UK
Nadine Dorries resigns as Tory MP with scathing attack on Rishi SunakNadine Dorries sends resignation letter to Rishi Sunak – and launches scathing attack on prime minister
ANOTHER BYELECTION FOR TORIES TO LOSE
Sophie Wingate
Updated Sat, 26 August 2023
Nadine Dorries has resigned her parliamentary seat with a scathing attack on Rishi Sunak, accusing him of betraying Conservative principles and “demeaning his office by opening the gates to whip up a public frenzy” against her.
The Tory former minister had announced in June that she would quit the Commons with “immediate effect” in protest at not getting a peerage in Boris Johnson’s resignation honours list, but failed to follow through until now.
Her exit triggers a challenging by-election for the Prime Minister in her Mid Bedfordshire constituency this autumn, amid a polling slump for his party.
Ms Dorries on Saturday said she had submitted her resignation letter to Mr Sunak, publishing the blistering text in The Daily Mail, for which she writes a column.
However, it is understood Downing Street has not received formal notice of her resignation.
In her letter, she accused Mr Sunak of leading attacks on her resulting in “the police having to visit my home and contact me on a number of occasions due to threats to my person”.
“The clearly orchestrated and almost daily personal attacks demonstrates the pitifully low level your Government has descended to,” the former culture secretary wrote.
She also heavily criticised his record in Government, saying: “Since you took office a year ago, the country is run by a zombie Parliament where nothing meaningful has happened.
“You have no mandate from the people and the Government is adrift. You have squandered the goodwill of the nation, for what?”
Ms Dorries accused Mr Sunak of abandoning “the fundamental principles of Conservatism” and said “history will not judge you kindly”
The staunch ally of former premier Mr Johnson has angered voters, Opposition MPs and some in her own party by remaining in post since announcing her intention to resign more than 10 weeks ago.
She said she was delaying her exit while she investigated why she was refused a seat in the Lords.
In recent weeks, a growing number of Tory MPs had spoken out against her, with Tom Hunt accusing her of showing “extraordinary” entitlement for failing to formally quit.
Labour, the Lib Dems and two town councils in her constituency – Shefford and Flitwick – urged her to go.
Constituents complained that she was “making a mockery” of them with her absenteeism as she had not spoken in the Commons since June 2022 and last voted in April.
Mr Sunak previously said Ms Dorries’ voters were not “being properly represented”, but did not move to expel her.
In an interview with the The Mail on Sunday, Ms Dorries said it was “nonsense” her constituents have been ignored and that she was “disappointed” the Prime Minister made comments to that effect.
Nadine Dorries blamed Rishi Sunak for ousting Boris Johnson from No 10 (Oli Scarff/PA)
In her letter, Ms Dorries claimed she had first informed Cabinet Secretary Simon Case of her intention to resign in July last year, but that close allies of the Prime Minister “have continued to this day to implore me to wait until the next general election rather than inflict yet another damaging by-election on the party at a time when we are consistently twenty points behind in the polls”.
She said the book she has written titled The Plot: The Political Assassination Of Boris Johnson – to be published in September, “exposes how the democratic process at the heart of our party has been corrupted” and led her to conclude she could no longer remain as a backbench MP.
Ms Dorries told Mr Sunak in her letter that Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer “does not have the winning X factor qualities of a Thatcher, a Blair, or a Boris Johnson, and sadly, Prime Minister, neither do you.
“Your actions have left some 200 or more of my MP colleagues to face an electoral tsunami and the loss of their livelihoods, because in your impatience to become Prime Minister you put your personal ambition above the stability of the country and our economy.”
Labour and the Lib Dems are hopeful of overturning Ms Dorries’ 24,000 majority in the by-election in Mid Bedfordshire, which the Conservative Party has held since 1931.
Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey said: “The people of Mid Bedfordshire deserve better than this circus act that has followed the Conservatives these past few months.”
Downing Street declined to comment.
Sophie Wingate
Updated Sat, 26 August 2023
Nadine Dorries has resigned her parliamentary seat with a scathing attack on Rishi Sunak, accusing him of betraying Conservative principles and “demeaning his office by opening the gates to whip up a public frenzy” against her.
The Tory former minister had announced in June that she would quit the Commons with “immediate effect” in protest at not getting a peerage in Boris Johnson’s resignation honours list, but failed to follow through until now.
Her exit triggers a challenging by-election for the Prime Minister in her Mid Bedfordshire constituency this autumn, amid a polling slump for his party.
