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Neil Parpworth traces the history of the constitutional & controversial device that enables MPs to resign
- MPs cannot formally resign their Commons seats; instead, they accept a nominal Crown office, most commonly the Chiltern Hundreds or Manor of Northstead, which disqualifies them from sitting.
- The article traces the device from its 17th-century origins and statutory foundations to its modern use, including its occasional political controversy.
What links the four former prime ministers Tony Blair, David Cameron, Boris Johnson and Keir Starmer, and the recent victor in the Clacton byelection, Nigel Farage? Answer: Other than having been, at one time or another, an MP, the common denominator is that each left the House of Commons during the course of a Parliament’s life, rather than simply standing down at a general election. In everyday language, each resigned or retired from Parliament.
While their decisions to leave were motivated by very different reasons, to make their departures required something other than tendering a letter of resignation. Instead, it was necessary for each of them to apply for what Arthur Balfour once described as ‘the
