Hereditary Peers' By-election

[peterl]

Ah yes, of the motor museum. I'd heard he died, I wasn't aware he still had a seat in the Lords though.

[Davıd Boothroyd]

He had given notice of his intention to retire shortly before he died.

[john07]

Sept 16, 2015 19:02:52 GMT peterl said:

Ah yes, of the motor museum. I'd heard he died, I wasn't aware he still had a seat in the Lords though.

He was a lot more famous than for his motor museum back in the day!

[Deleted]

Limerick, E. (L. Foxford) The Upper House knows none so queer A creature as the Seatless Peer. Flamingo-like he stands all day With no support to hold his sway. And waits with covert eagerness For ninety-two to be one less. Then on to hustings he must pace Once more to plead his special case. Noble Lordships, spare a thought For one so vertically distraught, And from your seats so well entrenched, Please vote that mine may be embenched.

[nick10]

The result of the latest by-election was announced it today - this was to fill the Conservative seat left vacant by the death of Lord Montagu of Beaulieu. The winner was Nicholas Fairfax, 14th Lord Fairfax of Cameron. Full result here - www.parliament.uk/documents/lords-information-office/2015/Result-Conservative-hereditary-peers-by-election-result-Montagu-of-Beaulieu.pdf

Lord Fairfax of Cameron became a member of the House of Lords on his 21st birthday on 4 January 1977 - he succeded his father to the title in 1964 aged eight. He took his seat on 15 March 1977 and of course left the House in 1999.

(The Earl of Limerick was eliminated in the fifth round with four votes.)

[Davıd Boothroyd]

The death of Lord Avebury means a byelection for the Liberal Democrat hereditary peers; there are three voters: Lord Addington, the Earl of Glasgow, and the Earl of Oxford and Asquith.

I would tip Viscount Thurso (aka John Thurso), who was a Liberal Democrat peer 1995-99, and then MP for Caithness etc from 2001 until losing his seat last year.

[Richard Allen]

Feb 14, 2016 16:05:32 GMT Davıd Boothroyd said:

The death of Lord Avebury means a byelection for the Liberal Democrat hereditary peers; there are three voters: Lord Addington, the Earl of Glasgow, and the Earl of Oxford and Asquith.

I would tip Viscount Thurso (aka John Thurso), who was a Liberal Democrat peer 1995-99, and then MP for Caithness etc from 2001 until losing his seat last year.

An election with just three voters, just like the good old days.

[J.G.Harston]

Feb 14, 2016 19:55:57 GMT Richard Allen said:

Feb 14, 2016 16:05:32 GMT Davıd Boothroyd said:

The death of Lord Avebury means a byelection for the Liberal Democrat hereditary peers; there are three voters: Lord Addington, the Earl of Glasgow, and the Earl of Oxford and Asquith.

I would tip Viscount Thurso (aka John Thurso), who was a Liberal Democrat peer 1995-99, and then MP for Caithness etc from 2001 until losing his seat last year.

An election with just three voters, just like the good old days.

Is a high turnout expected?

[greatkingrat]

Feb 14, 2016 16:05:32 GMT Davıd Boothroyd said:

The death of Lord Avebury means a byelection for the Liberal Democrat hereditary peers; there are three voters: Lord Addington, the Earl of Glasgow, and the Earl of Oxford and Asquith.

I would tip Viscount Thurso (aka John Thurso), who was a Liberal Democrat peer 1995-99, and then MP for Caithness etc from 2001 until losing his seat last year.

Only the Lib Dems can win here!

[Pete Whitehead]

On the subject of peers, I wonder if anyone would know the identity of a Labour peer who is based in Hertfordshire, is quite small in stature and who often sits with Lord Pearson of Rannoch ?

[Max]

Feb 14, 2016 22:00:55 GMT @jamesdowden said:

What party affiliation does the 8th Earl of Lucan have?

His grandfather, the 6th Earl, was a rare Labour hereditary Peer, and was Chief Opposition Whip in the House of Lords between 1954-64. By all accounts the 7th Earl had rather more right-wing tendencies.

