Viscount Stansgate
Viscount Stansgate, of Stansgate in the County of Essex,[1] is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1942 for the Liberal politician who later joined the Labour Party and former Secretary of State for India and Secretary of State for Air, William Wedgwood Benn. He was the second son of Sir John Benn, 1st Baronet, of The Old Knoll. Lord Stansgate's eldest son and heir apparent, the Hon. Michael Benn, was killed in the Second World War, and he was consequently succeeded by his younger son, the second Viscount, better known as the Labour politician Tony Benn. He disclaimed the peerage on 31 July 1963, the day the Peerage Act 1963 passed into law and made it possible for him to do so.[2] Since 14 March 2014 the title has been held by the latter's son, the third Viscount, who succeeded in that year. As a descendant of the first Benn Baronet of The Old Knoll he is also in remainder to this title.
Viscounts Stansgate (1942)
- William Wedgwood Benn, 1st Viscount Stansgate (1877–1960)
- Anthony Neil Wedgwood Benn, 2nd Viscount Stansgate (1925–2014) (disclaimed 1963)
- Stephen Michael Wedgwood Benn, 3rd Viscount Stansgate (b. 1951)
The heir apparent is the present holder's only son Hon. Daniel John Wedgwood Benn (b. 1991).
See also
References
- ^ "No. 35426". The London Gazette. 20 January 1942.
- ^ "No. 43072". The London Gazette. 2 August 1963.
- Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990.
- Leigh Rayment's Peerage Pages – Peerages beginning with "S" (part 5)