Members of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
(MPs) sitting in the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...
in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
are not permitted to resign their seats.
To circumvent this prohibition, MPs who wish to step down are instead appointed to an "
office of profit under
the Crown
The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has differ ...
", which disqualifies them from sitting in Parliament. For this purpose, a
legal fiction
A legal fiction is a fact assumed or created by courts, which is then used in order to help reach a decision or to apply a legal rule. The concept is used almost exclusively in common law jurisdictions, particularly in England and Wales.
Deve ...
is maintained where two unpaid offices are considered to be offices of profit: Steward and Bailiff of the Chiltern Hundreds, and Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead. Although the
House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975
The House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that prohibits certain categories of people from becoming members of the House of Commons. It is an updated version of similar older acts, known col ...
lists hundreds of offices that are disqualifying, it is rare for an MP to be nominated to a legitimate office of profit; no MP lost his or her seat by being appointed to an actual office between 1981, when
Thomas Williams became a judge, and 2022, when
Rosie Cooper
Rosemary Elizabeth Cooper (born 5 September 1950) is a British health official and former Labour Party politician who has served as the chair of Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust since November 2022. Previously, she served as the Member of Parl ...
became the chair of an
NHS foundation trust.
Offices used for disqualification
Members of Parliament (MPs) wishing to give up their seats before the next
general election
A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
are appointed to an office which causes the MP to be disqualified from membership. Historically, all "offices of profit under the Crown" could be used for this purpose. However, only two are still in use:
*
*
Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead
The stewardships are unpaid positions that provide no benefits and carry no responsibilities. The Chiltern Hundreds last required an actual Steward in the 16th century. The main property of the Manor of Northstead was described in 1600 as "unfit for habitation" after "it fell down". The stewardships have been maintained as nominal offices of profit solely as a
legal fiction
A legal fiction is a fact assumed or created by courts, which is then used in order to help reach a decision or to apply a legal rule. The concept is used almost exclusively in common law jurisdictions, particularly in England and Wales.
Deve ...
to meet the requirements of the
House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975
The House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that prohibits certain categories of people from becoming members of the House of Commons. It is an updated version of similar older acts, known col ...
and its predecessors.
The offices are used alternately, making it possible for two members to resign at the same time. When more than two MPs resign at a time—for example, when 15
Ulster Unionist MPs resigned in protest at the
Anglo-Irish Agreement on 17 December 1985—the resignations are, in theory, not simultaneous but spread throughout the day, enabling each member to hold one of the offices for a short time. The former office-holder may subsequently be reelected to Parliament.
History
Origins
Resignation from the House of Commons has never been allowed in theory, although five MPs were allowed to resign in the early 17th century on grounds of ill health. On 2 March 1624
N.S., Parliament formalized the prohibition by passing a resolution "... that a man, after he is duly chosen, cannot relinquish." At the time, serving in Parliament was considered an obligation to be borne rather than a position of power and honour.
Members had to travel to Westminster over a primitive road system, a real problem for those who represented more distant constituencies. An MP could not effectively tend to personal business at home while he was away at Parliament, yet MPs were unpaid until 1911.
Originally, the disqualification of office holders from Parliament came about as part of the long struggle to ensure that Parliament would remain free from undue influence on the part of the monarch. Since anyone receiving a salary from the Crown could not be truly independent, the House of Commons passed a resolution on 30 December 1680 stating that an MP who "shall accept any Office, or Place of Profit, from the Crown, without the Leave of this House ... shall be expelled
romthis House." The prohibition was strengthened over the following decades to bar MPs from simultaneously holding certain offices. However, MPs were able to hold crown stewardships until 1740, when
Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn became Steward of the Lordship and Manor of Bromfield and Yale and was deemed to have vacated his Commons seat.
Development of procedure
After the precedent set in 1740, it became possible for MPs to step down by being appointed to a crown stewardship. The procedure was invented by
John Pitt, who wanted to vacate his seat for
Wareham in order to stand for
Dorchester, as he could not be a candidate while he was still an MP.
Moreover, it quickly became apparent that if ministers of the Crown were to be meaningfully responsible to Parliament, they needed to be able to sit in the House of Commons. For this reason, someone appointed to an office of profit was only disqualified from ''continuing'' to sit in the House of Commons; it was possible for someone already in office to be (re-)elected to Parliament without relinquishing the office.
