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

See Examples For:

Chiltern Hundreds

"An MP can do this by requesting, and accepting, office as either the Steward and Bailiff of the Chiltern Hundreds, or Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead," wrote Dr Martin Spychal.

From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026

The three Chiltern Hundreds mentioned today refer to Stoke, Desborough and Burnham in Buckinghamshire.

From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026

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

Thus it was that Mr. Lansdell accepted the Chiltern Hundreds, and turned his back upon a country in which he had never been especially happy.

From The Doctor's Wife by M. E. (Mary Elizabeth) Braddon