House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975
The House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975 (c. 24) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that prohibits certain categories of people from becoming members of the House of Commons. It is an updated version of similar older acts, known collectively by the stock short title House of Commons Disqualification Act.
| Act of Parliament | |
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| Long title | An Act to consolidate certain enactments relating to disqualification for membership of the House of Commons. |
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| Citation | 1975 c. 24 |
| Territorial extent | United Kingdom |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 8 May 1975 |
| Commencement | 8 May 1975 |
Status: Amended | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
| Text of the House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk. | |
| House of Commons Disqualification Act 1957 | |
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| Act of Parliament | |
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| Long title | An Act to make provision for disqualifying the holders of specified offices for membership of the House of Commons, and to repeal the enactments providing for the disqualification of the holders of offices or places of profit under the Crown and other offices, of persons having pensions from the Crown and of persons contracting with the Crown for or on account of the public service, and certain enactments disqualifying members of that House for holding other offices; to make corresponding provision in respect of the Senate and House of Commons of Northern Ireland; and for purposes connected with the matters aforesaid. |
| Citation | 5 & 6 Eliz. 2. c. 20 |
| Territorial extent |
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| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 17 April 1957 |
| Other legislation | |
| Amends | House of Commons (Disqualifications) Act 1801 |
| House of Commons (Disqualifications) Act 1801 | |
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| Act of Parliament | |
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| Long title | An Act for declaring what Persons shall be disabled from sitting and voting in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland; and also for carrying into effect Part of the Fourth Article of the Union of Great Britain and Ireland, by providing in what cases Persons holding Offices or Places of Profit under the Crown of Ireland shall be incapable of being Members of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the said United Kingdom. |
| Citation | 41 Geo. 3. (U.K.) c. 52 |
| Territorial extent |
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| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 20 June 1801 |
| Other legislation | |
| Amended by |
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Status: Amended | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
| Text of the House of Commons (Disqualifications) Act 1801 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk. | |
The groups disqualified from all constituencies are:
- Lords Spiritual
- judges
- civil servants
- serving regular members of the armed forces, except Admirals of the Fleet, Field Marshals and Marshals of the Royal Air Force
- full-time police constables
- members of legislatures of non-Commonwealth countries, other than Ireland
- holders of certain administrative and diplomatic offices
- all members of certain bodies, such as tribunals and government departments, plus some statutory corporations such as Channel 4
Lords-lieutenant and high sheriffs are also disqualified from seats for constituencies within their area.
Section 2 limits the number of government officials (specifically, holders of offices listed in Schedule 2) in the House of Commons at any one time to 95. Any appointed above that limit are forbidden to vote until the number is reduced to 95.
Section 4 effectively adds the Crown Stewards and Bailiffs of the Chiltern Hundreds and of the Manor of Northstead to Part III to Schedule 1, thus naming them as offices whose holders are disqualified. These offices are sinecures, used in modern times to effect resignation from the House of Commons. Prior to 1926, this disqualification was due to them being "offices of profit under the Crown", but that disqualification was abolished in 1926 and by s. 1(4) of this Act.
The election to the Commons of a disqualified person is invalid, and the seat of an MP who becomes disqualified is vacated immediately (triggering a by-election). The Privy Council has jurisdiction to determine whether a purported MP is disqualified; the issue may be tried in the High Court, Court of Session or High Court of Northern Ireland as appropriate for the constituency.
Amendments
This Act was amended by subsequent legislation:
- The Disqualifications Act 2000, a consequence of the Good Friday Agreement, added the words "other than Ireland", prior to which Irish legislators were disqualified just as any other foreign legislators are. This was to bring them in line with treatment of Commonwealth legislators; however, as of 2022 no one has taken advantage of this privilege.
- Previously, all ministers of the Church of Scotland, priests, and deacons were disqualified. The House of Commons (Removal of Clergy Disqualification) Act 2001 restricted this disqualification to only Lords Spiritual, i.e. the most senior Anglican bishops who already sit in the House of Lords ex officio.
- Various enactments have amended the lists of disqualified bodies and offices, particularly as they have come in or out of existence or fallen out of government control.
- The Representation of the People Act 1981 provides for the automatic disqualification of parliamentary candidates or expulsion of sitting MPs if they serve an imprisonment of over a year. The nomination of a disqualified candidate is voided. The election of such a candidate or the re-election of an MP thus imprisoned will also be voided, leading to a by-election in their constituency.
- The Wales Act 2014 and Northern Ireland (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014 respectively made members of the Senedd Cymru (Welsh Parliament), formerly the National Assembly for Wales until May 2020, or the Northern Ireland Assembly ineligible for the House of Commons.