Nadine Dorries: Tory MP finally formally resigns as campaigning starts ahead of Mid Bedfordshire by-election

After weeks of intense focus on her position, Nadine Dorries has formally quit as the MP for Mid Bedfordshire.

This was confirmed by the Treasury, which said the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt had appointed her to be Steward and Bailiff of the Three Hundreds of Chiltern, the archaic mechanism for quitting the Commons. The former Culture Secretary finally handed in her resignation at the weekend, after previously saying in June that she would quit after not getting a peerage.

When NationalWorld visited her constituency earlier this month, almost everyone we spoke to said they wanted Dorries to resign. One woman said: “It’s an illusion we have an MP - she doesn’t exist as far as we can tell."

Before resigning, Dorries had not spoken in the House of Commons for more than a year and had only mentioned her constituency name once in the chamber since the 2019 election. She had also got rid of her constituency office. Her daughter is employed as her senior parliamentary assistant, being paid between £45,000 and £49,999 a year.

Her formal exit means a motion called a “writ” can be moved when Parliament returns on 4 September, giving between 21 and 27 working days for the by-election. That means the last day a by-election could be held would be the 10 October - during the Labour Party's conference.

Labour and the Liberal Democrats are already campaigning for the seat, with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak facing the prospect of another difficult electoral test for the Conservatives in a nominally safe constituency. It has been Tory since 1931, with Dorries winning a majority of 24,664 at the 2019 election.

However, Labour has topped the most recent polls in the constituency, while the Liberal Democrats are the bookies' favourites. Roger Kennedy, 75, told NationalWorld that he voted for Dorries at the last election, but he would not be voting Conservative again. “I’m very disappointed with the fact she’s not come back into the local community and acted for the local community," he said.

“She’s done a lot of things in the past which I’ve not agreed with. Although I voted for her, I have now changed my allegiance - I will not be voting in that way again. It would be nice to have personal representation, a lot more to do with the community.”

Festus Akinbusoye, Bedfordshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner - a role which has an oath of impartiality - has been selected as the Conservative candidate. His office said: “While Mr Akinbusoye will undoubtedly now be campaigning for the upcoming by-election after being selected as the Conservative Party candidate for the Mid Bedfordshire constituency, he will continue to carry out his PCC duties.”

Alistair Strathern, a maths teacher who also works for the Bank of England, is Labour’s candidate. Strathern is currently a councillor in Waltham Forest, north-east London, but has moved back to Mid Bedfordshire, which is where he grew up. 

He told NationalWorld: “When we’re out on the doors, pretty much universally, residents are desperate to see someone who’s going to be taking the job seriously on a full-time basis. We’re struggling to find any supporters of the incumbent MP, and we’re finding plenty of people who are both let down by her, and the Conservative government.”

Emma Holland-Lindsay, a councillor from neighbouring Leighton Buzzard, has been selected as the Lib Dem candidate. She said: “I am determined to be a strong local champion for communities across Bedfordshire.”

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey will visit Mid Bedfordshire later on Tuesday (29 August), his fourth campaign stop in the seat since Dorries originally announced her plan to depart and the first since she formally stood down. While there he will call for increased funding to expand capacity at local GP practices.

“The people of Mid Bedfordshire have been taken for granted for too long,” Davey said. “From not being able to see a GP to having an absent MP, it’s clear this part of the world has been completely ignored by the Conservatives.

“People across Bedfordshire should be able to get an appointment with their doctor when they need it – instead we have a government that just can’t get the basics right."

In previous recent by-elections, the Lib Dems and Labour have reduced their campaigning in constituencies where the other party is the favourite in a bid to topple the Conservatives. This worked in Frome and Somerton, where the Liberal Democrats won, and Selby and Ainsty, where Labour was victorious.

However in Mid Bedfordshire, neither main opposition party is backing down. In 2019, Labour came second with 14,028 votes and the Lib Dems third with 8,171.

Davey said: "The Liberal Democrats are the clear challengers in this by-election, every vote for our local champion Emma Holland-Lindsay will be a vote to send a message to the Conservatives that enough is enough."

This, however, could help the Conservatives and Akinbusoye, if the opposition parties take votes of each other. Independent candidate Gareth Mackey, who is currently polling third ahead of the Lib Dems, could also affect the outcome. He thinks that being separate from party political infighting and being present and listening is exactly the kind of MP the constituents want.

Transport Secretary Mark Harper admitted the by-election would be “tough”, telling TalkTV on Tuesday: “All mid-term by-elections are tough. We’ve got a fantastic candidate in Festus (Akinbusoye), who’s the police and crime commissioner there.

“He’s well known, well respected and well liked. I know that from doors that I’ve knocked on we will be fighting hard for every vote. But you’re right, it’s tough mid-term by-elections, it won’t be an easy fight. But we’re going to go out there and give it everything we’ve got.”

Downing Street on Tuesday rejected Dorries’ criticism that the Prime Minister has presided over a “zombie Parliament”. In a stinging resignation letter, she said: "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."

Rishi Sunak said that he was “grateful” to Dorries “for her service both as an MP and a minister”. He had previously said that she was not representing her constituents properly.

The PM said: “We are looking forward, and delighted to support our fantastic candidate in Mid Beds, Festus Akinbusoye, who is the local candidate, the only local candidate in this election; also the local police and crime commissioner."