The parliamentary career of Corby MP Louise Mensch officially came to an end on Wednesday, culminating in the bizarre tradition of her assuming a defunct title to disqualify her from office.
Mensch, who earlier in August announced her intention to leave Westminster to spend more time with her family in New York, has been officially moved by George Osborne from the Commons to the role of Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead, a half-way house for departing MPs.
Mensch's odd new role is part of a old rule forbidding MPs from resigning from office outright in the same way as a normal citizen as they have been "duly chosen" by the public.
By law, MPs leaving office early have to accept a "paid office of the Crown", which would then disqualify them from working in the Commons.
Outgoing Corby MP Louise Mensch started her new 'job' on Wednesday
The role of Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead itself is a useless title, the manor is believed to be under a lake near Scarborough.
The title is one of two used to move MPs out of the Commons, the other being Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Chiltern Hundreds.
Mensch succeeds Labour's Sir Peter Soulsby, who left Parliament last year to fight for the mayorship of Leicester.
View Manor of Northstead in a larger map
The 'Manor' now sits below Peasholm Lake, Scarborough
The chick-lit author also accepted the role with much more enthusiasm than Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams, who famously refused to accept the aristocratic title out of his Republican principles.
When resigning from the Commons last January, Adams took exception to David Cameron's phrasing at PMQs that Adams had "accepted" the role, rather being appointed to it.
''I simply resigned. I was not consulted nor was I asked to accept such an office," Adams protested.
"I am an Irish republican. I have had no truck whatsoever with these antiquated and quite bizarre aspects of the British parliamentary system.''