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A UK lord tried to Brexit himself from Parliament after showing up late to a Brexit debate

Chivalry isn't dead — it's late

Chivalry may be dead, but in England it’s so alive and well that a British lord tried to resign today for the crime of being late — though luckily for him, Prime Minister Theresa May wouldn’t accept it.

Lord Michael Bates, a member of the UK Parliament’s House of Lords, offered up his resignation after showing up almost half an hour late to a session set for debate over Britain’s EU withdrawal bill.

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"I've always believed we should rise to the highest possible standards of courtesy and respect in responding on behalf of the government to the legitimate questions of the legislature,” Bates said to the chamber. “I’m thoroughly ashamed at not being in my place, and therefore I shall be offering my resignation to the prime minister with immediate effect.”

His statement provoked cries of “No!”— and sporadic laughter — from his normally stoic colleagues.

Luckily, May gave him a pass.

"With typical sincerity, Lord Bates today offered to tender his resignation, but his resignation was refused as it was judged this was unnecessary,” the prime minister’s office said in a statement to the BBC.

His dramatic resignation shouldn’t have come as a surprise to his peers — Bates isn’t exactly a stranger to making dramatic gestures in furtherance of his values. He quit a previous posting as a Home Office minister in 2016 to walk the almost 2,000 miles between Buenos Aires to Rio de Janeiro to raise money for UNICEF and support the 2016 Olympics.