Chiltern Hundreds

American  

[chil-tern] / ˈtʃɪl tərn /

plural noun

British.

1. certain crown lands, the stewardship of which is nominally bestowed on a member of the House of Commons to provide an excuse to resign, as members are not allowed to hold titular office from the crown.

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idioms

1. to apply for the Chiltern Hundreds, to resign or express a desire to resign from the House of Commons.

Chiltern Hundreds British  

plural noun

1. (in Britain) short for Stewardship of the Chiltern Hundreds ; a nominal office that an MP applies for in order to resign his seat

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Example Sentences

MPs are not technically allowed to resign and instead have to be appointed either Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds, or of the Manor of Northstead, as Mr Benton has been, on an alternating basis.

From BBC • Mar. 26, 2024

I shall today inform the chancellor of my intention to take the Chiltern Hundreds, enabling the writ to be moved on 4 September for the by-election you are so desperately seeking to take place.

From BBC • Aug. 26, 2023

The election of a member of Parliament for the county of Argyll, in the room of Alexander Campbell, Esq., of Monzie, who has accepted the Chiltern Hundreds, took place at Inverary on Friday week.

From The Economist Volume 1, No. 3 by Wilson, James

Orange applied for the Chiltern Hundreds and went into strict retreat for six months.

From Robert Orange Being a Continuation of the History of Robert Orange by Hobbes, John Oliver

At the present day a nominal stewardship connected with the Chiltern Hundreds, called an office of profit under the crown, enables the member, by a species of juggle, to resign his seat.

From Stories of the Olden Time (Historical Series—Book IV Part I) by Various