He was voted in as shop steward at his oil refinery in Fawley in 1965, but the district secretary in Southampton who had been party to the 1958 dispute rejected his election.
He said that administrative law requires that people get fair hearings, and that discretion is only valid when irrelevant factors are not taken into account, even if the body is acting in good faith (decisions are otherwise set aside).
Instances are readily to be found in the books, notably the Stock Exchange, the Jockey Club, the Football Association, and innumerable trade unions.
[...] If he is a man who has some right or interest, or some legitimate expectation, of which it would not be fair to deprive him without a hearing, or reasons given, then these should be afforded him, according as the case may demand.
Seeing that he had been elected to this office by a democratic process, he had, I think, a legitimate expectation that he would be approved by the district committee unless there were good reasons against him.