Scarborough plays a part in the Andy Burnham drama

​Andrew Gwynne, a former Labour minister, was appointed Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead in Scarborough’s North Bay on Friday (January 23) after announcing he would be stepping down as an MP.

The appointment is a procedural device allowing members of parliament to resign from the House of Commons, as MPs are forbidden from formally resigning.

​Being appointed to the role disqualifies the appointee from being an MP.

​Mr Gwynne said he had suffered “significant ill health” over most of his parliamentary career and been advised by a GP that he would be unable “safely to return to work” in his job.

​His resignation opened the door for Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, to return to the House of Commons in a by-election for the Gorton and Denton seat.

​However, the Labour Party’s national executive committee (NEC) blocked Mr Burnham from being selected as a parliamentary candidate for the constituency on Sunday.

​The mayor of Greater Manchester, who could challenge Keir Starmer as leader if he became an MP, said he was “disappointed” and that he would return with “full focus” to his role as mayor.

​The appointment of Andrew Gwynne to be Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead was made by the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

​“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,” the UK Parliament website states.

​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.”