Resigning from the UK Parliament

The United Kingdom is a parliamentary democracy in which the public elect Members of Parliament to the House of Commons; however, resigning from the UK Parliament is technically impossible because no law permits this.

Obviously, MPs can and do leave the Commons, for example in June 2008 when David Davis left the House to fight a by-election over the government's terrorism legislation. As resignation is not possible, there are only three ways to leave the Commons: death, the dissolution of Parliament when a general election is called, and disqualification. In the third case, MPs found guilty of electoral malpractice or serious crimes are thrown out of Parliament. MPs who wish to 'resign' can therefore be 'disqualified', side-stepping the lack of an explicit resignation procedure.

To step down, an MP is given a Crown appointment which automatically disqualifies them from sitting in the House of Commons. Such a position, which carries no salary or responsibilities, is awarded by the Chancellor of the Exchequer - some recent recipients being former Prime Minister Tony Blair, the then newly-elected Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, as well as David Davis. These appointments are 'Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Three Hundreds of Chiltern' and 'Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead'. Originally, these were very real appointments, carrying with them land and revenue. The Crown Steward would be responsible for land in Buckinghamshire, England (in the Chiltern Hills, 'hundred' being an old division of an English county) or Northstead, around Scalby - just outside Scarborough, North Yorkshire. Today, however, they exist purely as a device to allow MPs to leave the House of Commons, without ceremony, and are awarded on an alternating basis, with the previous appointee automatically losing the post. Boris Johnson's appointment as Crown Steward and Baliff of the Manor of Northstead released Peter Mandelson from the position, for example, but between Mandelson's and Johnson's departure was that of Tony Blair, who was given the Chiltern Hundreds title until David Davis left the Commons.