Peerage Act 1963

The Act resulted largely from the protests of one man, the Labour politician Tony Benn, then the 2nd Viscount Stansgate.[1] Under British law at the time, peers of the United Kingdom (who met certain qualifications, such as age) were automatically members of the House of Lords and could not sit in, or vote in elections for, the other chamber, the House of Commons. When William Wedgwood Benn, Tony Benn's father, agreed to accept the Viscountcy, he ascertained that the heir-apparent, his eldest son Michael, did not plan to enter the House of Commons. However, within a few years of the peerage being accepted, Michael Benn was killed in action in the Second World War. Tony Benn, his younger brother, became heir-apparent to the peerage and was elected to the House of Commons in 1950. Not wishing to leave it for the other House, he campaigned through the 1950s for a change in the law. In 1960, the 1st Viscount died and Tony Benn inherited the title, automatically losing his seat in the House of Commons as a member for the constituency of Bristol South East. In the ensuing by-election, however, Benn was re-elected to the Commons, despite being disqualified. An election court ruled that he could not take his seat, instead awarding it to the runner-up, the Conservative Malcolm St Clair.[2] In 1963, the Conservative Government agreed to introduce a Peerage Bill, allowing individuals to disclaim peerages; it received Royal Assent on 31 July 1963.[3] Tony Benn was the first peer to make use of the Act. St Clair, fulfilling a promise he had made at the time of taking his seat, accepted the office of Steward of the Manor of Northstead the previous day,[4] thereby disqualifying himself from the House (outright resignation is prohibited), and Benn was then re-elected in Bristol South East at the ensuing by-election.

To disclaim a hereditary peerage, the peer must deliver an instrument of disclaimer to the Lord Chancellor within one year of succeeding to the peerage, or within one year after the passage of the Act, or, if under the age of 21 at the time of succession, before the peer's 22nd birthday. If, at the time of succession, the peer is a member of the House of Commons, then the instrument must be delivered within one month of succession, and until such an instrument is delivered, the peer may neither sit nor vote in the lower House. Prior to the House of Lords Act 1999, a hereditary peer could not disclaim a peerage after having applied for a writ of summons to Parliament; now, however, hereditary peers do not have the automatic right to a writ of summons to the House. A peer who disclaims the peerage loses all titles, rights and privileges associated with the peerage; if they are married, so does their spouse. No further hereditary peerage may be conferred upon the person, but a life peerage may be. The peerage remains without a holder until the death of the peer who had made the disclaimer, when it descends to his or her heir in the usual manner.

The one-year window after the passage of the Act soon proved to be of importance at the highest levels of British politics, after the resignation of Harold Macmillan as Prime Minister in October 1963. Two hereditary peers wished to be considered to replace him, but by this time it was considered requisite that a Prime Minister sit in the Commons. Quintin Hogg, 2nd Viscount Hailsham and Alec Douglas-Home, 14th Earl of Home took advantage of the Act to disclaim their peerages, despite having inherited them in 1950 and 1951 respectively.[1] Douglas-Home was chosen as Prime Minister; both men later returned to the House of Lords as life peers.

Since the abolition in 1999 of the general right of hereditary peers to sit in the House of Lords, and the consequent removal of the general disability of such peers to sit in or vote for the House of Commons, it is no longer necessary for hereditary peers to disclaim their peerages for this purpose. In 2001, John Sinclair, 3rd Viscount Thurso became the first British hereditary peer to be elected to the Commons and take his seat. Later that year, Douglas Hogg inherited the peerage his father (Quintin Hogg) had disclaimed, but did not have to disclaim it himself to continue sitting in the House of Commons. In 2004, Michael Ancram became Marquess of Lothian on the death of his father, and was also able to continue sitting as an MP. On their retirements from the House of Commons, Ancram and Hogg entered the House of Lords as life peers, while Thurso was elected as an excepted hereditary peer after losing reelection as an MP. Since the chief purpose for the Act ended in 1999, only one disclaimer has occurred — Christopher Silkin disclaimed the title 3rd Baron Silkin in 2002.

The Act only applies to titles held in the Peerage of England, the Peerage of Scotland, the Peerage of Great Britain, and the Peerage of the United Kingdom. No provision was made by the Act for titles in the Peerage of Ireland to be disclaimed, as the entitlement of new Irish representative peers to be elected to sit in the House of Lords was considered to have lapsed after most of Ireland became independent in 1922 (and the last surviving Irish representative peer had died in 1961).

