > >candidate as opposed to vacating the seat and a requiring a by-election?
> > > >
> > > >Also, is Ms. Jones eligible to stand in the by-election?
> > >
> > > And what happens if she wins her appeal?
> >
> > The disqualification is lifted, Fiona Jones no longer has to perform
> > 100 hours community service, [...]
>
> But she isn't reinstated as the MP? Seems a bit unfair that.
It does, but Article 9 of the Bill of Rights is very relevant here.