The Waugh Room

Wednesday 26th January 2011 | 15:08

Arise Steward Adams

Well, here's a bit of a constitutional oddity.

Gerry Adams writes to the Speaker to tell him he is quitting as an MP.

The Prime Minister then jokes about it at PMQs: "I'm not sure that Gerry Adams will be delighted to be Baron of the Manor of Northstead. But nonetheless I'm pleased that tradition has been maintained."

Then the Treasury confirms that the Chancellor has carried out his ceremonial duty to appoint Adams to the post of 'steward and bailiff' of the said manor.

Here's the official statement from HMT:

 

But it seems that Adams hasn't actually applied for the office. Sinn Fein say that the only thing that Adams has done is write to the Speaker telling him of his intention to resign his seat.

(Anorak alert: Under the Act of Settlement, a resigning MP must apply to the Chancellor of the Exchequer* for an office of profit under the Crown, which makes them ineligible to sit in the Commons.

There are two sinecures used for this purpose, the Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Chiltern Hundreds (Stoke, Desborough and Burnham), currently held by former MP for Strangford Iris Robinson, and Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead.)

But I've just been briefed by Govt sources and apparently because of the ceremonial nature of this procedure, a simple letter of resignation is automatically interpreted as an application for one of the two sinecures. That's because there is no other means for an MP to resign.

Now that "Gerard Adams" has been appointed to this unusual office, he will have to keep it until another MP quits, it seems.

In a further irony, George Osborne (who is acting purely ceremonially, I stress again) is the heir to the baronetcy of Ballentaylor in County Tipperary and of Ballylemon in County Waterford.

Of course, Eric Illsley hasn't yet formally resigned his seat. But even that wouldn't help out Mr Adams. Illsley would be appointed to the Chiltern Hundreds (currently held by Iris Robinson)..stick with me reader... because the posts alternate. So it would take another resignation for Adams to be relieved of his title.

Only in the UK could this lovely state of affairs exist...

 

*FOOTNOTE: The Chancellor can theoretically deny an application and the last time this happened was in 1842 for Viscount Chelsea.

 

UPDATE: The excellent Tim Reid at the BBC has just Tweeted: "SF's Gerry Adams claims he's had an apology from the "PM's private secretary" over "bizarre" claim he's taken Bailiff of Manor of Northstead."

Am checking..

FURTHER UPDATE. Govt sources have confirmed to me that No.10 did apologise to Adams. But the apology was not for making him a Bailiff and Steward of the Manor of Northstead. The apology was more a matter of courtesy, for not being able to forewarn Adams that the issue came up in PMQs and for taking Adams by surprise.

It was the nature of the forum that meant the PM just had to answer, I'm told. Number 10 never officially comments on private phone conversations, but this is all kosher.

The PM is adamant, however, that there is only one way to resign as an MP and that's what had to happen through the Treasury's ceremonial process today. The firm line in No. 10 is that as soon as Adams submitted his resignation letter he set in train that unstoppable process.