Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead | |
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Appointer | Chancellor of the Exchequer |
The office of Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead functions as a procedural device to allow a member of Parliament (MP) to resign from the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. As members of the House of Commons are forbidden from formally resigning, a legal fiction is used to circumvent this prohibition: appointment to an "office of profit under The Crown" disqualifies an individual from sitting as an MP. As such, several such positions are maintained to allow MPs to resign. [1] Currently, the offices of Steward of the Manor of Northstead and Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds are used, and are specifically designated for this purpose under the House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975; several other offices have also been used historically. [1] The appointment is traditionally made by the chancellor of the Exchequer. The position was reworked in 1861 by William Ewart Gladstone, who was worried about the honour conferred by appointment to people such as Edwin James, who had fled to the United States over £100,000 in debt. As such, the letter by the chancellor was rewritten to omit any references to honour.
The office was first used in this way on 20 March 1844 to allow Sir George Henry Rose, MP for Christchurch, to resign his seat. Appointees to the offices of Steward of the Manor of Northstead and Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds are alternated so that two MPs can resign at once (as happened on 23 January 2017 when Tristram Hunt and Jamie Reed resigned). However, every new appointment revokes the previous one, so there is no difficulty in situations in which more than two resign, such as the 1985 walkout of Ulster Unionist MPs when several separate appointments were made on a single day. [1] If a resigning MP wishes to contest the following by-election, as Douglas Carswell did in 2014, they need to resign the stewardship to avoid further disqualification. [2]
The incumbent steward of the Manor of Northstead is Scott Benton, formerly the Independent (elected Conservative) MP for Blackpool South. [3]
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Date | Member | Constituency | Party | Reason for resignation | |
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20 March 1950 | Harry Morris | Sheffield, Neepsend | Lab | Vacating his seat so that Solicitor-General Sir Frank Soskice could return to Parliament [136] | |
3 February 1951 | Sir Ronald Cross, Bt | Ormskirk | Con | Appointed Governor of Tasmania [137] | |
30 March 1951 | Norman Bower | Harrow, West | Con | Ill-health [138] | |
8 October 1952 | Conolly Gage | Belfast South | UUP | Ill-health [139] | |
12 January 1953 | John Baker White | Canterbury | Con | Ill-health [140] | |
31 January 1953 | Walter Ayles | Hayes and Harlington | Lab | Ill-health [141] | |
3 June 1953 | Sir Ralph Glyn, Bt | Abingdon | Con | Created a Baron (coronation honours list); vacating his seat to allow an early election [142] | |
14 October 1953 | Malcolm Bullock | Crosby | Con | Ill-health [143] | |
8 January 1954 | Viscount Cranborne | Bournemouth, West | Con | Ill-health [144] | |
12 February 1954 | Christopher York | Harrogate | Con | Ill-health [145] | |
5 November 1954 | Richard Harden | Armagh | UUP | Giving up a political career in order to concentrate on farming the family estate [146] | |
22 March 1955 | Sir Richard Acland, Bt | Gravesend | Lab | Seeking re-election as a candidate opposed to British development of the hydrogen bomb [147] | |
16 November 1956 | Anthony Nutting | Melton | Con | Opposed to Government policy on the Suez Crisis [148] | |
11 January 1957 | Sir Anthony Eden | Warwick and Leamington | Con | Ill-health; had retired as Prime Minister [149] | |
29 October 1957 | Charles Waterhouse | Leicester, South East | Con | Concentrating on business life involving frequent visits to Africa [150] | |
1 April 1958 | Sir Hartley Shawcross | St. Helens | Lab | Unable to devote his full time to Parliamentary activities [151] | |
