Anthony Neil Wedgwood "Tony" Benn, seen here in 1961, the year he won a by-election but lost his parliamentary seat of Bristol South East, which he had held since 1950. Benn had inherited the title of Viscount Stansgate when his father died in 1960, so was disqualified from sitting in the House of Commons. Despite this, he stood in the 1961 by-election and won, but an election court declared the seat won by the Conservative runner-up, Malcolm St Clair. Benn then campaigned for a change in the law, which resulted in the Peerage Act 1963, allowing renunciation of peerages. Malcolm St Clair, honouring a promise he made in 1961, stood aside and prompted another by-election, which Benn won.
Original B&W photo.
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