The 8th Earl is not one of the 92 hereditary Peers who sit in the Lords, so he will presumably not have to declare an affiliation until/unless a vacancy arises that he desires to contest.
 

[right]

Feb 15, 2016 11:50:59 GMT Max said:

Feb 14, 2016 22:00:55 GMT @jamesdowden said:

What party affiliation does the 8th Earl of Lucan have?

His grandfather, the 6th Earl, was a rare Labour hereditary Peer, and was Chief Opposition Whip in the House of Lords between 1954-64. By all accounts the 7th Earl had rather more right-wing tendencies.

The 8th Earl is not one of the 92 hereditary Peers who sit in the Lords, so he will presumably not have to declare an affiliation until/unless a vacancy arises that he desires to contest.
 

Would he not need to declare an interest to vote in the by-election?

[samdwebber]

The Lord Avebury vacancy will be filled in a byelection with a voting deadline of Monday 18th April at 5pm. (Postal ballot)

www.parliament.uk/documents/publications-records/House-of-Lords-Publications/By-elections/Lords-notice-hereditary-peers-by-election-Feb-2016-Avebury.pdf

Fairly rare but only 3 electors allowed to vote it seems:

Elected by a party or group and sitting as Liberal Democrat peers

Addington, L
Glasgow, E

Elected by the whole House and sitting as a Liberal Democrat peer
Oxford and Asquith, E

[timrollpickering]

Dec 11, 2014 3:21:26 GMT johnloony said:

Dec 10, 2014 19:51:52 GMT Davıd Boothroyd said:

The House of Lords authorities appear to have invented a way of doing multi-member AV elections and which isn't STV. They run the election for one post, then when they have a winner, run it again but with the winner of the first election excluded.

This approach might work in practice, but why not just use STV?

They haven't invented it, because it's already an existing system (albeit in anoraky textbooks* rather than in the real world). they may have re-invented it , albeit unwittingly and unintentionally, but they didn't invent it ab initio.

Just seen this when trawling back through the old thread. This is neither a HoL invention nor previously just something in text books - it was the system used for the Australian Senate between 1919 and 1949. Here's the most famous Senate election from that period.

There it replaced multi-member FPTP elections when the federal parliament switched to AV for both houses. I guess maintaining en bloc sweeps was considered more important.

[LDCaerdydd]

Mark Pack says there are two candidates in the running:

I understand the main contenders for those three votes are John Francis Russell, 7th Earl Russell, the son of Lords icon Conrad Russell, grandson of Bertrand Russell and great-great-grandson of Lord John Russell … [who] has been a Lib Dem councillor in Lewisham and ran for the London Assembly.

Or there’s Viscount Thurso – John Thurso – who was defeated in his Caithness and Sutherland seat last May, in the SNP landslide; he’s a descendent of the wartime Liberal leader, Archie Sinclair, who served in Churchill’s wartime coalition. [BBC]

www.markpack.org.uk/138275/lib-dems-set-win-parliamentary-election-yes-really/

[Davıd Boothroyd]

Seven candidates for the three voters to choose between. They do appear all to be Liberal Democrats.

Lord Calverley (inherited 1971; excluded 1999; stood in the election but only had 3 votes)
Earl of Carlisle (inherited 1994; excluded 1999; stood in the election but only had 4 votes)
Lord Kennet (inherited 2009)
Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor (inherited 2010)
Earl Russell (inherited 2014)
Lord Somerleyton (inherited 2012)
Viscount Thurso (inherited 1995; excluded 1999; MP for Caithness etc 2001-15)

[LDCaerdydd]

Manifestos are on the last page of this - www.parliament.uk/documents/publications-records/House-of-Lords-Publications/By-elections/Lords-notice-candidate-list-Apr-2016-Avebury.pdf

Bet Thurso still wins despite the lack of a statement.

[greatkingrat]

Well when there are only three voters, all of whom he probably knows personally, a statement isn't really necessary.

[timrollpickering]

Have any of the Lib Dem websites set up a poll to see if the peers are in touch with the members?

[LDCaerdydd]

John Thurso wins with three votes.

None of the three used any of their second preferences.