Crown_Steward_and_Bailiff_of_the_Chiltern_Hundreds

List of stewards of the Chiltern Hundreds

List of stewards of the Chiltern Hundreds

Procedural device to allow British MPs to resign


Appointment to the position of Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Chiltern Hundreds (or the Three Hundreds of Chiltern) is a procedural device to allow members of Parliament (MPs) to resign from the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. Since MPs are technically unable to resign their seats in the House of Commons, they must resort to a legal fiction. An appointment to an "office of profit under The Crown" disqualifies an individual from sitting as an MP. Although several offices were used in the past to allow MPs to resign, only the stewardships of the Chiltern Hundreds and the Manor of Northstead are in present use.[1]

Quick Facts Crown Steward and Bailiff of the three Chiltern Hundreds of Stoke, Desborough and Burnham, Appointer ...

Resignation

On 2 March 1624, a resolution was passed by the House of Commons making it illegal for an MP to quit or wilfully give up their seat. Believing that officers of the Crown could not remain impartial, the House 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 [from] this House." However, MPs were able to hold Crown Stewardships until 1740, when Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn was deemed to have vacated his Commons seat after becoming Steward of the Lordship and Manor of Bromfield and Yale.[1] The practice of leaving the house when appointed as a minister of crown would result in a ministerial by-election until the early 20th century when this requirement was removed for most substantive offices.[citation needed]

The Chiltern Hundreds last needed a Crown Steward in the 18th century. When John Pitt wished to vacate his seat for Wareham in order to stand for Dorchester, the Crown Stewardship of the Chiltern Hundreds was available for this purpose. Pitt was appointed Crown Steward on 25 January 1751.[1]

A number of other offices were subsequently used for resignation, but only the Chiltern Hundreds and the Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead are still in use.[1] Appointees to the Chiltern Hundreds are alternated with the Manor of Northstead, allowing two MPs to resign at once. When more than two MPs resign, such as the 1985 walkout of Ulster Unionist MPs, appointees are dismissed after a few hours to allow other resigning MPs to take their place.[1] The Parliamentary Information Office has produced a list of those appointed to the office of Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds since 1850.[2]

Key

Up to 1849

1850 to 1899

More information Date, Member ...

1900 to 1949

More information Date, Member ...

1950 to 1999

More information Date, Member ...

Since 2000

More information Date, Member ...

See also

Office still in use

Offices no longer in use


References

General

  • Department of Information Services (24 March 2016). "MPs appointed to the Chiltern Hundreds or Manor of Northstead stewardships since the 1945 Parliament" (PDF). House of Commons Library. Retrieved 25 March 2016.

