ONLY the voters in a constituency should decide who represents them in Parliament — not the government or any other external authority. That principle has had to be fought for numerous times, and the most famous example in the mid-20th century was the Ridiculous Case of the Reluctant Peer.

Tony Benn’s constituents chose him by an overwhelming majority — but because he had inherited a peerage, parliamentary rules declared their choice invalid, writes MAT COWARD

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