As such, the letter by the Chancellor was rewritten to omit any references to honour. The position was reworked in 1861 by Gladstone, who was worried about the honour conferred by appointment to people such as Edwin James, who had fled to the United States over £10,000 in debt. The appointment is traditionally made by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. As such, several such positions are maintained to allow MPs to resign.Ĭurrently, the positions of Steward of the Manor of Northstead and Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds are used, and are specifically designated as qualifying for this purpose under the House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975 historically several other offices have also been used. An appointment to an "office of profit under The Crown" disqualifies an individual from sitting as a Member of Parliament (MP). To circumvent this prohibition a legal fiction is used. Members of the House of Commons are forbidden from resigning. The position of Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead is a procedural device to allow Members of Parliament to resign from the British House of Commons. The Treasury has accepted Tiverton and Honiton MP Neil Parish’s resignation after he admitted watching pornography in the House of Commons.Ī statement from the Treasury said: “The Chancellor of the Exchequer has this day appointed Neil Quentin Gordon Parish to be Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead.”