Ms Dorries on Saturday said she had submitted her resignation letter to Mr Sunak, publishing the blistering text in The Daily Mail, for which she writes a column.
However, it is understood Downing Street has not received formal notice of her resignation.
In her letter, she accused Mr Sunak of leading attacks on her resulting in “the police having to visit my home and contact me on a number of occasions due to threats to my person”.
“The clearly orchestrated and almost daily personal attacks demonstrates the pitifully low level your Government has descended to,” the former culture secretary wrote.
She also heavily criticised his record in Government, saying: “Since you took office a year ago, the country is run by a zombie Parliament where nothing meaningful has happened.
“You have no mandate from the people and the Government is adrift. You have squandered the goodwill of the nation, for what?”
Ms Dorries accused Mr Sunak of abandoning “the fundamental principles of Conservatism” and said “history will not judge you kindly”
The staunch ally of former premier Mr Johnson has angered voters, Opposition MPs and some in her own party by remaining in post since announcing her intention to resign more than 10 weeks ago.
She said she was delaying her exit while she investigated why she was refused a seat in the Lords.
In recent weeks, a growing number of Tory MPs had spoken out against her, with Tom Hunt accusing her of showing “extraordinary” entitlement for failing to formally quit.
Labour, the Lib Dems and two town councils in her constituency – Shefford and Flitwick – urged her to go.
Constituents complained that she was “making a mockery” of them with her absenteeism as she had not spoken in the Commons since June 2022 and last voted in April.
Mr Sunak previously said Ms Dorries’ voters were not “being properly represented”, but did not move to expel her.
In an interview with the The Mail on Sunday, Ms Dorries said it was “nonsense” her constituents have been ignored and that she was “disappointed” the Prime Minister made comments to that effect.
Nadine Dorries blamed Rishi Sunak for ousting Boris Johnson from No 10 (Oli Scarff/PA)
In her letter, Ms Dorries claimed she had first informed Cabinet Secretary Simon Case of her intention to resign in July last year, but that close allies of the Prime Minister “have continued to this day to implore me to wait until the next general election rather than inflict yet another damaging by-election on the party at a time when we are consistently twenty points behind in the polls”.
She said the book she has written titled The Plot: The Political Assassination Of Boris Johnson – to be published in September, “exposes how the democratic process at the heart of our party has been corrupted” and led her to conclude she could no longer remain as a backbench MP.
Ms Dorries told Mr Sunak in her letter that Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer “does not have the winning X factor qualities of a Thatcher, a Blair, or a Boris Johnson, and sadly, Prime Minister, neither do you.
“Your actions have left some 200 or more of my MP colleagues to face an electoral tsunami and the loss of their livelihoods, because in your impatience to become Prime Minister you put your personal ambition above the stability of the country and our economy.”
Labour and the Lib Dems are hopeful of overturning Ms Dorries’ 24,000 majority in the by-election in Mid Bedfordshire, which the Conservative Party has held since 1931.
Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey said: “The people of Mid Bedfordshire deserve better than this circus act that has followed the Conservatives these past few months.”
Downing Street declined to comment.
Read Nadine Dorries’ resignation letter in full - as Boris ally tells PM ‘history will not judge you kindly’
Andy Gregory
Sat, 26 August 2023
Boris ally Nadine Dorries has finally resigned as an MP with a scathing attack on Rishi Sunak.
In her resignation letter, which was published online by the Daily Mail, Ms Dorries said Mr Sunak had not achieved anything so far in government. She accused him of abandoning Boris Johnson’s manifesto and abandoning “the fundamental principles of Conservatism”.
Here is her letter in full.
“Dear prime minister,
“It has been the greatest honour and privilege of my life to have served the good people of Mid Bedfordshire as their MP for 18 years and I count myself blessed to have worked in Westminster for almost a quarter of a century. Despite what some in the media and you yourself have implied, my team of caseworkers and I have continued to work for my constituents faithfully and diligently to this day.
“When I arrived in Mid Bedfordshire in 2005, I inherited a Conservative majority of 8,000. Over five elections this has increased to almost 25,000, making it one of the safest seats in the country. A legacy I am proud of.
“During my time as a member of parliament, I have served as a backbencher, a bill committee chair, a parliamentary under-secretary of state before becoming minister of state in the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) during the Covid crisis, after which I was appointed as secretary of state at the department of Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS). The offer to continue in my cabinet role was extended to me by your predecessor, Liz Truss, and I am grateful for your personal phone call on the morning you appointed your cabinet in October, even if I declined to take the call.
