Problems Of Giving Up Peerages

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30269, 23 October 1963, Page 13

Problems Of Giving Up Peerages

(N.Z.P.A.-Reuter—Copyright) LONDON, October 21. Britain’s new Prime Minister, the Earl of Home, is taking immediate action to renounce his titles, so that he can stand for a seat in the House of Commons.

Because he has four titles —l4th Earl of Home, Baron Home Baron Dunglass (all of Scotland), and Baron Douglas (of the United Kingdom)—the

procedure is a little more complicated than that jn the case at a peer with only one ; Lawyers are now handling \. the problem to ensure that he renounces everything he has to. Lord Home at present sits : in the House of Lords as

Baron Douglas, a peer of the United Kingdom. He is not one of the 16 Scottish representative peers, whom the Scottish peers elect to represent them at the beginning of each Parliament. However, the remaining Scottish peers may not be elected to the House of Commons.

Irish peers who hold no titles carrying a right to sit in the House of Lords can be elected to the House of Commons for any constituency out of Ireland itself, but while they sit in the Commons they lose their privileges as peers. Another question exercising the lawyers and heraldic experts is the question of the future style and precedence of members of Lord Home's family—particularly his 19-year-old son and heir, who at present bears the honorary title of Lord Dunglass. A statement issued by the College of Arms today posed the question whether the children of peers who have disclaimed their titles should continue to be treated, for the purposes of precedence and styling, as still the children of neers

The Garter King of Arms, the high authority on such questions, has asked Crown advisers to investigate the position.

Under the law permitting peers to renounce their titles for life the technique is simple. All that is required is for the peer to hand to the Clerk of the Crown in Chancery, Sir George Coldstream, an “instrument of disclaimer”

renouncing for himself the peerage. The document begins: "Whereas I, . . . , succeeded to the peerage described in the annex hereto . . . have and desire to disclaim the said peerage for my life under the above mentioned act

Mr Anthony Wedgewood Benn completed the process of renunciation by this means within an hour of the biU being passed into law last July. His "instrument of renunciation” was signed by himself and witnessed by his wife He then had to place his right thumb on a seal on the document and declare: “This is my deed and my act.” From then he was once more a commoner.