Peerage Act 1963

The Peerage Act 1963 allows the holder of a British peerage to renounce his/her title for life within twelve months of the Act becoming law or of inheriting the peerage - or within one month of inheriting if a Member of the House of Commons. The peerage itself thus becomes dormant during the lifetime of the person but is afterwards inherited as if it had not been renounced.

The Act resulted largely from the protests of one man, Labour MP Tony Benn. He and his political opponent, Sir Alec Douglas-Home, were among the first to take advantage of it.