Roland Jennings
Sir Roland Jennings (1894 – 5 December 1968) was a British chartered accountant and politician.
Born in Sunderland, he served with the Durham Light Infantry in the First World War. He was elected as a Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Sedgefield in County Durham at the 1931 general election, defeating the Labour Party MP John Herriotts. Jennings was defeated at the 1935 general election by Labour's John Leslie.
After losing the Wandsworth Central seat in a 1937 byelection, Jennings returned to the House of Commons in 1939, when he was elected as MP for Sheffield Hallam at a by-election following the death of Sir Louis William Smith. At this and each subsequent election he fought as a 'Conservative and Liberal' although he took the Conservative whip.
In 1955, Jennings was caught up in a minor constitutional difficulty when shortly after the general election a political opponent highlighted the fact that he had been, since 1923, a public auditor approved by the Treasury. He had taken the post solely in order to audit the books of the Cotherstone British Legion and Village Club, but there were circumstances in which he might have been paid by the Treasury: this would make it an "office of profit under the Crown" and therefore a disqualification from being elected.
The matter was referred by the House of Commons to a Select Committee which reported that Jennings was indeed disqualified under the law as it stood. The government rushed through Parliament a Bill changing the law, and another bill indemnifying Jennings from the consequences of acting as an MP while disqualified and validating his election. Several other MPs were similarly found to have been unknowingly disqualified in an ensuing investigation.
Jennings retired from Parliament at the 1959 general election.
References
- Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- The Times, 23 July 1955.
- Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs [self-published source][better source needed]
External links
- Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Roland Jennings
Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
---|---|---|
Preceded by | Member of Parliament for Sedgefield 1931–1935 |
Succeeded by John Leslie |
Preceded by
Sir Louis Smith
|
Member of Parliament for Sheffield Hallam 1939–1959 |
Succeeded by John Osborn |
<templatestyles src="Asbox/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- Use dmy dates from April 2012
- Accuracy disputes from March 2012
- Articles lacking reliable references from March 2012
- Wikipedia articles incorporating an LRPP-MP template without an unnamed parameter
- 1894 births
- 1968 deaths
- Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies
- British Army personnel of World War I
- Durham Light Infantry officers
- Conservative Party (UK) MPs
- Knights Bachelor
- UK MPs 1931–35
- UK MPs 1935–45
- UK MPs 1945–50
- UK MPs 1950–51
- UK MPs 1951–55
- UK MPs 1955–59
- Conservative MP (UK), 1890s birth stubs