“As politicians, one of the greatest things we can do is to empower people to have opportunities to achieve their aspirations and to help them to change their lives for the better. In DHSC I championed meaningful improvements to maternity and neonatal safety. I launched the women’s health strategy and pushed forward a national evidence-based trial for Group B strep testing in pregnant women with the aim to reduce infant deaths. When I resigned as secretary of state for DCMS I was able to thank the professional, dedicated, and hard-working civil servants for making our department the highest performing in Whitehall. We worked tirelessly to strengthen the Online Safety Bill to protect young people, froze the BBC licence fee, included the sale of Channel 4 into the Media Bill to protect its long-term future and led the world in imposing cultural sanctions when Putin invaded Ukraine.
“I worked with and encouraged the tech sector, to search out untaught talents such as creative and critical thinking in deprived communities offering those who faced a life on low unskilled pay or benefits, access to higher paid employment and social mobility. What many of the CEOs I spoke to in the tech sector and business leaders really wanted was meaningful regulatory reform from you as chancellor to enable companies not only to establish in the UK, but to list on the London Stock Exchange rather than New York. You flashed your gleaming smile in your Prada shoes and Savile Row suit from behind a camera, but you just weren’t listening. All they received in return were platitudes and a speech illustrating how wonderful life was in California. London is now losing its appeal as more UK-based companies seek better listing opportunities in the US. That, prime minister, is entirely down to you.
Nadine Dorries says she has uncovered a ‘dark story’ about how Boris Johnson was removed from office (Getty)
“Long before my resignation announcement, in July 2022, I had advised the cabinet secretary, Simon Case, of my intention to step down. Senior figures in the party, close allies of yours, have continued to this day to implore me to wait until the next general election rather than inflict yet another damaging by-election on the party at a time when we are consistently twenty points behind in the polls.
“Having witnessed first-hand, as Boris Johnson and then Liz Truss were taken down, I decided that the British people had a right to know what was happening in their name. Why is it that we have had five Conservative prime ministers since 2010, with not one of the previous four having left office as the result of losing a general election? That is a democratic deficit which the mother of parliaments should be deeply ashamed of and which, as you and I know, is the result of the machinations of a small group of individuals embedded deep at the centre of the party and Downing St.
“To start with, my investigations focused on the political assassination of Boris Johnson, but as I spoke to more and more people - and I have spoken to a lot of people, from ex-prime ministers, Cabinet ministers both ex and current through all levels of government and Westminster and even journalists - a dark story emerged which grew ever more disturbing with each person I spoke to.
“It became clear to me as I worked that remaining as a backbencher was incompatible with publishing a book which exposes how the democratic process at the heart of our party has been corrupted. As I uncovered this alarming situation I knew, such were the forces ranged against me, that I was grateful to retain my parliamentary privilege until today. And, as you also know prime minister, those forces are today the most powerful figures in the land. The onslaught against me even included the bizarre spectacle of the cabinet secretary claiming (without evidence) to a select committee that he had reported me to the whips and speakers office (not only have neither office been able to confirm this was true, but they have no power to act, as he well knows). It is surely as clear a breach of civil service impartiality as you could wish to see.
Dorries accused Sunak of abandoning Boris Johnson’s manifesto (Getty)
“But worst of all has been the spectacle of a prime minister demeaning his office by opening the gates to whip up a public frenzy against one of his own MPs. You failed to mention in your public comments that there could be no writ moved for a by-election over summer. And that the earliest any by-election could take place is at the end of September. The clearly orchestrated and almost daily personal attacks demonstrates the pitifully low level your government has descended to.
“It is a modus operandi established by your allies which has targeted Boris Johnson, transferred to Liz Truss and now moved on to me. But I have not been a prime minister. I do not have security or protection. Attacks from people, led by you, declared open season on myself and the past weeks have resulted in the police having to visit my home and contact me on a number of occasions due to threats to my person.
“Since you took office a year ago, the country is run by a zombie Parliament where nothing meaningful has happened. What exactly has been done or have you achieved? You hold the office of prime minister unelected, without a single vote, not even from your own MPs. You have no mandate from the people and the Government is adrift. You have squandered the goodwill of the nation, for what?