Pitt wrote to Prime Minister
Henry Pelham in May 1750, reporting he had been invited to stand in Dorchester, and asking for "a new mark of his Majesty's favour
oenable me to do him these further services". Pelham wrote to
William Pitt (the elder) indicating that he would intervene with King
George II to help. On 17 January 1751, Pitt was appointed to the office of Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds, and was then elected unopposed for Dorchester.
The Manor of Northstead was first used for resignation on 6 April 1842 by
Patrick Chalmers, Member for the
Montrose District of Burghs.
The
Chancellor
Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...
may in theory deny an application, although the last time this happened was to
Viscount Chelsea in 1842. In the debate over expelling the fugitive
James Sadleir
James Sadleir (c. 1815 – 4 June 1881) was a member (MP) of the British House of Commons, chiefly notable for being one of the few members expelled by that body. Sadleir was the son of Clement William Sadleir, a farmer, of Shrone Hill, Count ...
in 1856, the Government committed to refusing any potential application he would make. After
Edwin James was appointed to the Chiltern Hundreds upon fleeing to the United States with a £10,000 debt in the 1860s, the letter of appointment was revised to omit the customary mention of the position as one of honour.
When
Charles Bradlaugh
Charles Bradlaugh (; 26 September 1833 – 30 January 1891) was an English political activist and atheist. He founded the National Secular Society in 1866, 15 years after George Holyoake had coined the term "secularism" in 1851.
In 1880, Bradl ...
took the Chiltern Hundreds in 1884 to seek a vote of confidence from his constituents,
Lord Randolph Churchill
Lord Randolph Henry Spencer-Churchill (13 February 1849 – 24 January 1895) was a British statesman. Churchill was a Tory radical and coined the term ' Tory democracy'. He inspired a generation of party managers, created the National Union ...
and the Conservative press were highly critical of the Gladstone government for allowing Bradlaugh a new opportunity to demonstrate his popularity with the electors of
Northampton
Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England ...
.
Sections 24 and 25 of the
Succession to the Crown Act 1707
The Succession to the Crown Act 1707 (6 Ann c 41) is an Act of Parliament of the Parliament of Great Britain. It is still partly in force in Great Britain.
The Act was passed at a time when Parliament was anxious to ensure the succession of a Pr ...
listed ministerial offices as offices of profit.
[Isaacs 2005, p.34; ] When an MP became a government minister, including Prime Minister, they also lost their seat in the House of Commons. Therefore, Ministers were required to regain their seats in Parliament by winning a
ministerial by-election
A ministerial by-election is a by-election to fill a vacancy triggered by the appointment of the sitting member of parliament (MP) as a Minister (government), minister in the Cabinet (government), cabinet. The requirement for new ministers to stan ...
. The ''Re-election of Ministers Act 1919'' made it unnecessary to be re-elected within nine months of a general election, and the Act was amended in 1926 to abolish ministerial by-elections.
Sinn Féin resignations
On 20 January 2011,
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Gr ...
MP
Gerry Adams submitted a letter of resignation to the
Speaker
Speaker may refer to:
Society and politics
* Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly
* Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture
* A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially:
** In ...
, but did not apply for a Crown office, which would be politically unacceptable for a Sinn Féin politician.
On 26 January, a Treasury spokesperson said "Consistent with long-standing precedent, the Chancellor has taken
he letteras a request to be appointed the Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead and granted the office."
Although
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...
said during
Prime Minister's Questions that Adams had "accepted an office for profit under the Crown", Adams denied this; he continued to simply reject the title, albeit not its effect of removal from office.
Another Sinn Féin MP,
Martin McGuinness, resigned and was formally appointed as Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead on 2 January 2013, leading to the
2013 Mid Ulster by-election. McGuinness also said that he rejected the title.
Present status
Law
The law relating to resignation is now codified and consolidated in section 4 of the
House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975
The House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that prohibits certain categories of people from becoming members of the House of Commons. It is an updated version of similar older acts, known col ...
:
Schedule 1 lists actual offices that are disqualifying for membership in the House of Commons. Under Section 6, anyone appointed to those offices is prohibited from being elected to the House or continuing to sit in the House. However, the Stewardships of the Chiltern Hundreds and the Manor of Northstead are only included in Schedule 1 for the purpose of vacating the seat.