The Act granted Peers of Scotland the same right to sit in the House of Lords as Peers of England, Great Britain or the United Kingdom, thereby ending the election of representative peers, thereby increasing their number in the Lords from 16 to about 115.[5] An amendment that would have allowed Irish peers to sit in the House as well was defeated by ninety votes to eight.

The Act removed the disqualification of Peers of Ireland, by virtue of an Irish peerage, to vote in elections for members of the House of Commons; and to sit in the British House of Commons without losing the privilege of peerage.[6]

The Act also granted suo jure hereditary women peers (other than those in the Peerage of Ireland) the right to sit in the House of Lords, which introduced twelve new women to the House. This was not the first time that women were members of the House of Lords; the Life Peerages Act 1958 allowed all life peers (men and women) to sit in the House. The 2nd Baroness Ravensdale had already entered the Lords in 1958 through the receipt of a life peerage. The women who took their seats in the House after the Peerage Act 1963 and before the House of Lords Act 1999 were:

Female hereditary peers who took their seat[7]

Title	Name	Date inherited Peerage	Date took seat	Date left House of Lords	Ref.
The Baroness Strange of Knokin	Elizabeth Philipps, Viscountess St Davids	23 February 1921 [8]	19 November 1963	12 December 1974	[9]
The Baroness Audley	Rosina MacNamee	3 July 1963	20 November 1963	24 October 1973	[10]
The Baroness Beaumont	Mona Fitzalan-Howard, Baroness Howard of Glossop	1 June 1896 [8]	4 December 1963	31 August 1971	[11]
The Lady Kinloss	Mary Freeman-Grenville	17 October 1944	18 February 1964	11 November 1999	[12]
The Countess of Erroll	Diana Hay	24 January 1941	29 July 1964	16 May 1978	[13]
The Lady Nairne	Katherine Bigham, Viscountess Mersey	3 June 1927	27 October 1964	20 October 1995	[14]
The Lady Sempill	Ann Forbes-Sempill	30 December 1965	19 July 1966	6 July 1995	[15]
The Baroness Berkeley	Mary Foley-Berkeley	5 April 1967 [8]	10 May 1967	17 October 1992	[16]
The Countess of Loudoun	Barbara Abney-Hastings	24 February 1960	22 June 1967	11 November 1999	[17]
The Lady Ruthven of Freeland	Bridget Monckton, Viscountess Monckton of Brenchley	6 April 1956	26 October 1967	17 April 1982	[18]
The Countess of Sutherland	Elizabeth Sutherland	1 January 1963	27 March 1968	11 November 1999	[19]
The Baroness Darcy de Knayth	Davina Ingrams	23 March 1943	15 July 1969	24 February 2008	[20]
The Baroness Dacre	Rachel Douglas-Home	24 February 1970 [8]	28 May 1970	11 November 1999	[21]
The Baroness Portal of Hungerford	Rosemary Portal	22 April 1971	26 April 1972	29 September 1990	[22]
The Baroness Dudley	Barbara Hamilton	19 April 1972	23 May 1973	11 November 1999	[23]
The Baroness Lucas	Anne Palmer	3 November 1958	10 June 1975	31 December 1991	[24]
The Countess of Mar	Margaret of Mar	21 April 1975	28 October 1975		[25]
The Lady Saltoun	Marjorie Fraser	3 December 1979	13 December 1979	12 December 2014	[26]
The Baroness Braye	Mary Aubrey-Fletcher	19 December 1985	09 April 1986	11 November 1999	[27]
The Baroness Strange	Jean Drummond of Megginch	10 December 1986 [8]	17 December 1986	11 March 2005	[28]
The Countess Mountbatten of Burma	Patricia Knatchbull, Baroness Brabourne	27 August 1979	8 July 1987	11 November 1999
The Baroness Wharton	Myrtle Robertson	4 April 1990 [8]	25 June 1990	15 May 2000	[29]
The Baroness Willoughby de Eresby	Jane Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby	29 March 1983	25 January 1994	11 November 1999	[30]
The Baroness Berners	Pamela Kirkham	30 June 1995 [8]	25 October 1995	11 November 1999	[31]
The Baroness Arlington	Jennifer Forwood	28 April 1999 [8]	27 May 1999	11 November 1999	[32]

