Nadine Dorries is officially no longer an MP, 81 days after she announced her resignation from the Commons with “immediate effect”.
The former culture secretary did not step down instantaneously, instead remaining in her role as a politician as she claimed she was looking into why she was refused a seat in the House of Lords.
Following the publication of a stinging resignation letter to Rishi Sunak over the weekend, Ms Dorries has finally vacated her Mid Bedfordshire seat.
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She was appointed as steward and bailiff of the Three Hundreds of Chiltern on Tuesday morning – one of two historical posts that MPs have to be given in order for them to give up their position as a member of parliament. There is no formal process to stop being a member of the Commons.
An arch Boris Johnson loyalist, Ms Dorries was expected to be elevated to the upper chamber in her former boss’s resignation honours list.
When this did not come to fruition, she announced her intention to resign, and has since blamed Mr Sunak for blocking her from the Lords; Mr Sunak denies he blocked her appointment.
As the Commons is currently on recess, a date cannot be set for the by-election to replace Ms Dorries in Mid Bedfordshire.
If the writ to hold the vote is moved on the first day MPs return – 4 September – the by-election should be held within 21 and 27 working days.
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This would put the likely timetable for a vote right around the time of Conservative Party and Labour Party conferences, which are being held from 1 October to 4 October, and 8 October and 11 October respectively.
Speaking today, the prime minister thanked Ms Dorries for her service.
Mr Sunak said: “I’m grateful to Nadine for her service both as an MP and a minister.
“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.
“He’s got a fantastic track record of already standing up for local people, and I hope he can continue to do that as a new member of parliament.”
The Conservatives, Labour and Liberal Democrats have all been campaigning vociferously in Ms Dorries’s seat over the summer, despite her not having left until today.
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Ms Dorries had a sizeable majority of 24,664. This is a larger majority than what was overturned by Labour in Selby and Ainsty earlier this year, or the Liberal Democrats in Somerton and Frome.
Labour finished second in the seat in 2019, with almost double the number of votes as the Lib Dems.