Thanks to a law dating back to 1624, Members of Parliament (MPs) in the UK are not technically permitted to resign.
“Unless they die or are expelled, they must become disqualified if they wish to retire before the end of a Parliament,” according to the UK Parliament website.
This is because back in the 17th Century, MPs often accepted the role reluctantly, so leaving the job was not to be encouraged.
A “parliamentary loophole” was created to get around this, according to the History of Parliament blog, external.
“An MP can do this by requesting, and accepting, office as either the Steward and Bailiff of the Chiltern Hundreds, or Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead,” wrote Dr Martin Spychal.
“Both offices (or jobs) are nominal. They exist in name only, have no responsibilities and are unpaid.”
Anyone with these titles is disqualified from being an MP – originally in order to prevent royal influence on politics – but later used by parliamentarians who were unhappy with their lot.