Specific

  1. "The Chiltern Hundreds" (PDF). Factsheet P11 Procedure Series. House of Commons Information Office. August 2010. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 October 2011. Retrieved 14 January 2011.
  2. Department of Information Services (14 January 2010). "Appointments to the Chiltern Hundreds and Manor of Northstead Stewardships since 1850" (PDF). House of Commons Library. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 February 2011. Retrieved 14 January 2011.
  3. House of Commons, Great Britain. Parliament (1878). Parliamentary papers. Vol. 62, Part 2. Archived from the original on 24 July 2020. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
  4. Fisher, David R. (2009). "SMYTH, Sir George Henry, 6th bt. (1784–1852), of Berechurch Hall, nr. Colchester, Essex". The History of Parliament. Archived from the original on 1 April 2018. Retrieved 1 November 2018.
  5. "Borough of Dungannon Election". Tyrone Constitution. 14 February 1851.
  6. "No. 21125". The London Gazette. 9 August 1850. p. 2183.
  7. Norgate, G. Le G. (2004). "Oxford DNB article: Quin, Edwin Richard Windham Wyndham (subscription needed)". In Herity, Michael (ed.). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 1 (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/22959. Retrieved 8 December 2008. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  8. Cochran, Peter (2004). "Oxford DNB article: Hobhouse, John Cam (subscription needed)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 1 (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/13404. Retrieved 8 December 2008. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  9. Jenkins, Brian (2004). "Shiel, Richard Lalor". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/25301. Retrieved 8 December 2008. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  10. "No. 21149". The London Gazette. 1 November 1850. p. 2853.
  11. "The Last Days of Sir John Simeon", The Month: A Magazine and Review new series, vol. II (XIII), July to December 1870, pp. 481–484.
  12. Hamilton, J. A. (2004). "Oxford DNB article: O'Connell, John (subscription needed)". In Comerford, R. V (ed.). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 1 (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/20502. Retrieved 23 January 2009. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  13. "Oxford DNB article:Anson, George (subscription needed". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. 2004. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/575. Retrieved 24 January 2009. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  14. "Oxford DNB article:Maguire, John Francis (subscription needed)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. 2004. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/17792. Retrieved 24 January 2009. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  15. "Oxford DNB article:Labouchere, Henry (subscription needed)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. 2004. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/15838. Retrieved 24 January 2009. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  16. Millar, Mary S. (2004). "Oxford DNB article:Earle, Ralph Astruther (subscription needed)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 1 (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/55742. Retrieved 24 January 2009. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  17. In the House of Commons Information Office publication Appointments to the Chiltern Hundreds and Manor of Northstead Stewardships since 1850 Archived 6 February 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Thomas Sexton is recorded as having taken the Chiltern Hundreds on 19 February 1895. However, this appears to be an error. The London Gazette lists him as having been returned for North Kerry at the general election in August 1895 (see London Gazette, Issue 26651 published on 9 August 1895 Archived 8 November 2021 at the Wayback Machine, and the writ for the by-election was moved in April 1896 (see House of Commons Debates 14 April 1896 vol 39 c882 Archived 26 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine). The date of his resignation is therefore listed here as 19 February 1896, rather than 1895.
  18. House of Commons, Great Britain. Parliament (1878). Parliamentary papers. Vol. 62, Part 2.
  19. "No. 27157". The London Gazette. 26 January 1900. p. 519.
  20. "No. 27159". The London Gazette. 30 January 1900. p. 606.
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  22. "No. 27396". The London Gazette. 10 January 1902. p. 219.
  23. "Election Intelligence". The Times. 8 January 1902. p. 4.
  24. "No. 27403". The London Gazette. 4 February 1902. p. 709.
  25. "No. 27405". The London Gazette. 11 February 1902. p. 843.
  26. "Election intelligence". The Times. No. 36686. London. 8 February 1902. p. 12.
  27. "No. 27427". The London Gazette. 22 April 1902. p. 2687.
  28. "No. 27481". The London Gazette. 10 October 1902. p. 6409.
  29. "Election Intelligence". The Times. No. 36909. London. 27 October 1902. p. 10.
  30. Prothero, George Walter (1912). "Lecky, William Edward Hartpole". In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography (2nd supplement). Vol. 2. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
  31. Knox, William (2006). The Lives of Scottish Women. Edinburgh: Einburgh University Press. p. 175. ISBN 978-0-7486-1788-3. Archived from the original on 8 November 2021.
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  34. "New Governor of Malta", The Times, 25 May 1946, p. 4.
  35. "Four by-elections", The Times, 5 October 1946, p. 4.
  36. "Two M.P.s to Resign", The Times, 11 October 1946, p. 8.
  37. "Resignation of Sir A. Southby", The Times, 3 November 1947, p. 4.
  38. "Minister of Pensions Vacating Office", The Times, 2 July 1948, p. 4.
  39. "Mr. Lawson, M.P., Resigns", The Times, 21 December 1949, p. 4.
  40. "Sir Stafford Cripps Resigns", The Times, 20 October 1950, p. 4.
  41. "M.P. not to seek re-election", The Times, 10 April 1951, p. 7.
  42. "'Father' of Commons to Retire", The Times, 5 July 1952, p. 6.
  43. "Two M.P.s to Resign", The Times, 13 January 1953, p. 3.
  44. "Mr. Edward Carson", The Times, 18 February 1953, p. 4.
  45. "Two by-elections", The Times, 6 June 1953, p. 4.
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  49. "Chiltern Hundreds for Sir Sidney Marshall", The Times, 6 October 1954, p. 6.
  50. "M.P. for Inverness to Resign", The Times, 3 December 1954, p. 8.
  51. "Conservative M.P. To Resign", The Times, 28 April 1956, p. 6.
  52. "Sir William Darling Resigns Seat", The Times, 4 May 1957, p 4.
  53. "Sir Victor Raikes Resigns Seat", The Times, 9 November 1957, p. 3.
  54. Garnett, Mark (2004). "Oxford DNB article:Maude, Angus (subscription needed)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 1 (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/44629. Retrieved 6 March 2009. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
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  60. "Ill-health causes MP to resign", The Times, 16 January 1968, p. 1.
  61. "Swindon MP resigns his seat", The Times, 8 March 1969, p. 1.
  62. "Mr Gunter resigning: 'Improper to stay'", The Times, 4 March 1972, p. 1
  63. David Leigh, "Ex-Tory junior minister to head race body", The Times, 30 July 1976, p. 4.
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  71. "– Speaker Betty Boothroyd to retire". British Broadcasting Corporation. 12 July 2000. Archived from the original on 19 May 2009. Retrieved 23 January 2009.
  72. "Blair resigns as Prime Minister". British Broadcasting Corporation. 27 June 2007. Archived from the original on 13 September 2017. Retrieved 23 January 2009.
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  82. "Tony Lloyd and Alun Michael quit Commons to fight police election". BBC News. 22 October 2012. Archived from the original on 18 November 2018. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
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