Nadine Dorries' constituents 'pawns in a political game'

Nadine Dorries said she would step down as an MP "with immediate effect" on 9 June. Since then three by-elections elsewhere have taken place, but the former Conservative government minister still holds her seat.

Records show she has not spoken in the House of Commons for more than a year and in May she received a £20,000 advance to write a book.

Leading figures in her Mid Bedfordshire constituency say she should either formally step down or do the job to her "utmost".

Ms Dorries said she had no comment to make.

A writ for a by-election cannot be moved while Parliament is in recess - and MPs have left for their summer break from the House of Commons and they do not return until 4 September.

A letter from Flitwick Town Council did not mince its words.

Its clerk Stephanie Stanley wrote to Ms Dorries this week "to raise the council's concerns and frustration at the continuing lack of representation for the people" in the constituency.

She was asked to write to Ms Dorries after a council meeting on 18 July. Her letter continued: "You have not maintained a constituency office for a considerable time, and it's widely understood that you have not held a surgery in Flitwick since March 2020.

"Rather than representing constituents, the council is concerned that your focus appears to have been firmly on your television show, upcoming book and political manoeuvres to embarrass the government for not appointing you to the House of Lords."

It concluded: "Our residents desperately need effective representation now, and Flitwick Town Council calls on you to immediately vacate your seat to allow a by-election."

But why did a council, which says it has a "long history of operating on a non-political basis", write its letter?

Flitwick's Mayor Andy Snape, 39, who is not a member of a political party, said: "The council's view of Nadine and the way she's representing our constituency is that she's absent.

"There doesn't seem to be any kind of thread going through the work that Nadine does which is related to the people of Flitwick or the people of Mid Bedfordshire."

The constituency is mostly rural and also includes the small towns of Ampthill, Shefford and Woburn.

Mr Snape added the council had reached out to Ms Dorries for help stocking its community fridge. While a caseworker in her office offered support, Ms Dorries did not get personally involved.

"I have had no contact with Nadine about the project," he said.

"I've never met Nadine, even though I've been a councillor for just over four years."

Blake Stephenson, chairman of Mid Bedfordshire Conservative Association, said: "The letter was addressed to Nadine and these are questions for her to answer."

There is no suggestion Ms Dorries has broken any rules.

Dairy farmer Tim Burton, 58, told the BBC that constituents like him were "being used as pawns in a political game".

Mr Burton, a Conservative Party member, was optimistic about Ms Dorries when he first met her in 2005.

He also praised her support for a badger cull he said was needed to try to curb tuberculosis in cattle.

"I realised that I had got a way of communicating with my elected MP and she would actually listen to me and she was able to do something to help," he recalled.

But he said that while he had "no problem with her hanging on" she was still representing constituents and "ought to be in the House [of Commons] and going to constituency meetings and hearing our views – because there's an awful lot going on in Mid Beds".

After putting "her heart into the job" and enduring "a lot of online abuse", Mr Burton continued, "she perhaps now prefers writing books and going on celebrity television".

"I would say make a decision and think of your constituents who have voted for you.

"She has said she's going to resign, so I feel she should do her job to her utmost until that time comes."

While she did not comment on Ms Dorries's position, Suzanna Austin, from the Federation of Small Businesses in Bedfordshire, said the constituency needed proper representation.

She said among the issues that needed addressing were infrastructure, connectivity and poor broadband, which might all benefit from a strong voice in Westminster.

For the businesses she represents, Ms Austin said: "It's important that they have an MP that is there and is representing their views and is putting their points across.

"It really needs an MP that's going to listen and work with the small businesses and help these rural businesses, that are really sandwiched between these two high-growth areas [around Cambridge and Milton Keynes], compete and stay on a level playing field.

"You do need somebody that is putting forward the views and ensuring that those needs are kept right at the forefront and the businesses are being represented."

Listen to BBC 3CR's latest Mid Bedfordshire by-election podcast with Amy Holmes here.

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