How did Viscount Stansgate become Tony Benn MP?

Since Attlee & Churchill

In 1961 and 1963, two by-elections took place that changed British politics, and the fortunes of Tony Benn, forever. The first came after Benn was removed from the House of Commons following the death of his father. This elevated Benn to the peerage as the second Viscount Stansgate and meant, although Benn won the by-election, he was denied his seat in the Commons. After years of political and legal battles, Benn fought a second by-election and became an MP once more. In this week's podcast, Richard and Lee chart this dramatic time in British political history and discuss the consequences for Benn, for other peers, and for British politics.

In this episode, the following articles and books are mentioned:

'Labour must learn to love Brexit' by Richard Johnson in The Spectator. Available at: https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/labour-must-learn-to-love-brexit/

'These are the British' by Drew Middleton. Available at: https://amzn.to/3ZAOQq3

'Britain’s Conservative Right since 1945: Traditional Toryism in a Cold Climate' by Kevin Hickson. Available at: https://amzn.to/4k5LFik

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Since Attlee & Churchill is the podcast all about post-war British political history, hosted by:
Lee David Evans is an historian of the Conservative Party and the John Ramsden Fellow at the Mile End Institute, Queen Mary, University of London. He is on social media @LeeDavidEvansUK.
Richard Johnson is a Senior Lecturer at Queen Mary, University of London, and among his other areas of expertise is an historian of the Labour Party. He tweets at @richardmarcj.