Tories Face New Crunch By-election After Nadine Dorries Finally Resigns

Health minister Nadine Dorries arrives at Downing Street, London, on Sept. 15, 2021. Victoria Jones/PA

The Conservative Party is facing another potentially damaging by-election after Nadine Dorries formally resigned 11 weeks after saying she'd quit.

Ms. Dorries, an arch loyalist of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, launched a scathing attack against Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Saturday in her letter of resignation, saying he has “no mandate from the people” and has “squandered the goodwill of the nation.”

Her constituency, Mid Bedfordshire, has been held by the Conservatives since 1931, but with Labour leading in national polls, the Tories would be anxious, especially after having lost two safe seats in July.

The Conservatives did manage to avoid a by-election wipeout by holding on to Mr. Johnson’s old Uxbridge and South Ruislip seat but with a much-reduced majority.

It’s understood the Treasury will facilitate Ms. Dorries’s exit from the House of Commons under the archaic process of being appointed to be Steward and Bailiff of the Three Hundreds of Chiltern on Tuesday.

This will enable the writ to be moved when Parliament returns on Sept. 4 for a by-election.

The Conservatives’ challenge in Mid Bedfordshire could be compounded by voters’ frustration over Ms. Dorries’ absenteeism as she has not spoken in the Commons since June 2022 and last voted in April.

On Aug. 17, Shefford Town Council urged her to quit, accusing her of having “scant interest” in her constituency. It came after councillors from Flitwick Town Council called on her to go in July, stating her focuses were “firmly” on her “television show, upcoming book, and political manoeuvres to embarrass the government for not appointing [her] to the House of Lords.”

Both councils are led by independents.

Ms. Dorries said on June 9 that she was resigning from her seat “with immediate effect” on Twitter, now called X, hours before her former boss Mr. Johnson stood down.

She found out on the same day that she was removed from Mr. Johnson’s resignation honours list, meaning she wouldn’t be given a seat in the House of Lords.

Ms. Dorries decided to delayed her formal resignation to wait for an explanation. She has also accused Mr. Sunak of blocking her.

Bitter Attacks

In her letter of resignation, which was also published in the Mail on Sunday, Ms. Dorries said she’s “proud” to have increased the Tory majority in Mid Bedfordshire.

She told Mr. Sunak he had ditched Mr. Johnson’s policies and “abandoned the fundamental principles of Conservatism.”

She also blamed the prime minister for widening the gap between the Conservative Party and Labour in polls and accused him of putting his “personal ambition above the stability of the country and our economy” in his “impatience to become prime minister.”

“It is a fact that there is no affection for Keir Starmer out on the doorstep. He does not have the winning X factor qualities of a Thatcher, a Blair, or a Boris Johnson, and sadly, Prime Minister, neither do you,” Ms. Dorries wrote.

Britain's Foreign Secretary Liz Truss (L) and former Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak, contenders to become the country's next prime minister, arrive to take part in the BBC's "The UK's Next Prime Minister: The Debate" in Victoria Hall in Stoke-on-Trent, central England, on July 25, 2022. Jacob King/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

The former nurse and cabinet minister has been a vocal critic of Mr. Sunak after the former chancellor’s resignation heralded a mass cabinet exodus that forced Mr. Johnson out of No. 10 Downing Street.

The row continued after Liz Truss, who defeated Mr. Sunak in their race to get the top job, only managed to keep the office for seven weeks, leading to Mr. Sunak becoming prime minister.

Ms. Dorries told Mr. Sunak in her letter, “I shall take some comfort from explaining to people exactly how you and your allies achieved this undemocratic upheaval in my book.”

She also claimed that the prime minister’s earlier remarks that her constituents were not “being properly represented” has led to police visiting and contacting her “on a number of occasions” due to threats against her.

Downing Street didn’t respond to The Epoch Times’ request for comment.

Candidates

Seven candidates have declared they were gunning for the seats after Ms. Dorries said she would resign in June.

The Tories named Festus Akinbusoye, Bedfordshire’s police and crime commissioner, while Labour selected Bank of England’s Climate lead for insurance Alistair Strathern.

Central Bedfordshire councillor Emma Holland-Lindsay is running for the Liberal Democrats. Her colleague, independent council chairman Gareth Mackey, will also contest the seat.

Reform UK has put forward Dave Holland, a former engineer who runs his own IT marketing company.

Green Party candidate Cade Sibley worked as a carer in adult social care and True and Fair Party candidate Alan Victor retired as a car company executive.

PA Media contributed to this report.