“And what a difference it is now since 2019, when Boris Johnson won an eighty-seat majority and a greater percentage of the vote share than Tony Blair in the Labour landslide victory of ‘97. We were a mere five points behind on the day he was removed from office. Since you became prime minister, his manifesto has been completely abandoned. We cannot simply disregard the democratic choice of the electorate, remove both the prime minister and the manifesto commitments they voted for and then expect to return to the people in the hope that they will continue to unquestioningly support us. They have agency, they will use it.
“Levelling up has been discarded and with it, those deprived communities it sought to serve. Social care, ready to be launched, abandoned along with the hope of all of those who care for the elderly and the vulnerable. The Online Safety Bill has been watered down. BBC funding reform, the clock run down. The Mental Health Act, timed out. Defence spending, reduced. Our commitment to net zero, animal welfare and the green issues so relevant to the planet and voters under 40, squandered. As Lord Goldsmith wrote in his own resignation letter, because you simply do not care about the environment or the natural world. What exactly is it you do stand for?
“You have increased Corporation tax to 25 per cent, taking us to the level of the highest tax take since the Second World War at 75 per cent of GDP, and you have completely failed in reducing illegal immigration or delivering on the benefits of Brexit. The bonfire of EU legislation, swerved. The Windsor Framework agreement, a dead duck, brought into existence by shady promises of future preferment with grubby rewards and potential gongs to MPs. Stormont is still not sitting.
Dorries told Rishi Sunak: ‘History will not judge you kindly’ (Reuters)
“Disregarding your own chancellor, last week you took credit for reducing inflation, citing your ‘plan’. There has been no budget, no new fiscal measures, no debate, there is no plan. Such statements take the British public for fools. The decline in the price of commodities such as oil and gas, the eased pressure on the supply of wheat and the increase in interest rates by the Bank of England are what has taken the heat out of the economy and reduced inflation. For you to personally claim credit for this was disingenuous at the very least.
“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. Your actions have left some 200 or more of my MP colleagues to face an electoral tsunami and the loss of their livelihoods, because in your impatience to become prime minister you put your personal ambition above the stability of the country and our economy. Bewildered, we look in vain for the grand political vision for the people of this great country to hold on to, that would make all this disruption and subsequent inertia worthwhile, and we find absolutely nothing.
“I shall take some comfort from explaining to people exactly how you and your allies achieved this undemocratic upheaval in my book. I am a proud working-class Conservative which is why the Levelling Up agenda was so important to me. I know personally how effective a strong and helping hand can be to lift someone out of poverty and how vision, hope and opportunity can change lives. You have abandoned the fundamental principles of Conservatism. History will not judge you kindly.
“I shall today inform the chancellor of my intention to take the Chiltern Hundreds, enabling the writ to be moved on September the 4th for the by-election you are so desperately seeking to take place.
“Yours sincerely,
“Nadine Dorries”
Andy Gregory
Sat, 26 August 2023
Boris ally Nadine Dorries has finally resigned as an MP with a scathing attack on Rishi Sunak.
In her resignation letter, which was published online by the Daily Mail, Ms Dorries said Mr Sunak had not achieved anything so far in government. She accused him of abandoning Boris Johnson’s manifesto and abandoning “the fundamental principles of Conservatism”.
Here is her letter in full.
“Dear prime minister,
“It has been the greatest honour and privilege of my life to have served the good people of Mid Bedfordshire as their MP for 18 years and I count myself blessed to have worked in Westminster for almost a quarter of a century. Despite what some in the media and you yourself have implied, my team of caseworkers and I have continued to work for my constituents faithfully and diligently to this day.
“When I arrived in Mid Bedfordshire in 2005, I inherited a Conservative majority of 8,000. Over five elections this has increased to almost 25,000, making it one of the safest seats in the country. A legacy I am proud of.
“During my time as a member of parliament, I have served as a backbencher, a bill committee chair, a parliamentary under-secretary of state before becoming minister of state in the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) during the Covid crisis, after which I was appointed as secretary of state at the department of Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS). The offer to continue in my cabinet role was extended to me by your predecessor, Liz Truss, and I am grateful for your personal phone call on the morning you appointed your cabinet in October, even if I declined to take the call.