24 November 1958 | Ian Harvey | Harrow, East | Con | Charged with gross indecency with a Coldstream guardsman in St James's Park [152] | |
8 June 1961 | James Carmichael | Glasgow, Bridgeton | Lab | Ill-health [153] | |
13 December 1961 | Sir Geoffrey de Freitas | Lincoln | Lab | Appointed High Commissioner to Ghana [154] | |
7 March 1962 | Edward Wakefield | West Derbyshire | Con | Appointed High Commissioner to Malta [155] | |
30 July 1963 | Malcolm St Clair | Bristol, South East | Con | To allow Tony Benn, who won the previous election but was disqualified due to inheriting an unwanted peerage, to regain his seat after being allowed to disclaim the peerage [156] | |
19 March 1965 | Aubrey Jones | Birmingham, Hall Green | Con | Appointed Chairman of the Prices and Incomes Board [157] | |
5 December 1966 | Frank Cousins | Nuneaton | Lab | Concentrating on work as General Secretary of the Transport and General Workers' Union | |
25 October 1967 | Aidan Crawley | West Derbyshire | Con | Appointed Chairman of London Weekend Television [158] | |
25 July 1968 | Oliver Crosthwaite-Eyre | New Forest | Con | Ill-health [159] | |
2 April 1970 | Will Owen | Morpeth | Lab | Charged under the Official Secrets Act | |
3 February 1971 | Walter Alldritt | Liverpool, Scotland | Lab | Appointed Regional Secretary, National Union of General and Municipal Workers [160] | |
16 October 1972 | Dick Taverne | Lincoln | Lab | Seeking re-election on leaving the Labour Party [161] | |
16 February 1973 | Maurice Foley | West Bromwich | Lab | Appointed Deputy Director General for Development by the European Community [162] | |
11 February 1976 | Selwyn Lloyd | Wirral | Speaker | Retiring as Speaker of the House of Commons [163] | |
12 October 1976 | Edward Short | Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Central | Lab | Appointed Chairman of Cable & Wireless [164] | |
5 January 1977 | Christopher Tugendhat | City of London and Westminster South | Con | Appointed a European Commissioner [165] | |
5 April 1977 | David Marquand | Ashfield | Lab | Appointed Chief Advisor to the President of the European Commission [166] | |
25 July 1977 | John Cordle | Bournemouth East | Con | Found in contempt of the House (Poulson scandal) [167] | |
6 November 1978 | John Davies | Knutsford | Con | Ill-health [168] | |
5 May 1982 | Bruce Douglas-Mann | Mitcham and Morden | Lab | Seeking re-election on joining the Social Democratic Party [169] | |
19 January 1984 | Eric Varley | Chesterfield | Lab | Appointed Executive Deputy Chairman of Coalite plc [170] | |
17 December 1985 | Ian Paisley | North Antrim | DUP | Seeking re-election in protest at the Anglo-Irish Agreement [171] | |
17 December 1985 | Clifford Forsythe | South Antrim | UUP | Seeking re-election in protest at the Anglo-Irish Agreement [171] | |
17 December 1985 | Ken Maginnis | Fermanagh and South Tyrone | UUP | Seeking re-election in protest at the Anglo-Irish Agreement [171] | |
17 December 1985 | Peter Robinson | Belfast East | DUP | Seeking re-election in protest at the Anglo-Irish Agreement [171] | |
17 December 1985 | Martin Smyth | Belfast South | UUP | Seeking re-election in protest at the Anglo-Irish Agreement [171] | |
17 December 1985 | Cecil Walker | Belfast North | UUP | Seeking re-election in protest at the Anglo-Irish Agreement [171] | |
17 December 1985 | Enoch Powell | South Down | UUP | Seeking re-election in protest at the Anglo-Irish Agreement [171] | |
17 April 1986 | Matthew Parris | West Derbyshire | Con | Appointed as a presenter of Weekend World | |
1 October 1986 | Robert Kilroy-Silk | Knowsley North | Lab | Appointed as a presenter of Day To Day | |
31 December 1988 | Leon Brittan | Richmond | Con | Appointed a European Commissioner | |
16 May 1994 | Bryan Gould | Dagenham | Lab | Appointed Vice-Chancellor of the University of Waikato [172] | |
27 October 1997 | Piers Merchant | Beckenham | Con | Revelations of an affair with a 17-year-old nightclub hostess [173] |
Date | Member | Constituency | Party | Reason for resignation | |