Stewards can still be elected to the House of Commons after taking up their appointments.
Notice and orders
An MP applies for the office to the
Chancellor of the Exchequer
The chancellor of the Exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and head of HM Treasury, His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, the Ch ...
, who usually then signs a warrant appointing the MP to the Crown office. The appointee holds the office until such time as another MP is appointed, or they apply to be released. Sometimes this can be a matter of minutes, as on an occasion when three or more MPs apply on the same day. Once released, they are again free to seek election to the House of Commons.
When an MP is appointed to the post, the Treasury releases a public notice: "The Chancellor of the Exchequer has this day appointed
amed individualto be Steward and Bailiff of the Three Hundreds of Chiltern."
After the Speaker has been notified, the appointment and resulting disqualification is noted in the Vote and Proceedings, the Commons' daily journal of proceedings:
Notification, laid upon the Table by the Speaker, That Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer had today appointed amed individual Member for amed constituency to the office of Steward and Bailiff of the Three Hundreds of Chiltern.
Thereafter, the former MP's party (or the Government, if they were independent or their party has no other MPs) moves for a
writ of election to be issued calling for a
by-election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election ( Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to ...
. The resulting order is in the following form:
''Ordered,''
That the Speaker do issue his Warrant for the Clerk of the Crown to make out a new writ for the electing of a Member to serve in this present parliament for the ounty Constituencyof amed areain the room of the ight Honourable amed individual who since election for the said ounty Constituencyhas been appointed to the Office of Steward and Bailiff of His Majesty's Three Chiltern Hundreds of Stoke, Desborough and Burnham in the County of Buckingham.
The wording of these announcements may vary.
Former offices
Other offices formerly used for the same purpose are:
*
Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of East Hendred, Berkshire.
This stewardship was first used for parliamentary purposes in November 1763 by
Edward Southwell Edward Southwell may refer to:
* Edward Southwell, 20th Baron de Clifford (1738–1777), British politician
* Edward Southwell Sr. (1671–1730), Irish politician
* Edward Southwell Jr. (1705–1755), Irish politician
{{hndis, Southwell, Edward ...
, and was in more or less constant use until 1840, after which it disappeared. This manor comprised
copyhold
Copyhold was a form of customary land ownership common from the Late Middle Ages into modern times in England. The name for this type of land tenure is derived from the act of giving a copy of the relevant title deed that is recorded in the ...
s, the
usual courts were held, and the stewardship was an actual and active office. The manor was sold by
public auction
In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichk ...
in 1823, but in some manner the Crown retained the right of appointing a steward for seventeen years afterwards.
*
Steward of the Manor of Hempholme, Yorkshire.
[ This manor appears to have been of the same nature as that of Northstead. It was in lease until 1835. It was first used for parliamentary purposes in 1845 and was in constant use until 1865. It was sold in 1866.
* Escheator of Munster.][ Escheators were officers commissioned to secure the rights of the Crown over property which had legally escheated (forfeited) to it from those who had held land from the crown and had recently died (or been legally ]attainted
In English criminal law, attainder or attinctura was the metaphorical "stain" or "corruption of blood" which arose from being condemned for a serious capital crime (felony or treason). It entailed losing not only one's life, property and heredit ...
). In Ireland mention is made of escheators as early as 1256. In 1605 the escheatorship of Ireland was split into four, one for each province, but the duties soon became practically nominal. The escheatorship of Munster was first used for parliamentary purposes in the Irish Parliament from 1793 to 1800, and in the united Parliament (24 times for Irish seats and once for a Scottish seat) from 1801 to 1820. After 1820 it was discontinued and finally abolished in 1838.
*Steward of the Manor of Old Shoreham, Sussex
Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the Englis ...
.[ This manor belonged to the ]Duchy of Cornwall
The Duchy of Cornwall ( kw, Duketh Kernow) is one of two royal duchies in England, the other being the Duchy of Lancaster. The eldest son of the reigning British monarch obtains possession of the duchy and the title of 'Duke of Cornwall' at ...
. It was first used for parliamentary purposes in 1756, and then, occasionally, until 1799, in which year it was sold by the Duchy to the Duke of Norfolk.