“As politicians, one of the greatest things we can do is to empower people to have opportunities to achieve their aspirations and to help them to change their lives for the better. In DHSC I championed meaningful improvements to maternity and neonatal safety. I launched the women’s health strategy and pushed forward a national evidence-based trial for Group B strep testing in pregnant women with the aim to reduce infant deaths. When I resigned as secretary of state for DCMS I was able to thank the professional, dedicated, and hard-working civil servants for making our department the highest performing in Whitehall. We worked tirelessly to strengthen the Online Safety Bill to protect young people, froze the BBC licence fee, included the sale of Channel 4 into the Media Bill to protect its long-term future and led the world in imposing cultural sanctions when Putin invaded Ukraine.
“I worked with and encouraged the tech sector, to search out untaught talents such as creative and critical thinking in deprived communities offering those who faced a life on low unskilled pay or benefits, access to higher paid employment and social mobility. What many of the CEOs I spoke to in the tech sector and business leaders really wanted was meaningful regulatory reform from you as chancellor to enable companies not only to establish in the UK, but to list on the London Stock Exchange rather than New York. You flashed your gleaming smile in your Prada shoes and Savile Row suit from behind a camera, but you just weren’t listening. All they received in return were platitudes and a speech illustrating how wonderful life was in California. London is now losing its appeal as more UK-based companies seek better listing opportunities in the US. That, prime minister, is entirely down to you.
Nadine Dorries says she has uncovered a ‘dark story’ about how Boris Johnson was removed from office (Getty)
“Long before my resignation announcement, in July 2022, I had advised the cabinet secretary, Simon Case, of my intention to step down. Senior figures in the party, close allies of yours, have continued to this day to implore me to wait until the next general election rather than inflict yet another damaging by-election on the party at a time when we are consistently twenty points behind in the polls.
“Having witnessed first-hand, as Boris Johnson and then Liz Truss were taken down, I decided that the British people had a right to know what was happening in their name. Why is it that we have had five Conservative prime ministers since 2010, with not one of the previous four having left office as the result of losing a general election? That is a democratic deficit which the mother of parliaments should be deeply ashamed of and which, as you and I know, is the result of the machinations of a small group of individuals embedded deep at the centre of the party and Downing St.
“To start with, my investigations focused on the political assassination of Boris Johnson, but as I spoke to more and more people - and I have spoken to a lot of people, from ex-prime ministers, Cabinet ministers both ex and current through all levels of government and Westminster and even journalists - a dark story emerged which grew ever more disturbing with each person I spoke to.
“It became clear to me as I worked that remaining as a backbencher was incompatible with publishing a book which exposes how the democratic process at the heart of our party has been corrupted. As I uncovered this alarming situation I knew, such were the forces ranged against me, that I was grateful to retain my parliamentary privilege until today. And, as you also know prime minister, those forces are today the most powerful figures in the land. The onslaught against me even included the bizarre spectacle of the cabinet secretary claiming (without evidence) to a select committee that he had reported me to the whips and speakers office (not only have neither office been able to confirm this was true, but they have no power to act, as he well knows). It is surely as clear a breach of civil service impartiality as you could wish to see.
Dorries accused Sunak of abandoning Boris Johnson’s manifesto (Getty)
“But worst of all has been the spectacle of a prime minister demeaning his office by opening the gates to whip up a public frenzy against one of his own MPs. You failed to mention in your public comments that there could be no writ moved for a by-election over summer. And that the earliest any by-election could take place is at the end of September. The clearly orchestrated and almost daily personal attacks demonstrates the pitifully low level your government has descended to.
“It is a modus operandi established by your allies which has targeted Boris Johnson, transferred to Liz Truss and now moved on to me. But I have not been a prime minister. I do not have security or protection. Attacks from people, led by you, declared open season on myself and the past weeks have resulted in the police having to visit my home and contact me on a number of occasions due to threats to my person.
“Since you took office a year ago, the country is run by a zombie Parliament where nothing meaningful has happened. What exactly has been done or have you achieved? You hold the office of prime minister unelected, without a single vote, not even from your own MPs. You have no mandate from the people and the Government is adrift. You have squandered the goodwill of the nation, for what?
“And what a difference it is now since 2019, when Boris Johnson won an eighty-seat majority and a greater percentage of the vote share than Tony Blair in the Labour landslide victory of ‘97. We were a mere five points behind on the day he was removed from office. Since you became prime minister, his manifesto has been completely abandoned. We cannot simply disregard the democratic choice of the electorate, remove both the prime minister and the manifesto commitments they voted for and then expect to return to the people in the hope that they will continue to unquestioningly support us. They have agency, they will use it.
