A person whose application for membership of a voluntary association (including a registered political party) is rejected pursuant to the association's constitution has no contractual right, no legitimate expectation beyond having the application considered, and no entitlement to natural justice. The only legitimate expectation of an applicant is that the application will be considered. The Wednesbury principle applicable to public authorities has no application to the decisions of voluntary associations regarding membership applications.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 4 later cases that cite this judgment.