Lunacy (Vacating of Seats) Act 1886

The Lunacy (Vacating of Seats) Act 1886 (49 Vict.c.16) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It provided a mechanism for a Member of Parliament who was judged to be of unsound mind to be removed from his seat.

Background

There had been a number of cases of Members of Parliament who were felt, in the language of the time, to be lunatics. The most celebrated of these was John Bell the MP for Thirsk who in July 1849 was found to be insane by a commission of enquiry. It was then discovered that there was no way of depriving him of his seat and he remained a Member until his death in 1851.^[1]

In January 1886 Charles Cameron (later Sir Charles),^[2] known in the House of Commons as Dr Cameron, introduced the Lunacy (Vacating of Seats) Bill to deal with the problem.^[3] His determination was such that despite being a private members bill it went through all its Parliamentary stages with little opposition,^[4] in less than five months and received its Royal Assent on 10 May 1886, hence becoming the Lunacy (Vacating of Seats) Act 1886.^[5]

The Act

The Act was very short, barely more than a page long; and containing only three paragraphs.

It states what should happen if any member of the House of Commons should be committed to a lunatic asylum:

All those involved with the committal must send a report to the Speaker of the House of Commons or face a fine.

The Speaker should send the reports to the Commissioners in Lunacy and that two of them should visit the member and report to the Speaker. If the report is that he is of unsound mind then after six months the Speaker should request a further visit. If this second visit shows that the member is still of unsound mind then the reports are placed on the table in the House of Commons and at that point the seat of the member is declared vacant, and a byelection is called for his replacement.

Consequences

In practice there was a reluctance to call on the Act and it was only used once in the rather special circumstances of the First World War. An election was overdue and during the hostilities it was impossible to hold one. In August 1916, in these circumstances, Charles Leach the MP for Colne Valley was declared of unsound mind and relieved of his seat.

Repeal

The Lunacy (Vacating of Seats) Act 1886 was repealed and replaced by the Mental Health Act 1959; the Mental Health Act 1959 was itself repealed and replaced by the Mental Health Act 1983. The section was subsequently repealed by the Mental Health (Discrimination) Act 2013.

References

↑ Leigh Rayment's Peerage Pages
↑ Dictionary of National Biography
↑ Hansard, vol 302 c404, 25 January 1886
↑ Hansard, vol 303 c906, 15 March 1886
↑ Hansard vol 305 c546, 10 May 1886

Mental health law in the United Kingdom

18th century	Madhouses Act 1774

19th century	Criminal Lunatics Act 1800 County Asylums Act 1808 Marriage of Lunatics Act 1811 Scottish Madhouses Act 1815 Criminal Lunatics Amendment Act 1815 Irish Lunatic Asylums for the Poor Act 1817 Pauper Lunatics Act 1819 County Asylums Act 1828 Madhouses Act 1828 Chancery Lunatics Property Act 1828 Madhouses Act 1832 County Asylums Act 1845 Lunacy Act 1845 Idiots Act 1886 Lunacy (Vacating of Seats) Act 1886

20th century	Mental Deficiency Act 1913 Mental Treatment Act 1930 Mental Health Act 1959 Mental Health Act 1983

21st century	Mental Capacity Act 2005 Mental Health Act 2007 Mental Health (Discrimination) Act 2013

Public bodies	Lunacy Commission Board of Control for Lunacy and Mental Deficiency Mental Health Review Tribunal (England and Wales)

Other	Diminished responsibility in English law Fixated Threat Assessment Centre

United Kingdom legislation

Pre-Parliamentary legislation	List of English statutes Charter of Liberties Magna Carta

Acts of Parliament by states preceding the Kingdom of Great Britain	Acts of the Parliament of England to 1483 1485–1601 1603–1641 Interregnum (1642–1660) 1660–1699 1700–1706 Acts of the Parliament of Scotland Acts of the Parliament of Ireland to 1700 1701–1800

Acts of Parliament of the Kingdom of Great Britain	1707–1719 1720–1739 1740–1759 1760–1779 1780–1800

Acts of Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland	1801–1819 1820–1839 1840–1859 1860–1879 1880–1899 1900–1919 1920–1939 1940–1959 1960–1979 1980–1999 2000 to date Halsbury's Statutes UK Statute Law Database Short titles

Church of England measures	List Church of England Assembly (Powers) Act 1919

Legislation of devolved institutions	Acts of the Scottish Parliament Acts and Measures of the National Assembly for Wales Acts of the Northern Ireland Assembly Acts of the Parliament of Northern Ireland Orders in Council for Northern Ireland

Orders-in-Council	Order in Council

Secondary legislation	United Kingdom Statutory Instruments Scottish Statutory Instruments Act of Sederunt, Act of Adjournal

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