Boris coming to Scarborough?

BORIS Johnson, London's new mayor, may apply to be the latest steward and bailiff of the Manor of Northstead in Scarbor-ough – and will get an invite to the town from MP Robert Goodwill if he does.

Mr Johnson has stepped down as an MP following his success in the London elections – but has to to undergo a bizarre technical procedure to vacate his Henley seat in the House of Commons.

MPs are not allowed to resign their seats, so in order to leave the Commons they have to disqualify themselves from being a member.They must apply to the Chancellor of the Exchequer for an office of profit under the Crown, which then makes them ineligible to sit in the Commons.Two obsolete offices are now used – the stewards of the Manor of Northstead and the Chiltern Hundreds.Mr Johnson made it clear he would step down, if successful in the recent London election – and Mr Goodwill thinks it would be a good opportunity to let him visit his manor.He said: "I am not sure of the timing but it would be incompatible to be Mayor of London and to be representing the people of Henley. No doubt we could invite him up here to carry out some of his duties."

The Manor of Northstead and the Chiltern Hundreds are used in rotation.Tony Blair was appointed as the steward of the Chiltern Hundreds last year when he stepped down as Prime Minister and MP for the constituency of Sedgefield.Mr Goodwill said he had heard of the tradition before becoming an MP but never connected it to Scarborough's Northstead. He said: "You don't resign from Parliament you ask to be appointed to this position."It'd be interesting to see if he would like to come to Scarborough to inspect his manor. I will drop him an email to remind him where it is."He added that he did not think Mr Johnson would upset people in Scarborough as was the case when he made some unfortunate comments about Liverpool.Mr Goodwill added: "Scarborough is a wonderful place and his days of gaffes are over."

Peasholm Beck marked the ancient boundary on the northern side of the borough of Scarborough – beyond it was the Manor of Northstead.The area was initially a collection of fields and farms but, by 1600, the manor house had fallen into disrepair and was occupied only by a shepherd.The property is believed to have stood on the area covered by the lake in Peasholm Park.The manor was bought by King Richard III with Scarborough Corporation taking over the land, which was known as the Northstead Estate, from the Crown in 1921.The lordship of the manor was kept by the Crown which meant the stewardship of the Manor became a Crown office.Traditionally it is used as a procedural device for MPs to resign which they are not permitted to do.Under the Act of Settlement, any MP accepting an office of profit under the Crown must give up his or her seat.Previous stewards of the Manor of Northstead have included Sir Anthony Eden, Rev. Ian Paisley, Enoch Powell, Matthew Parris, Robert Kilroy-Silk, Leon Brittan and Peter Mandelson.