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Home Page > News > Gerry Adams forced to accept British title in order to resign MP seat

Gerry Adams forced to accept British title in order to resign MP seat

Strongly denies he knew anything about title

Patrick Cooper,

IrishCentral.com Staff Writer

Published Wednesday, January 26, 2011, 1:22 PM

Updated Wednesday, January 26, 2011, 1:22 PM

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President of Sinn Fein, Gerry Adams

Gerry Adams, the leader of Sinn Fein, has been granted an English aristocratic title which secured his resignation as a Member of Parliament from Westminster, David Cameron told the Commons today.

The declaration by the Prime Minister that Gerry Adams had become Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead means that the by-election in West Belfast can now go ahead.

However the Sinn Fein leader has said that the prime minister had misrepresented his position, and he has strongly denied requesting the title.

Under parliamentary rules, MPs must apply for the obscure crown office if they intend to resign.

Adams has said he only sent a letter of resignation to the Commons Speaker, John Bercow.

In a statement released by Gerry Adams he said: "Mr Cameron has claimed that 'the Honorable Member for West Belfast has accepted an office for profit under the crown'. This is untrue. I simply resigned. I was not consulted nor was I asked to accept such an office. I am an Irish republican. I have had no truck whatsoever with these antiquated and quite bizarre aspects of the British parliamentary system.

"Mr Cameron's announcement that I have become Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead, wherever that is, is a bizarre development. I am sure the burghers of that manor are as bemused as me. I have spoken to the prime minister's private secretary today and he has apologized for today's events.

"While I respect the right of British parliamentarians to have their own protocols and systems, no matter how odd these may appear to the rest of the world in general and Irish people in particular, the prime minister should not make claims which are untrue and inaccurate."

Last November Adams announced his intention to run for Sinn Fein in the Louth constituency in the forthcoming Irish General Election. He informed supporters that another Sinn Fein candidate should stand for his West Belfast seat.

Confirmation of Adam’s new title was revealed during prime ministers question time.

Nigel Dodds, the Democratic Unionist party MP criticized Adams when he addressed Cameron: "You may be aware that one of the members elected to this house has decided to emigrate – and you may want to chalk that up as one of your achievements.

"The said member for West Belfast, Gerry Adams, seems to be embarrassed about applying for an office under the crown, an office for profit – although he has shown no such embarrassment of profiting from his office in this house for many years at taxpayers' expense.

"When will you deliver on your pre-election pledge to hardpressed taxpayers that you will abolish parliamentary money for parliamentary purposes going to those who do not fulfil their parliamentary duties?"

To which the prime minister replied: "First of all, just in case people haven't caught up with the news, you are quite right that the honourable member for West Belfast has accepted an office for profit under the crown, which of course is the only way you can retire from this house.

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ancavker | Jan 31, 2011, 11:59 AM EST

dan: I agree, I just like to point out to the revisionists that when they say Ulster could not be forced into a united Ireland, I just like to reply that why was it OK to force all of Ireland into a divided Ireland. Temporary partition was the answer at that time. As I always point out, the civil war was not about partition; neither side expected it to last. Collins hope was on teh boundary commission, specifically the sentence that stated that the final boundary would be determined by geographic conditions and the wishes of the inhabitants. COllins focused on the wishes of the inhabitants piece, the British dominted commission focuded on geographic considerations, which they believed shoudl include large chunks of Donegal. Once Mac Neill realized what was going to happen he resigned rather than be a part of it. Lloyd George and Chamberlain wer out of government at the time, and Collins and Griffith were dead, so we can only specualte as to hwat might have happened had this not been the case. I guess the question would be what would Collins have done once he realized he had been played. Just as an aside the reason I like to post here, and talk to others about this period in Irish history, is becasue it is so fascinating, and Ireland was so close to a chieving so much in my opinion. I also try to defend the men and women of that time who fought honorably for Irelands' freedom, from both sides. On one side from the Provo/SInn Fein crowd who claimed that legacy for themselves, which is repugnant, and from the small west British elite in the south who claim that those men and women awere the cause of all of Ireland's ills going forward, and they were nothing more than criminals and gunmen. It is so wrong that these revisionists have poisioned so many minds in the south.

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ancavker | Jan 31, 2011, 11:45 AM EST

falls: Please check your facts and your history yet again. The Ulster arms crisis was in 1914, that is when the UVF imported guns into Ireland, to figth against home rule,and thus the gun was was introduced into Irish politics. In the meantime John Redmond was encouraging nationalists to fight in the British army becasue that he believed would gurantee home rule for Ireland. The 1916 rising was 2 year after the UVF imported their guns into Ireland, to fight against home rule, so please stop with the UVF just copied what the nationalists did. As far as your Grandfather. manning the barricades to fight for a UI, well again that was not what the fight was about at that time, so you may need to revise that story as well. Now before you come back with had the Irish nationalists been just a little bit more patient, home rule would have been granted,eventually, and the war of independence could have been avoided,Well now that is another myth. The home rule that the British government was going to grant Ireland was little more than a talk shop, with no real power. What Collins and Griffith got after forcing Britian to negogiate, by fighting them to a stndstill, was real genuine independence,with real deceison making powers, and complete control of finances, which was a key demand of Collins, that LLoyd George reluctantly agreed to.Except for the British obsession with oaths and crowns, this was genuine independence. Even Garret Fitzgearld acknowledges that.

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Towngate | Jan 30, 2011, 09:42 PM EST

Cheers!B.

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barneyjo | Jan 29, 2011, 05:36 PM EST

Oh, one thing I would be equally sure of is that he is not a British Citizen, by conviction, and I am sure he holds a valid Irish Passport (as do I, but I also hold a British Passport, or rather, two standard European community model passports; from the back I cannot differentiate between the two!!

