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House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975

Consolidated Text As Enacted Cited authorities 155 Cited in Amendments 1510 Related
JurisdictionUK Non-devolved
Citation1975 c. 24
Year1975
is a Lord Spiritual;holds any of the judicial offices specified in Part I of Schedule 1 to this Act;is employed in the civil service of the Crown, whether in an established capacity or not, and whether for the whole or part of his time;is a member of any of the regular armed forces of the Crown is a member of any police force maintained by F317a local policing body or a police authority;. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .is a member of the legislature of any country or territory outside the Commonwealth F4(other than Ireland) ; orholds any office described in Part II or Part III of Schedule 1.(2) A person who for the time being holds any office described in Part IV of Schedule 1 is disqualified for membership of the House of Commons for any constituency specified in relation to that office in the second column of Part IV.(3) In this section—
  • “civil service of the Crown” includes the civil service of Northern Ireland ..., Her Majesty’s Diplomatic Service and Her Majesty’s Overseas Civil Service;
  • “police authority” means any police authority within the meaning of F5the Police Act 1996F376, the Scottish Police Authority, or the F6Northern Ireland Policing Board; and “member” in relation to a police force means a person employed as a full-time constable;
  • “regular armed forces of the Crown” means the Royal Navy, F7the Royal Marines, the regular army (as defined by section 374 of the Armed Forces Act 2006) or the Royal Air Force.
(4) Except as provided by this Act, a person shall not be disqualified for membership of the House of Commons by reason of his holding an office or place of profit under the Crown or any other office or place; and a person shall not be disqualified for appointment to or for holding any office or place by reason of his being a member of that House.(1) Not more than ninety-five persons being the holders of offices specified in Schedule 2 to this Act (in this section referred to as Ministerial offices) shall be entitled to sit and vote in the House of Commons at any one time.(2) If at any time the number of members of the House of Commons who are holders of Ministerial offices exceeds the number entitled to sit and vote in that House under subsection (1) above, none except any who were both members of that House and holders of Ministerial offices before the excess occurred shall sit or vote therein until the number has been reduced, by death, resignation or otherwise, to the number entitled to sit and vote as aforesaid.(3) A person holding a Ministerial office is not disqualified by this Act by reason of any office held by him ex officio as the holder of that Ministerial office.a person who is an officer on the retired or emergency list of any of the regular armed forces of the Crown, or who holds an emergency commission in any of those forces, or belongs to any reserve of officers of any of those forces, is not disqualified as a member of those forces; anda naval, army, marine or air force pensioner F8, or former soldier, who is recalled for service for which he is liable as such is not disqualified as a member of the regular armed forces of the Crown.(2) A person is not disqualified under section 1(1) (c) above by reason of his being an Admiral of the Fleet, a Field Marshal or a Marshal of the Royal Air Force, if he does not for the time being hold an appointment in the naval, military or air force service of the Crown.(3) A person is not disqualified under section 1(1) (b) above by reason of his being a member of the Royal Observer Corps unless he is employed as such for the whole of his time.
  • For the purposes of the provisions of this Act relating to the vacation of the seat of a member of the House of Commons who becomes disqualified by this Act for membership of that House, the office of steward or bailiff of Her Majesty’s three Chiltern Hundreds of Stoke, Desborough and Burnham, or of the Manor of Northstead, shall be treated as included among the offices described in Part III of Schedule 1 to this Act.
    • (1) If at any time it is resolved by the House of Commons that Schedule 1 to this Act be amended, whether by the addition or omission of any office or the removal of any office from one Part of the Schedule to another, or by altering the description of any office specified therein, Her Majesty may by Order in Council amend that Schedule accordingly.(2) A copy of this Act as from time to time amended by Order in Council under this section or by or under any other enactment shall be prepared and certified by the Clerk of the Parliaments and deposited with the rolls of Parliament; and all copies of this Act thereafter to be printed by Her Majesty’s printer shall be printed in accordance with the copy so certified.if any person

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