Nadine Dorries’ defection might not be the boon Nigel Farage wants
Nadine Dorries has never forgiven the Conservative Party for ousting her hero Boris Johnson, on whom she continues to lavish praise.
Now she’s taken her revenge on the Tories by declaring her support for another charismatic political leader: Reform UK’s Nigel Farage.
Of course, the ex-MP dubbed “Mad Nad” by Labour MPs when she was in Parliament has one thing in common with her new party leader.
Nadine Dorries was culture secretary under Boris Johnson. Pic: PA
They’ve both appeared on I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!, Dorries in 2012, without permission, for which she had the Conservative whip withdrawn.
And Farage went into the jungle in 2023. So perhaps the pair can now fondly recall eating pigs’ testicles, fish eyes, worms and crocodile anus. Or perhaps not.
“The Tory party is dead,” she declared in the Daily Mail. “Its members now need to think the unthinkable and look to the future.”
Dead? Like the dead parrot in the famous Monty Python sketch? “No, it’s not, it’s resting,” Tory loyalists will no doubt claim. Not entirely convincingly at present, however.
But when Nadine Dorries talks about Conservatives thinking the unthinkable, is she advocating a pact with Reform UK or more defections? It’s not clear.
Another intriguing question: does the Dorries defection increase the possibility of Reform UK landing their biggest catch, the Tories’ biggest beast in exile, Boris Johnson?
Unlikely. Mr Johnson has said the best way for the Conservatives to counter Farage is to ignore him and not mention him. Sound advice for the Tories and Labour, many would say.
Read more:
Nadine Dorries becomes latest Tory to defect to Reform
Nadine Dorries remains a close ally of Boris Johnson
Dorries was so devoted to Boris that back in 2016 she sobbed at the news conference when he bottled it and announced he wouldn’t stand in the leadership contest after David Cameron quit following his Brexit referendum humiliation.
She never had any time for Cameron. In 2012 she denounced the then PM and his chancellor George Osborne as “two arrogant posh boys who don’t know the price of milk”.
And when she quit the Commons she launched a “posh boy” attack on Rishi Sunak, claiming that as chancellor “you flashed your gleaming smile in your Prada shoes and Savile Row suit”, delivered “platitudes” and spoke about “how wonderful life was in California”.
Though a controversial figure, she does have her fans and supporters, who claim that from a working-class background – like Angela Rayner, anyone? – she’s achieved great successes inside and outside politics.
Nadine’s defection was announced on the eve of Reform’s conference in Birmingham. Pic: PA
Her novels are massively successful, for instance, and have earned her a lot of money. But she missed out on the peerage she claims Boris Johnson promised her. Boris Johnson? Broken promise? Never, surely.
Yet in the years after he was ousted, Dorries wrote a book entitled The Political Assassination Of Boris Johnson.
It was full of elaborate conspiracy theories claiming a secret Tory cabal, including Michael Gove and Dominic Cummings brought down her hero.
She even claimed Sunak plotted to bring down Johnson by conspiring with a “frightening individual” she codenamed Dr No, after the sinister Bond villain.
So just how big a prize is Dorries’ defection for Reform UK, then? Her I’m a Celebrity jaunt, her novels and her TV chat shows means she passes the famous test.
For most of her political career, however, she was a maverick backbencher. It was Johnson who stunned MPs by appointing her to his cabinet as culture secretary.
But by the time she quit as a Conservative MP in 2023, plunging the party into an unnecessary by-election which it duly lost, she was already an absentee MP.
She hadn’t spoken in the Commons for more than a year and had only voted six times in 12 months. Constituents claimed they hadn’t seen her “in years”.
In her Mid Bedfordshire constituency in Johnson’s 2019 election triumph she had a majority of almost 25,000. Yet in the by-election after she quit Labour won with a swing of more than 20%.
In recent months, Dorries has written in her Daily Mail columns about losing three stone by taking the weight loss drug Mounjaro.
But she says what’s been difficult and agonising for the past 12 months is her decision to leave the Conservative Party after more than 30 years.
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Sir Keir Starmer is reshuffling his cabinet following Angela Rayner’s resignation after admitting she had not paid enough stamp duty on the purchase of a new home.
The prime minister’s former right-hand woman stepped down as deputy prime minister, housing secretary and deputy leader of the Labour Party after standards adviser Sir Laurie Magnus found she had breached the ministerial code.
