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Chiltern Hundreds
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Chiltern Hundreds

Nominal Crown office whose appointment is the formal procedure by which a sitting MP resigns from the Commons.

Last refreshed: 8 July 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic

Key Question

Why can't an MP just resign, and what does applying for the Chiltern Hundreds actually mean?

Timeline for Chiltern Hundreds

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Common Questions
Why can't an MP simply resign from Parliament?
The Bill of Rights 1689 prevents a sitting MP from resigning outright, so they must instead apply for a paid Crown office, which disqualifies them under the House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975.Source: UK Parliament
What is the Chiltern Hundreds?
A nominal, unpaid-in-practice Crown office (Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Chiltern Hundreds) that an MP applies for to trigger disqualification from the Commons, functioning as the legal route to resignation.Source: UK Parliament
Has Nigel Farage applied for the Chiltern Hundreds?
As of 7 July he had announced he would resign Clacton but had not applied for the Chiltern Hundreds or the Manor of Northstead, so no by-election writ or date could yet be set.Source: Lowdown reporting

Background

A sitting MP cannot simply resign; the Bill of Rights 1689 blocks it. To leave the Commons early, the member instead applies to the Chancellor of the Exchequer for a paid Crown office, most commonly Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Chiltern Hundreds of Stoke, Desborough and Burnham (the alternative is the Manor of Northstead). Holding a paid Crown office disqualifies a person from sitting as an MP under the House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975, which triggers the vacancy and the subsequent by-election.

The procedure dates to 1751 and has become a formality: the Chancellor is obliged to grant it, appointments alternate between the two offices when several MPs resign close together, and the office itself carries no real duties. Nigel Farage had not applied for either appointment as of 7 July, despite announcing he would resign Clacton, so no by-election writ or polling date could yet be set.

Because the mechanism is purely procedural, its use is itself a news event: an MP's application signals a resignation is now formally underway, distinct from merely announcing an intention to quit.