Stephen Benn, 3rd Viscount Stansgate

Stephen Michael Wedgwood Benn, 3rd Viscount Stansgate (born 21 August 1951), is Director of Parliamentary Affairs for the Royal Society of Biology[1] and a Vice-President of the Parliamentary and Scientific Committee.[2]

The Right Honourable The Viscount Stansgate
Director of Parliamentary Affairs for the Royal Society of Biology
Personal details
Born	Stephen Michael Wedgwood Benn (1951-08-21) 21 August 1951
Spouse(s)	Nita Clarke
Children	2, including Emily
Parents	Tony Benn Caroline Benn
Alma mater	Keele University

Early life

His father, Tony Benn, and younger brother, Hilary Benn, have both been senior Labour politicians. His mother was Caroline Benn and his sister is Melissa Benn, a feminist writer.

Education

He is a graduate of Keele University. He was an elected Member of the Inner London Education Authority from 1986 to 1990.

Personal life

Lord Stansgate has a daughter, Emily, born in 1989, and a son, Daniel John Wedgwood Benn, born in 1991. Emily, an investment banker by occupation, pursued a political career, and sat on the Croydon London Borough Council as a Labour member until she resigned in 2016.

Career

In 2011, he was appointed director of parliamentary affairs for the Society of Biology after spending two decades in a similar role for the Royal Society of Chemistry.[3]

Benn succeeded to the title of Viscount Stansgate on the death of his father in March 2014, a title he officially accepted prompting speculation that he may take advantage of his entitlement to stand for election as a hereditary peer in the House of Lords upon the next hereditary vacancy.[3][4][5][6] His active acceptance of the title was recorded on 10 November 2014 with a note in the minutes of Proceedings from the House of Lords, stating:[7]

"The Lord Chancellor reported that Stephen Michael Wedgwood Benn had established his claim to the Viscount of Stansgate in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The Clerk of the Parliaments was accordingly directed to enter Viscount Stansgate on the register of hereditary peers maintained under Standing Order 10(5)."

References

• Father's obituary

1. "Royal Society of Biology". Our Team.
2. "Officers". Parliamentary and Scientific Committee. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
3. Boffey, Daniel (16 March 2014). "Tony Benn's son inherits title his father gave up". The Observer. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
4. "Viscount Stansgate returns to prove blue blood is thicker than red". Financial Times. 14 November 2014. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
5. Lansman, Jon (25 November 2014). "Don't revive the Benn peerage". Morning Star. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
6. D'Arcy, Mark (23 October 2014). "Three Asquiths - and maybe a Benn?". BBC News. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
7. Graham, Georgia (11 November 2014). "Son of Labour firebrand Tony Benn stakes claim on rejected title and could soon sit in Lords". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 10 November 2017.

Peerage of the United Kingdom
Disclaimed Title last held by Tony Benn	Viscount Stansgate 2014–present	Incumbent Heir: Daniel Benn (b. 1991)