“Levelling up has been discarded and with it, those deprived communities it sought to serve. Social care, ready to be launched, abandoned along with the hope of all of those who care for the elderly and the vulnerable. The Online Safety Bill has been watered down. BBC funding reform, the clock run down. The Mental Health Act, timed out. Defence spending, reduced. Our commitment to net zero, animal welfare and the green issues so relevant to the planet and voters under 40, squandered. As Lord Goldsmith wrote in his own resignation letter, because you simply do not care about the environment or the natural world. What exactly is it you do stand for?
“You have increased Corporation tax to 25 per cent, taking us to the level of the highest tax take since the Second World War at 75 per cent of GDP, and you have completely failed in reducing illegal immigration or delivering on the benefits of Brexit. The bonfire of EU legislation, swerved. The Windsor Framework agreement, a dead duck, brought into existence by shady promises of future preferment with grubby rewards and potential gongs to MPs. Stormont is still not sitting.
Dorries told Rishi Sunak: ‘History will not judge you kindly’ (Reuters)
“Disregarding your own chancellor, last week you took credit for reducing inflation, citing your ‘plan’. There has been no budget, no new fiscal measures, no debate, there is no plan. Such statements take the British public for fools. The decline in the price of commodities such as oil and gas, the eased pressure on the supply of wheat and the increase in interest rates by the Bank of England are what has taken the heat out of the economy and reduced inflation. For you to personally claim credit for this was disingenuous at the very least.
“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. Your actions have left some 200 or more of my MP colleagues to face an electoral tsunami and the loss of their livelihoods, because in your impatience to become prime minister you put your personal ambition above the stability of the country and our economy. Bewildered, we look in vain for the grand political vision for the people of this great country to hold on to, that would make all this disruption and subsequent inertia worthwhile, and we find absolutely nothing.
“I shall take some comfort from explaining to people exactly how you and your allies achieved this undemocratic upheaval in my book. I am a proud working-class Conservative which is why the Levelling Up agenda was so important to me. I know personally how effective a strong and helping hand can be to lift someone out of poverty and how vision, hope and opportunity can change lives. You have abandoned the fundamental principles of Conservatism. History will not judge you kindly.
“I shall today inform the chancellor of my intention to take the Chiltern Hundreds, enabling the writ to be moved on September the 4th for the by-election you are so desperately seeking to take place.
“Yours sincerely,
“Nadine Dorries”
Rishi Sunak allies have fired back at “bitter” Nadine Dorries after she accused the PM of putting her personal safety at risk by whipping up “a public frenzy” against her.
Adam Forrest
Sun, 27 August 2023
The Boris Johnson loyalist launched a scathing attack on Mr Sunak as she finally formally resigned her seat 11 weeks after promising to go – telling him: “History will not judge you kindly”.
But senior Tory Bob Neill – a loyal Sunak supporter – accused Ms Dorries of presiding over a “theatre of the absurd” with her recent refusal to go unless documents about her denied peerage were released.
“She had become an embarrassment,” Mr Neill told Times Radio. “She was a pretty useless culture secretary and she finally created her own theatre of the absurd. It is so obviously motivated by personal bitterness and bile and has got no credibility at all.
“To accuse the prime minister, who is doing his best to get back to sound economic policy … of abandoning fundamental principles, really takes the biscuit, of all the political absurdity I’ve heard.”
Mr Neill, chair of justice select committee, also suggested that MPs could consider changing Commons rules to punish “deliberate non-attendance” to stop the saga surrounding Ms Dorries – who had not spoken in parliament for a year – from happening again.
Ms Dorries accused Mr Sunak in her resignation letter of betraying Conservative principles, running a “zombie” government and putting her personal safety at risk by whipping up “a public frenzy” against her.
She accused Mr Sunak of leading attacks on her resulting in “the police having to visit my home and contact me on a number of occasions due to threats to my person … The clearly orchestrated and almost daily personal attacks demonstrates the pitifully low level your government has descended to.”
Tory peer Gavin Barwell, former No 10 chief of staff under Theresa May, said her claim that Mr Sunak “whipped up a storm” against her was “absurd” – insisting that it had come from the constituency.
Nadine Dorries accused Sunak of ‘orchestrated’ attacks (Getty)
On her attack on Mr Sunak’s record, Lord Barwell told Times Radio: “It takes a certain degree of brass neck to attack the economic record of this government, when Nadine served in the Liz Truss government.”