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10 January 2000 | Cynog Dafis | Ceredigion | PC | Elected a member of the National Assembly for Wales [174] | |
21 November 2000 | Dennis Canavan | Falkirk West | Lab | Elected a Member of the Scottish Parliament [175] | |
8 September 2004 | Peter Mandelson | Hartlepool | Lab | Appointed a European Commissioner [176] | |
4 June 2008 | Boris Johnson | Henley | Con | Elected Mayor of London [177] | |
30 June 2008 | David Marshall | Glasgow East | Lab | Ill health [178] | |
22 June 2009 | Michael Martin | Glasgow North East | Speaker | Retiring as Speaker of the House of Commons [179] | |
26 January 2011 | Gerry Adams | Belfast West | SF | To stand in the 2011 Irish general election [180] [181] [182] | |
1 April 2011 | Peter Soulsby | Leicester South | Lab | To stand for election as Mayor of Leicester [183] [184] | |
29 August 2012 | Louise Mensch | Corby | Con | To join her family in New York [185] [186] | |
22 October 2012 [187] | Tony Lloyd | Manchester Central | Lab | To stand for election as Police and crime commissioner for the Greater Manchester Police Force Area [188] | |
2 January 2013 [189] | Martin McGuinness | Mid Ulster | SF | To end double-jobbing as Member of Parliament and Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly [190] | |
15 April 2013 [191] | David Miliband | South Shields | Lab | To become head of the International Rescue Committee in New York | |
29 August 2014 [192] | Douglas Carswell | Clacton | Con | Seeking re-election, having joined the UK Independence Party | |
23 March 2016 [193] | Huw Irranca-Davies | Ogmore | Lab | To contest the 2016 Welsh Assembly election | |
12 September 2016 [194] | David Cameron | Witney | Con | Due to concerns that remaining a backbench MP following his resignation as Prime Minister on 13 July 2016 would be "a big distraction and a big diversion" from the work of the new government [195] | |
4 November 2016 [196] | Stephen Phillips | Sleaford and North Hykeham | Con | "Significant policy differences" with the government regarding their approach to the UK leaving the European Union [197] | |
23 January 2017 [198] | Jamie Reed | Copeland | Lab | To become Head of Development and Community Relations for Sellafield Ltd | |
9 May 2018 [199] | Heidi Alexander | Lewisham East | Lab | To become Deputy Mayor of London for Transport [200] | |
4 November 2019 [201] | John Bercow | Buckingham | Speaker | Retiring as Speaker of the House of Commons | |
24 March 2021 [202] | Neil Gray | Airdrie and Shotts | SNP | To seek election at the 2021 Scottish Parliament election | |
5 November 2021 [203] | Owen Paterson | North Shropshire | Con | Breaching the rules against paid advocacy | |
4 May 2022 [204] [205] | Neil Parish | Tiverton and Honiton | Con | Viewed pornography in the Palace of Westminster | |
10 November 2022 [206] | Kate Green | Stretford and Urmston | Lab | To become Greater Manchester deputy mayor [207] | |
12 June 2023 [208] | Nigel Adams | Selby and Ainsty | Con | Resignation in solidarity with Boris Johnson | |
19 June 2023 [209] | David Warburton | Somerton and Frome | Con | Allegations of sexual harassment and drug abuse | |
7 September 2023 [210] | Chris Pincher | Tamworth | Con | Allegations of sexual misconduct | |
25 March 2024 [211] | Scott Benton | Blackpool South | Con | Filmed appearing to offer lobbying favours for payment [212] |
Some former MPs have held both offices of Steward of the Manor of Northstead and of the Chiltern Hundreds. These include:
As a constitutional convention, members of Parliament (MPs) sitting in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom are not formally 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"; by law, such an appointment disqualifies them from sitting in the House of Commons. For this purpose, a legal fiction has been maintained whereby two unpaid sinecures are considered to be offices of profit: Steward and Bailiff of the Chiltern Hundreds, and Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead.
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Johnson had been appointed to be steward of the Manor of Northstead
Johnson has accepted the post of crown steward and bailiff of the Chiltern Hundreds