Female hereditary peers who did not take their seat

Title	Name	Date inherited Peerage
The Baroness Furnivall	Rosamund Dent	3 May 1913 [8]
The Countess of Seafield	Nina Caroline Studley-Herbert	12 November 1915
The Baroness Zouche	Mary Frankland	7 April 1917
The Countess of Dysart	Wenefryde Scott	22 November 1935
The Baroness Berners	Vera Williams	19 April 1950
The Baroness de Ros	Georgiana Maxwell	9 August 1958 [8]
The Countess of Kintore	Ethel Keith-Falconer, Viscountess Stonehaven	26 May 1966
The Baroness Wharton	Elisabeth Kemeys-Tynte	22 July 1969
The Lady Herries of Terregles	Anne Fitzalan-Howard	31 January 1975
The Countess of Dysart	Rosamund Greaves	2 June 1975

Key

Indicates peerage which is currently disclaimed

Title(s)	Disclaimed by; life	Time disclaimed	Notes	Ref.
Viscount Stansgate	Tony Benn 2nd Viscount 1925–2014	1963 to 2014	Extant; inherited in 2014 by Stephen Benn, 3rd Viscount Stansgate	[1][4]
Baron Altrincham	John Grigg 2nd Baron 1924–2001	1963 to 2001	Extant; inherited in 2001 by Anthony Grigg, 3rd Baron Altrincham	[4][33]
Earl of Home	Sir Alec Douglas-Home 14th Earl 1903–1995[lower-alpha 1]	1963 to 1995	Extant; inherited in 1995 by David Douglas-Home, 15th Earl of Home	[34][1]
Viscount Hailsham	Quintin Hogg 2nd Viscount 1907–2001[lower-alpha 2]	1963 to 2001	Extant; inherited in 2001 by Douglas Martin Hogg, 3rd Viscount Hailsham	[35][1]
Baron Southampton	Charles FitzRoy 5th Baron 1904–1989	1964 to 1989	Extant; inherited in 1989 by Charles FitzRoy, 6th Baron Southampton	[36]
Baron Monkswell	William Collier 4th Baron 1913–1984	1964 to 1984	Extant; inherited in 1984 by Gerard Collier, 5th Baron Monkswell	[37]
Baron Beaverbrook	Sir Max Aitken, Bt. 2nd Baron 1910–1985	1964 to 1985	Extant; inherited in 1985 by Maxwell Aitken, 3rd Baron Beaverbrook	[38]
Earl of Sandwich	Victor Montagu 10th Earl 1906–1995	1964 to 1995	Extant; inherited in 1995 by John Montagu, 11th Earl of Sandwich	[39]
Baron Fraser of Allander	Sir Hugh Fraser, Bt. 2nd Baron 1936–1987	1966 to 1987	Extinct 1987	[40]
Earl of Durham	Antony Lambton 6th Earl 1922–2006	1970 to 2006	Extant; inherited in 2006 by Edward Lambton, 7th Earl of Durham	[41]
Baron Sanderson of Ayot	Alan Lindsay Sanderson 2nd Baron born 1931	Since 1971		[42]
Baron Reith	Christopher Reith 2nd Baron 1928–2016	1972 to 2016	Extant; inherited in 2016 by James Reith, 3rd Baron Reith	[43]
Baron Silkin	Arthur Silkin 2nd Baron 1916–2001	1972 to 2001	Inherited in 2001 by Christopher Silkin, 3rd Baron Silkin, who also disclaimed the peerage	[44]
Baron Archibald	George Christopher Archibald 2nd Baron 1926–1996	1975 to 1996	Extinct 1996	[45]
Baron Merthyr	Trevor Lewis 4th Baron 1935–2015	1977 to 2015	Extant; inherited in 2015 by David Lewis, 5th Baron Merthyr	[46]
Earl of Selkirk	Lord James Douglas-Hamilton 11th Earl born 1942[lower-alpha 3]	Since 1994		[47]
Viscount Camrose	Michael Berry, Baron Hartwell 3rd Viscount 1911–2001	1995 to 2001	Extant; inherited in 2001 by Adrian Berry, 4th Viscount Camrose	[48]
Baron Silkin	Christopher Silkin 3rd Baron born 1947	Since 2002		[49]

Notes

• Peerage Act 1963 (Wikisource)
• List of peerages inherited by women
• House of Lords Reform Act 2014

• Cox, Noel. "The Legal Standing of the Peerage and Baronetage." New Zealand Universities Law Review.
• Peerage Act 1963.
• Women Hereditary Peers
• Image of the Act on the Parliamentary website