One senior Tory MP told The Independent that Ms Dorries was “off her rocker” and was “making a show of herself”.
The Treasury confirmed it has been notified of Ms Dorries’ intention to step down, and she is expected to be removed from the Commons by being appointed to the historical position of Steward and Bailiff of the Three Hundreds of Chiltern.
That will pave the way for a by-election to be held in her Mid Bedfordshire constituency within weeks, causing a headache for Mr Sunak as his party languishes in the polls.
In her blistering statement published in The Mail on Sunday, Ms Dorries said Mr Sunak had abandoned “the fundamental principles of Conservatism” and said “history will not judge you kindly”.
“Since you took office a year ago, the country is run by a zombie parliament where nothing meaningful has happened,” she wrote. “You have no mandate from the people and the government is adrift. You have squandered the goodwill of the nation, for what?”
Nadine Dorries was a strong backer of Boris Johnson (PA)
Veterans minister Johnny Mercer suggested on Sunday the party had become bored of Ms Dorries’ attacks on the government. “She’s obviously made a quite personal attack on the prime minister, that’s for her. I just don’t think people are interested in hearing this anymore ... we need to move forward,” he told Times Radio.
Asked about Ms Dorries’ letter criticising the Sunak government’s record, Mr Mercer said that there was “stuff in there that’s clearly not true” – referring to her attack on defence spending. “She’s entitled to her view,” he added.
The Cabinet Office minister added: “It’s far better to be seen to fail while striving greatly rather than just sort of chucking rocks on the side.”
Mr Sunak previously said Ms Dorries’ voters were not “being properly represented”, but did not move to expel her. Labour, the Lib Dems and two councils in her constituency – Shefford and Flitwick – had urged her to go. Constituents complained that she was “making a mockery” of them.
In her letter, Ms Dorries claimed she had first informed cabinet secretary Simon Case of her intention to resign in July last year, but that close allies of the PM “have continued to this day to implore me to wait until the next general election rather than inflict yet another damaging by-election on the party”.
Ed Davey and Keir Starmer have been urged to forge an electoral pact in Mid Bedfordshire (Getty)
Despite her letters, a by-election writ cannot be formally moved until parliament gets back to business in early September – so a byelection cannot be held until October at the earliest.
Labour is hopeful of overturning Ms Dorries’ 24,000 majority in the by-election in Mid Bedfordshire, which the Conservative Party has held since 1931, having come second in 2019.
But the Liberal Democrats also believe they have the chance of springing another by-election shock after overturning a 19,000 blue majority in Somerton and Frome.
Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey told BBC Breakfast he is “increasingly confident we have a really good chance”. But Labour’s Peter Kyle told Sky News: “We are actually in a great position to win this seat in what would be an historic by-election victory.”
The campaign group Compass, which advocates tactical voting, have urged Labour and Lib Dems to get together and decide which party has the better chance of winning in Mid-Bedfordshire in a “non-aggression pact”.
Compass director Neal Lawson told The Independent: “The ghost of last month’s by-election in Uxbridge should loom large over Mid Bedfordshire. There, the progressive vote outnumbered the Conservative vote, but the Tories retained the seat because support for progressive parties was divided.
He added: “This must not happen in Mid Bedfordshire. Progressives can’t only do deals and work together when it’s easy - they must also do so when it’s hard.”
Lord Barwell said the Tory party’s chances in Mid-Bedfordshire were “not good” – but they could take heart from the prospect of Labour and Lib Dems splitting the vote “evenly”.
Adam Forrest
Sun, 27 August 2023
The Boris Johnson loyalist launched a scathing attack on Mr Sunak as she finally formally resigned her seat 11 weeks after promising to go – telling him: “History will not judge you kindly”.
But senior Tory Bob Neill – a loyal Sunak supporter – accused Ms Dorries of presiding over a “theatre of the absurd” with her recent refusal to go unless documents about her denied peerage were released.
“She had become an embarrassment,” Mr Neill told Times Radio. “She was a pretty useless culture secretary and she finally created her own theatre of the absurd. It is so obviously motivated by personal bitterness and bile and has got no credibility at all.
“To accuse the prime minister, who is doing his best to get back to sound economic policy … of abandoning fundamental principles, really takes the biscuit, of all the political absurdity I’ve heard.”
Mr Neill, chair of justice select committee, also suggested that MPs could consider changing Commons rules to punish “deliberate non-attendance” to stop the saga surrounding Ms Dorries – who had not spoken in parliament for a year – from happening again.