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Towngate | Jan 29, 2011, 09:12 AM EST

BARNEYJO Spot on again. but Gerry could have tried to enter the Chamber to resign in person whereby he would have been arrested as a "Stranger in the House!"-- not having taken his Oath. He would have been automatically disqualified as an MP and get no further pay or pension! Btw: he could have kept his seat and be a TD as well. No Rules against it! Is he going to become an Irish Citizen when he emigrates South? As a British subject,can he take the Oath to serve Eire and its British 'President? --- so many unknown knowns and unknown known unknowns! --- (Ps: The Liam tack is a bit below the belt'!)

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barneyjo | Jan 29, 2011, 07:22 AM EST

......and of course, I should also have added that when the good people of Louth are talking about this, they are not talking about Gerry Adams's brother Liam who, for better or for worse COULD be considered an electoral liability within the constituency given the controversey he has been at the centre of recently.

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barneyjo | Jan 28, 2011, 07:11 PM EST

Apologies, there is a line in my earlier post which should read "Even the very fact that he was candid about his lack of knowledge of the benefits, entitlements and vat rates in ROI"

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barneyjo | Jan 28, 2011, 07:07 PM EST

I am amazed at the sheer number of "HISTORICAL REVISIONISTS" posting on this issue and to my mind talking so much guff, I can only laugh. Firstly, I dont believe for one minute that Gerry Adams didnt know about the procedure related to resignation from his seat as an MP. He knew that if he could stoke the fire a bit and be seen to be "most put out" at being a "victim" of this particular anomaly, he has calculated that his indignation will play well with the voters in Louth. Any reasonable observer of NI politics will tell you that "ADAMS DOES NOT DO STUPID!!!" Even the very fact that he was candid about benefits, entitlements and vat rates in ROI was meant to diffuse comment/ criticism of his grasp of micro economics. All you posters here have done is to validate his stance. People are talking up his suitability to be a TD. Adams's ability to "play the victim" is one of his strongest assets

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sirpeter | Jan 28, 2011, 03:43 PM EST

FallsRNat..I told you!! VIOLENCE NOW!! has no part to play in Northern Ireland..The war is OVER!!..There is POWER SHARING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!..THAT WAS THE MAIN AIM ...PARTITION WILL END WHEN THERE IS NO MORE USE FOR IT..FallsRNat..HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I SAID TO YOU??? YOU KEEP PUTTING WORDS IN MY MOUTH!! And where was i playing a little fast & loose with the truth??..I don't have to bend Irish history or the truth.

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FallsRNat | Jan 28, 2011, 02:56 PM EST

sir peter - playing a little fast & loose with the truth, Carson set up an army of 80,000 UVF volunteers to threaten the brits with war if ulster didn't get it's independence. My father use to regale me with tales of his father manning the barricades in Dublin in pursuit of UI. Carson just copied what we did, it's not surprising that the brits backed down in the face of the threat of unparalled violence cross ireland. I agree with Dan comments below, if, however, if we're had a further 20 years of non violence in the 20/30s we may have had either a federation of states or a UI by now unfortunately republicans felt that the armed struggle would work again leading to the UVF reforming ad infinitum leading all the way to where we are today. Violence doesn't work & no amount of coercion is going to force the Unionists into a united irealnd.

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DanOLoingsigh | Jan 28, 2011, 02:27 PM EST

@ancavker – ‘The unionists should not have forced the majority of the Irish people on the island into a divided Ireland’. This is the basic Nationalist position, and is a very reasonable argument, but it’s not the whole story. The Unionists had made it plain that they would fight any rule by Dublin, so some kind of civil war appeared to be inevitable, and ‘temporary’ partition was seen as a reasonable compromise at the time. The next stage, the boundary review, allegedly identified parts of the Free State – east Donegal – that would opt for transfer to NI. At this stage both governments agreed to ‘bury’ the Boundary Commission – shabby deal or pragmatic compromise, depending on your point of view.

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hello123 | Jan 28, 2011, 10:41 AM EST

Mr Dodds wass either ignorant of the facts or malicious. Can't make my mind up which one, although if pushed I would probably go for the former, in which case he should have done his homeowrk before opening his big mouth. In any case it just shows you how a remark like this, although untrue, can stick in people's minds. You have to remember that not all people read the full story, whether in newspapers or the internet, and come away asuming the headline or first few pars are true. Dangerous stuff, and people in such positions as Mr Dodds and the PM should be extra careful when making a statement.

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Bushothehill | Jan 28, 2011, 10:23 AM EST

Right on Jerry! Next step--President of all Ireland. Get rid of all the WestBrits holed up in the Free State.

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ancavker | Jan 28, 2011, 09:57 AM EST

pacifist: Yes. Howwver you fail to point out that the majority of the Irish people voted for independence in 1918. Edward Carson ( a Dubliner) and others did not like that democratic outcome ,and so they carved out a chunk in the north for themselves; taking with them a sizeable minority of Catholics/Nationalists. Had the boundary commission been conducted the way it should have been, than most of Tyrone and Fermanagh, south Armagh, and perhaos south Down would have joined to the free state. The remaining entity would be too small to survive and would have eventually joined the free state. That is what LLoyd George intimated to Collins and Griffith would happen. However the Welsh wizard outfoxed both of them, and they were both dead by the time the boundary commission was established. At the end of the day it did not, and we have what we have. However, I would just like to point out that although today we cannot force the unionists into a united Ireland today, it should at least be acknowledged that they should not have forced the majority of the Irish people on the island into a divided Ireland.

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irishsa | Jan 28, 2011, 09:09 AM EST

Gerry, as Baliffe of Northstead, should take the review of returning British troops from Afganistaan!! I am sure the good people of Northstead would appreciate that.

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