Nadine Dorries standing down as Tory MP to trigger by-election
Rishi Sunak is facing a by-election after Nadine Dorries announced she is standing down as an MP “with immediate effect”.
The move comes after months-long speculation that the former culture secretary was to be handed a peerage in Boris Johnson’s resignation honours list, although recent reporting suggested the Government cut her from the list at the 11th hour to swerve an early election battle in her seat.
The former prime minister’s long-awaited list, which is said to include around 50 names, is expected to be released imminently.
Ms Dorries tweeted on Friday afternoon: “I have today informed the chief whip that I am standing down as the MP for Mid Bedfordshire, with immediate effect.
“It has been an honour to serve as the MP for such a wonderful constituency but it is now time for another to take the reins.”
The former Cabinet minister and staunch Johnson loyalist, who had previously detailed her plan to quit as the MP for Mid Bedfordshire at the next election, has a majority of more than 24,600 over the main Opposition party.
Dramatic announcement
Hours before her dramatic announcement, Ms Dorries told TalkTV that “the last thing I would want to do would be to cause a by-election” in her seat.
Speaking to the broadcaster on Friday morning, Ms Dorries said she had not heard anything but did not expect to be entering the Lords “any time soon”.
“I know nothing,” she said.
“There is a process and the last thing I would want to do would be to cause a by-election in my constituency.
“I don’t believe I will be going into the House of Lords any time soon.”
The Times earlier reported Ms Dorries, as well as Sir Alok Sharma – president of the Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow, were struck from Mr Johnson’s trimmed-down honours list to avoid potentially damaging by-elections as they would have stood down to take the peerages.
The prospects of such an electoral test would be more challenging for the Prime Minister in Sir Alok’s marginal Reading West constituency, where he has a 4,000-vote majority over Labour.
Ms Dorries, who hosts a talk show on TalkTV, has been an MP since 2005.
She has been a vocal critic of Rishi Sunak’s government since he entered Number 10 and is set to release a book on the downfall of former prime minister Mr Johnson.
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A human torpedo, this by-election could blow a hole in that needy child’s pram…
A quitter should forfeit the Ermine. Perhaps the Fossil Fuel Warrior might smell the decomposing rat and call rent-o-kill…
Tell Fat Shanks where to stick his honours list…
You next Greased Mogg…
How a bombed out P.M gets to dish out honours to his allies and cronies is beyond me. And it seems that the wrecker Truss will be allowed to do a similar thing for some of her silly chums too. If Carlo had a spine he’d tell them all to C*ycha bant, but he couldn’t give a flying f**k either.
Good riddance to bad rubbish.
Bye bye, Doris. Good riddance.
This is so funny, lol. Only recently the world,’s sharpest tool, not, Nadine Dorries was on TV giggly like a schoolgirl when it was suggested she was about to be made a peer by Boris Johnson in his honours list. She’s resigned as an MP because as a Boris loyalist has not been rewarded for all her brown-nosing. This likely done to spring an unwanted by-election headache for Rishy Sunak. So don’t be surprise to see both her and Matt Hancock on next year’s , I’m a Celebrity South Africa, eating a wild boar”s anus,. Which is ironic really seeing… Read more »
Absolutely good riddance to this totally incompetent piece of political rubbish. God only knows what’s in the water in mid Bedfordshire for them to want this drooling sycophantic vacuous airhead to represent them. We can only hope she takes a few more of her fellow callous thick heads with her. Unfortunately it looks quite a few will be slithering their way into the already grossly over loaded second chamber where they will no doubt continue their disruptive wrecking ball brand of politics which is all they know. I should by now be saying ” roll on the next GE” &… Read more »
What a cesspit of sycophants and chancers. The system is unfit for purpose.
Looks like Das Boot U-Fat Shanks has put another tin-fish in Rishi’s leaky old Ship of Fools, now to hunt down Mr where’s the PPE Hunt. That boy is as guilty as sin…
Serious trouble with a Brighton Hospital, one where Mr Hunt claimed the management team was the best in NHS…
Apparently they were good at making cuts to the budget…
“Hours before her dramatic announcement, Ms Dorries told TalkTV that “the last thing I would want to do would be to cause a by-election” in her seat.”
Spot the hypocrite.