Ms Dorries accused Mr Sunak in her resignation letter of betraying Conservative principles, running a “zombie” government and putting her personal safety at risk by whipping up “a public frenzy” against her.
She accused Mr Sunak of leading attacks on her resulting in “the police having to visit my home and contact me on a number of occasions due to threats to my person … The clearly orchestrated and almost daily personal attacks demonstrates the pitifully low level your government has descended to.”
Tory peer Gavin Barwell, former No 10 chief of staff under Theresa May, said her claim that Mr Sunak “whipped up a storm” against her was “absurd” – insisting that it had come from the constituency.
Nadine Dorries accused Sunak of ‘orchestrated’ attacks (Getty)
On her attack on Mr Sunak’s record, Lord Barwell told Times Radio: “It takes a certain degree of brass neck to attack the economic record of this government, when Nadine served in the Liz Truss government.”
One senior Tory MP told The Independent that Ms Dorries was “off her rocker” and was “making a show of herself”.
The Treasury confirmed it has been notified of Ms Dorries’ intention to step down, and she is expected to be removed from the Commons by being appointed to the historical position of Steward and Bailiff of the Three Hundreds of Chiltern.
That will pave the way for a by-election to be held in her Mid Bedfordshire constituency within weeks, causing a headache for Mr Sunak as his party languishes in the polls.
In her blistering statement published in The Mail on Sunday, Ms Dorries said Mr Sunak had abandoned “the fundamental principles of Conservatism” and said “history will not judge you kindly”.
“Since you took office a year ago, the country is run by a zombie parliament where nothing meaningful has happened,” she wrote. “You have no mandate from the people and the government is adrift. You have squandered the goodwill of the nation, for what?”
Nadine Dorries was a strong backer of Boris Johnson (PA)
Veterans minister Johnny Mercer suggested on Sunday the party had become bored of Ms Dorries’ attacks on the government. “She’s obviously made a quite personal attack on the prime minister, that’s for her. I just don’t think people are interested in hearing this anymore ... we need to move forward,” he told Times Radio.
Asked about Ms Dorries’ letter criticising the Sunak government’s record, Mr Mercer said that there was “stuff in there that’s clearly not true” – referring to her attack on defence spending. “She’s entitled to her view,” he added.
The Cabinet Office minister added: “It’s far better to be seen to fail while striving greatly rather than just sort of chucking rocks on the side.”
Mr Sunak previously said Ms Dorries’ voters were not “being properly represented”, but did not move to expel her. Labour, the Lib Dems and two councils in her constituency – Shefford and Flitwick – had urged her to go. Constituents complained that she was “making a mockery” of them.
In her letter, Ms Dorries claimed she had first informed cabinet secretary Simon Case of her intention to resign in July last year, but that close allies of the PM “have continued to this day to implore me to wait until the next general election rather than inflict yet another damaging by-election on the party”.
Ed Davey and Keir Starmer have been urged to forge an electoral pact in Mid Bedfordshire (Getty)
Despite her letters, a by-election writ cannot be formally moved until parliament gets back to business in early September – so a byelection cannot be held until October at the earliest.
Labour is hopeful of overturning Ms Dorries’ 24,000 majority in the by-election in Mid Bedfordshire, which the Conservative Party has held since 1931, having come second in 2019.
But the Liberal Democrats also believe they have the chance of springing another by-election shock after overturning a 19,000 blue majority in Somerton and Frome.
Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey told BBC Breakfast he is “increasingly confident we have a really good chance”. But Labour’s Peter Kyle told Sky News: “We are actually in a great position to win this seat in what would be an historic by-election victory.”
The campaign group Compass, which advocates tactical voting, have urged Labour and Lib Dems to get together and decide which party has the better chance of winning in Mid-Bedfordshire in a “non-aggression pact”.
Compass director Neal Lawson told The Independent: “The ghost of last month’s by-election in Uxbridge should loom large over Mid Bedfordshire. There, the progressive vote outnumbered the Conservative vote, but the Tories retained the seat because support for progressive parties was divided.
He added: “This must not happen in Mid Bedfordshire. Progressives can’t only do deals and work together when it’s easy - they must also do so when it’s hard.”
Lord Barwell said the Tory party’s chances in Mid-Bedfordshire were “not good” – but they could take heart from the prospect of Labour and Lib Dems splitting the vote “evenly”.
