Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has been appointed Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead in Scarborough, a procedural device that legally allows him to resign as an MP.
NIGEL Farage has been appointed to a job in North Yorkshire following his resignation from the House of Commons.
The leader of Reform UK has been made the Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead, Scarborough, following his decision to resign as an MP and fight to reclaim his seat.
The appointment, made by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, is a procedural device that allows members of parliament to resign from the House of Commons.
The “legal fiction” is used to circumvent a rule forbidding MPs from resigning.
The UK Parliament website states:
“The Steward and Bailiffs of the Chiltern Hundreds and of the Manor of Northstead were positions traditionally paid for by the Crown.
“In modern times, they are unpaid, formal titles that are applied for when an MP needs to disqualify themselves from the Commons.”
It adds:
“An elected MP has no right to resign: unless they die or are expelled, they must become disqualified if they wish to retire before the end of a Parliament. By law, taking on one of these titles immediately bars a person from being an MP.”
The by-election in Clacton, triggered by the Reform UK leader’s decision to quit as an MP, will be held on Thursday, August 13.
The contest is being boycotted by other major political parties in Westminster and Count Binface is set to be the highest-profile opponent to Mr Farage.
Cllr Tom Seston, leader of the Reform group on North Yorkshire Council, who represents Eastfield in Scarborough, also shared some insight into the local history of the position:
“The MP wishing to leave office is appointed to this position by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and they are paid one pound.
“And with that, they can’t legally be in Parliament, because they are being paid by the Crown.
“To commemorate this piece of British political nerdery, there is a plaque in Peasholm Park about this, which a lot of people just walk past.”
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