''Porter v Magill''
UKHL 67is a UK administrative law">001
UKHL 67is a UK administrative law case decided by the
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
which arose out of the Homes for votes scandal involving Dame
Shirley Porter
Dame Shirley, Lady Porter DBE (''née'' Cohen; born 29 November 1930) is a British politician who led Westminster City Council in London from 1983 to 1991, representing the Conservative Party. She is the daughter and heiress of Sir Jack Cohe ...
.
Under English law, the test for establishing bias was set out in ''Porter v Magill –'' whether a "fair minded and informed observer", having considered the facts, would conclude that there was a "real possibility" of bias.
Facts
The
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
majority of
Westminster Council adopted a policy to sell
council house
A council house, corporation house or council flat is a form of British Public housing in the United Kingdom, public housing built by Local government in the United Kingdom, local authorities. A council estate is a building complex containing ...
s in parts of the City where it was believed that home owners were more likely to vote Conservative. It became known as "the homes for votes scandal", involving
Shirley Porter
Dame Shirley, Lady Porter DBE (''née'' Cohen; born 29 November 1930) is a British politician who led Westminster City Council in London from 1983 to 1991, representing the Conservative Party. She is the daughter and heiress of Sir Jack Cohe ...
. As the leader of Westminster City Council, she helped formulate a policy which appeared to be designed to sell off the council housing at a lower price for the purpose of electoral advantage in
marginal wards.
[Helen Fenwick, Gavin Phillipson, Text, cases & materials on public law & human rights, p 719] The issue was, could the resulting investigation's decision be quashed where an initial press conference appeared to be biased.
Judgment
The
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
accepted that
councillor
A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or re ...
s are elected. However, their powers can only be used for the purposes for which they are conferred, and not for the electoral advantage of a political party. Also the new (and final) test of bias was introduced:
See also
*
UK administrative law
British administrative law is part of UK constitutional law that is designed through judicial review to hold executive power and public bodies accountable under the law. A person can apply to the High Court to challenge a public body's decision i ...
*
Judicial review in English law
Judicial review is a part of UK constitutional law that enables people to challenge the exercise of power, usually by a public body. A person who contends that an exercise of power is unlawful may apply to the Administrative Court (a part of t ...
Notes
2001 in London
2001 in United Kingdom case law
2000s in the City of Westminster
United Kingdom administrative case law
Political history of London
House of Lords cases
United Kingdom constitutional case law
{{England-law-stub