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She paid standard stamp duty on a flat she bought in Hove, East Sussex, in May after taking advice that it counted as her only home due to her disabled son’s trust owning the family home in Ashton-under-Lyne – but it was established she should have paid more.
Her resignation has left a hole around the cabinet table, which Sir Keir is now filling.
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This is who is moving and where to:
David Lammy – foreign secretary to justice secretary and deputy PM
After flexing his diplomatic muscles with Donald Trump and his deputy JD Vance over the past year, Mr Lammy will now move to the justice brief.
The move is likely to be a blow as the PM had promised, most recently in November, he would be foreign secretary for the whole parliament until 2029.
Although he is no longer holding one of the four great offices of state, he has also been made deputy prime minister, presumably to soften the blow.
Mr Lammy is close to Sir Keir, both as a friend and in his next door constituency, and was seen grinning as he went into Number 10 after being appointed.
David Lammy is now justice secretary and deputy PM. Pic: Reuters
Yvette Cooper – home secretary to foreign secretary
The Labour stalwart had made tackling illegal migration a priority, so the move could be seen as a disappointment for her.
However, she remains in one of the four great offices of state – PM, chancellor, foreign and home.
Yvette Cooper is now foreign secretary
Shabana Mahmood – justice secretary to home secretary
A big promotion, the straight-talking Labour MP will be tasked with tackling the small boats crisis and asylum seeker hotel protests.
She is no stranger to making difficult decisions, deciding to free criminals early to reduce prison overcrowding as justice secretary.
Her move makes it the first time all three great offices of state, after the prime minister, are held by women.
Shabana Mahmood is now home secretary. Pic: PA
Pat McFadden – chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and intergovernmental minister to work and pensions secretary and head of “super ministry”
Often seen as Sir Keir’s “number two”, Mr McFadden will take over a newly formed “super ministry”.
It will include the department for work and pensions and the skills remit of the department for education – taking a large part of Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson’s brief and taking over from Liz Kendall as work and pensions secretary.
While it is not a promotion at first glance, it is a much wider role than he has had as chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster – the highest-ranking Cabinet Office minister after the PM.
Pat McFadden is work and pensions secretary and head of the ‘super ministry’. Pic: PA
Darren Jones – chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
It is the second new job in the space of one week for the new chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. The close ally of the prime minister was promoted from chief secretary to the Treasury on Monday to chief secretary to the prime minister. And now he gets another new job.
Darren Jones is the new chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Steve Reed – environment secretary to housing secretary
A promotion for the man who has consistently defended the government lifting inheritance tax relief on farmers.
He takes over one of the two major vacancies left by Ms Rayner and will have the massive task of building 1.5 million new homes during this parliament, as promised by the government.
Steve Reed is now housing secretary
Jonathan Reynolds – business and trade secretary to chief whip
A slightly odd move for the MP seen as a steady pair of hands in his business secretary role.
He takes over from Sir Alan Campbell and will now have to hustle Labour MPs to vote with the government – something that has sometimes proved difficult with the current cohort.
Mr Reynolds will also attend cabinet, as is necessary so he can liaise between the party and No 10.
Jonathan Reynolds is the new chief whip
Peter Kyle – science secretary to business and trade secretary
A promotion for Mr Kyle, who is taking over from Jonathan Reynolds.
He is seen as a rising star and impressed Labour MPs when he refused to stand down after suggesting Nigel Farage was on the side of people like Jimmy Savile by opposing the government’s online safety law.
Mr Kyle will be in charge of getting trade deals with other countries over the line.
Peter Kyle is now business and trade secretary
Emma Reynolds – economic secretary to the Treasury to environment secretary
Probably the biggest promotion of the reshuffle, Ms Reynolds is taking on Mr Reed’s role after serving as a junior minister in the Treasury.
She will have to take on farmers and deal with the water companies – a big undertaking.
Emma Reynolds is now environment secretary
Liz Kendall – work and pensions secretary to science, innovation and technology secretary
Pat McFadden has taken her role as work and pensions secretary, while Ms Kendall takes over Peter Kyle’s brief.
He has made AI a major facet of his role so we will wait to see which direction Ms Kendall takes the job in.
Liz Kendall is the new science secretary. