Stephen Benn, 3rd Viscount Stansgate

Stephen Michael Wedgwood Benn, 3rd Viscount Stansgate (born 21 August 1951), is a British hereditary peer and Labour member of the House of Lords.

The Right Honourable The Viscount Stansgate
Official portrait, 2022
Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
Elected Hereditary Peer 10 July 2021
By-election	10 July 2021
Preceded by	The 3rd Baron Rea
Personal details
Born	Stephen Michael Wedgwood Benn (1951-08-21) 21 August 1951 (age 74)
Party	Labour
Spouse	Nita Clarke
Children	2, including Emily
Parents	Tony Benn (father) Caroline DeCamp (mother)
Relatives	Hilary Benn (brother) Melissa Benn (sister)
Alma mater	Keele University

Early life and education

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

He was educated at Holland Park School from 1962 to 1968 and at Keele University, where he was awarded a doctorate (PhD) in 1984 for a thesis entitled "The White House Staff".^[1]

Career

Stansgate was an elected member of the Inner London Education Authority from 1986 to 1990.

In 2011, he was appointed director of parliamentary affairs for the Royal Society of Biology^[2] after spending two decades in a similar role for the Royal Society of Chemistry.^[3] He is also a vice-president of the Parliamentary and Scientific Committee.^[4]

House of Lords

Benn succeeded to the title Viscount Stansgate on the death of his father in March 2014.^[3][5][6][7] His acceptance of the title was recorded on 10 November 2014 with a note in the minutes of Proceedings from the House of Lords, stating:^[8]

"The Lord Chancellor reported that Stephen Michael Wedgwood Benn had established his claim to the Viscountcy 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)."

He stood for election as a Labour hereditary peer in the House of Lords and was elected unopposed on 10 July 2021, replacing Lord Rea who died in 2020. He took the oath on 6 September that year and made his maiden speech on 14 October 2021 in a Regional Strategy debate, with his brother Hilary Benn looking on.^[9][10]

Personal life

Stansgate married Ashika Nita Bowes in 1988. They have two children:^[11]

• Hon Emily Benn (born 4 October 1989)
• Hon Daniel Benn (born 10 December 1991), heir apparent to the viscountcy.

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 on moving to New York. In 2022 she was elected to the City of London Common Council.

Arms

Coat of arms of Viscount Stansgate

Crest On a rock a spear erect proper, flowing therefrom a pennon azure, charged with the word “Onward”, letters or. Escutcheon Argent, two barrulets indented gules, between in chief as many dragons’ heads erased and in base a pencil and a pen in saltire proper, tied with a lace azure, pendent therefrom a torteau, charged with a figure “1914” or. Motto Deo Favente (By God's favour).[12]