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| Nadine Dorries stands down as MP with immediate effect | Nadine Dorries stands down as MP with immediate effect |
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| Tory former minister and MP for Mid Bedfordshire says it is ‘time for someone younger to take the reins’ | Tory former minister and MP for Mid Bedfordshire says it is ‘time for someone younger to take the reins’ |
| Nadine Dorries, the Conservative former culture secretary, has announced she is standing down as an MP with immediate effect. | Nadine Dorries, the Conservative former culture secretary, has announced she is standing down as an MP with immediate effect. |
| She made the announcement in a tweet after having reportedly been dropped from Boris Johnson’s resignation honours. The move means there will be a byelection in her Mid Bedfordshire constituency where, in 2019, the Conservatives won a 24,000 majority. | She made the announcement in a tweet after having reportedly been dropped from Boris Johnson’s resignation honours. The move means there will be a byelection in her Mid Bedfordshire constituency where, in 2019, the Conservatives won a 24,000 majority. |
| It will be the first byelection where the Tories will seek to retain a seat since Rishi Sunak became prime minister in October 2022. | It will be the first byelection where the Tories will seek to retain a seat since Rishi Sunak became prime minister in October 2022. |
| Dorries tweeted: “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 someone younger to take the reins.” | Dorries tweeted: “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 someone younger to take the reins.” |
| Dorries, a staunch Johnson loyalist, had previously detailed her plan to quit as an MP at the next election. Hours before her dramatic announcement, Dorries told TalkTV that “the last thing I would want to do would be to cause a byelection” in her seat. | Dorries, a staunch Johnson loyalist, had previously detailed her plan to quit as an MP at the next election. Hours before her dramatic announcement, Dorries told TalkTV that “the last thing I would want to do would be to cause a byelection” in her seat. |
| Speaking to the broadcaster, where she hosts a chatshow, on Friday morning, Dorries said she had not heard anything but did not expect to be entering the Lords “any time soon”. | Speaking to the broadcaster, where she hosts a chatshow, on Friday morning, Dorries said she had not heard anything but did not expect to be entering the Lords “any time soon”. |
| Speaking on Friday after the announcement, Dorries said “something significant” had persuaded her to quit. “The bottom line is really, I’m doing my own show on TalkTV and I write a column in the Daily Mail every Tuesday, which takes a lot more time than I ever thought it would do,” she said. | |
| “And the House of Lords thing was on the cards and it’s gone back to Holac (House of Lords appointments commission) for MPs to be vetted or whatever and I just thought, you know, I think this is the time actually for me to stand down.” | |
| The Times earlier reported that Dorries, as well as Sir Alok Sharma, the president of the Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow, were struck from Johnson’s trimmed-down honours list to avoid damaging byelections 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 Sharma’s marginal Reading West constituency, where he has a 4,000-vote majority over Labour. | The prospects of such an electoral test would be more challenging for the prime minister in Sharma’s marginal Reading West constituency, where he has a 4,000-vote majority over Labour. |
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| Labour sources pointed to a recent constituency level poll that had the party within three points of the Tories. Shabana Mahmood, Labour’s national campaign coordinator, said: “After 13 years of failed Tory government it’s time for a change. The departure of Nadine Dorries shows Rishi Sunak is too weak to lead a Tory party that has lost interest in the people of mid Bedfordshire.” | |
| Dorries, who has been an MP since 2005, has been a vocal critic of Sunak’s government since he entered No 10 and is to release a book on the downfall of Johnson. | Dorries, who has been an MP since 2005, has been a vocal critic of Sunak’s government since he entered No 10 and is to release a book on the downfall of Johnson. |
| After her promotion to culture secretary under Johnson’s leadership, Dorries led the now-ditched plan to privatise Channel 4. | After her promotion to culture secretary under Johnson’s leadership, Dorries led the now-ditched plan to privatise Channel 4. |
| She was no stranger to controversy during her time in parliament, losing the Conservative whip in 2013 as a result of her appearance on ITV’s I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here!. | She was no stranger to controversy during her time in parliament, losing the Conservative whip in 2013 as a result of her appearance on ITV’s I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here!. |