* Steward of the Manor of Poynings, Sussex.[ This manor reverted to the Crown on the death of Lord Montague about 1804, but was leased until about 1835. It was only twice used for parliamentary purposes, in 1841 and 1843.
*Escheator of ]Ulster
Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kin ...
.[ This appointment was used in the united Parliament three times, for Irish seats only; the last time in 1819.
** February 1801: William Talbot (]Kilkenny City
Kilkenny (). is a city in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region and in the province of Leinster. It is built on both banks of the River Nore. The 2016 census gave the total population of Kilkenny as 26,512.
Kilk ...
)
** March 1804: John Claudius Beresford
John Claudius Beresford (23 October 1766 – 20 July 1846) was an Irish Tory Member of the UK Parliament representing Dublin City 1801–1804 and County Waterford 1806–1811.
Early life
Beresford was educated at Trinity College, Dublin. Fr ...
( Dublin City)
** February 1819: Richard Nevill ( Wexford Borough)
*Steward of the Honour of Otford, Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
. Used once in 1742 for Lord Middlesex (East Grinstead
East Grinstead is a town in West Sussex, England, near the East Sussex, Surrey, and Kent borders, south of London, northeast of Brighton, and northeast of the county town of Chichester. Situated in the extreme northeast of the county, the civ ...
).
*Chief Steward and Keeper of the Courts of the Honour of Berkhamsted
Berkhamsted ( ) is a historic market town in Hertfordshire, England, in the Bulbourne valley, north-west of London. The town is a civil parish with a town council within the borough of Dacorum which is based in the neighbouring large new to ...
, Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For gov ...
, Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-e ...
, and Northampton
Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England ...
(part of the Duchy of Cornwall
The Duchy of Cornwall ( kw, Duketh Kernow) is one of two royal duchies in England, the other being the Duchy of Lancaster. The eldest son of the reigning British monarch obtains possession of the duchy and the title of 'Duke of Cornwall' at ...
). Used once in 1752 for Henry Lascelles (Northallerton
Northallerton ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Hambleton District of North Yorkshire, England. It lies in the Vale of Mowbray and at the northern end of the Vale of York. It had a population of 16,832 in the 2011 census, an increa ...
).
*Steward of the Manor of Kennington
Kennington is a district in south London, England. It is mainly within the London Borough of Lambeth, running along the boundary with the London Borough of Southwark, a boundary which can be discerned from the early medieval period between the ...
, Surrey
Surrey () is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant ur ...
. Used once in 1757 for Thomas Duckett (Calne
Calne () is a town and civil parish in Wiltshire, southwestern England,OS Explorer Map 156, Chippenham and Bradford-on-Avon Scale: 1:25 000.Publisher: Ordnance Survey A2 edition (2007). at the northwestern extremity of the North Wessex Downs ...
).
*Steward of the Manor of Shippon, Berkshire
Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Ber ...
. Used once in 1765 for Thomas Watson (Berwick-upon-Tweed
Berwick-upon-Tweed (), sometimes known as Berwick-on-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, and the northernmost town in England. The 2011 United Kingdom census re ...
).
*A different kind of appointment, the militia agency, has also been used. For example, in 1770 Jervoise Clarke Jervoise was appointed to the office of agent to the regiment of militia of the county of Sussex, as a consequence of him not being able to be appointed to the customary stewardships at that time. Similar offices were used on at least two more occasions.[ John Hatsell, ''Precedents of Proceedings in the House of Commons'', 1818 edition, vol. II]
p. 55
See also
* List of United Kingdom by-elections (2010–present)
* List of stewards of the Chiltern Hundreds
Appointment to the position of Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Chiltern Hundreds is a procedural device to allow Members of Parliament to resign from the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. Since MPs are technically unable to resign, res ...
* List of stewards of the Manor of East Hendred
* List of stewards of the Manor of Hempholme
* List of stewards of the Manor of Northstead
* List of stewards of the Manor of Old Shoreham
* List of stewards of the Manor of Poynings
* List of Escheators of Connaught and list of Escheators of Leinster (used for resignation from the Irish House of Commons
The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, but on a highly restrictive fran ...
)
* House of Lords
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminst ...
References
{{Reflist
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Resignations
Termination of employment