Malcolm St Clair (politician)
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Malcolm St Clair | |
---|---|
Member of Parliament for Bristol South East | |
In office 4 May 1961 – 31 July 1963 | |
Preceded by | Tony Benn |
Succeeded by | Tony Benn |
Majority | −13,044 (−39%) |
Personal details | |
Born | Malcolm Archibald James St Clair 16 February 1927 |
Died | 1 February 2004 | (aged 76)
Nationality | British |
Political party | Conservative |
Spouse |
Mary-Jean Rosalie Alice Hargreaves
(m. 1952) |
Children | Hugh Alan Charles (1957), Andrew David Paul (1960), and Vanessa Alice Rosabelle (1971) |
Malcolm Archibald James St Clair (pronounced "Sinclair"; 16 February 1927 – 1 February 2004) was a British Conservative Party politician and Army officer.
Early life
Born on 16 February 1927, St Clair was the son of major-general G.P. St Clair. He was educated at Sandroyd School and Eton College.[1]
After leaving school, St Clair joined the Royal Armoured Corps as a trooper and in 1946 was commissioned as an officer into the Royal Scots Greys. He left the Army in 1948.
Political career
St Clair served as honorary secretary to Winston Churchill from 1948 to 1950,[1] before returning to run his family's dairy farm at Tetbury in Gloucestershire.[2]
In 1955, he stood unsuccessfully as a Conservative candidate at the London County Council elections, in Islington East. At the 1959 general election he stood as Conservative candidate in Bristol South East, but he lost to the sitting Labour Member of Parliament Tony Benn, whose majority was nearly 6,000 votes.[3]
Tony Benn peerage disqualification
This section needs additional citations for verification. (January 2024) |
Tony Benn's father died on 17 November 1960, and Benn inherited his peerage as Viscount Stansgate, with an automatic seat in the House of Lords. This disqualified Benn from sitting in the House of Commons, triggering a by-election on 4 May 1961. Benn, who wished to be allowed to disclaim his peerage, defied his inability to sit in the Commons by standing at the election, and he and St Clair were the only two candidates. St Clair's campaign displayed posters near every polling station warning voters that Benn was disqualified and that any votes for him would have no effect. Benn nevertheless won the election with nearly 70% of the votes and an increased majority of over 13,000.[citation needed]
However, an
Outside Parliament, Benn continued to campaign for a change in the law to allow him to disclaim his peerage and return to the Commons, and eventually the Conservative government agreed. The
Later life
St Clair served in the
He died on 1 February 2004, aged 76.
Personal life
In June 1955, St Clair married Rosalie Alice, daughter of Wing-Commander C.L. Hargreaves[1] and granddaughter of Alice Liddell.[7] He lived at Upton House, Tetbury, Gloucestershire, and 28 Chesham Place, London. He was a member of the Cavalry Club.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e M. Stenton and S. Lees (eds), Who's Who of British Members of Parliament: Volume IV 1945–1979, Harvester Press, 1981, p. 325
- ^ Malcolm St Clair's election literature, 1961
- ^ "UK General Election results: October 1959". Psr.keele.ac.uk. 23 June 2016. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
- ^ Mosley, Charles (ed.) Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition. (Wilmington, Delaware: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003), vol. 1, p. 1056 & vol. 3, pp. 3627–3629.
- ^ Zander, Michael (11 April 2014). "How to lose a title". New Law Journal. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
- ^ "From the archive, 1 August 1963: Mr Benn hustles to make history". The Guardian. 1 August 2011. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
- ^ St Clair, Vanessa (5 June 2001). "A girl like Alice". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
- Leigh Rayment's Peerage Pages [better source needed]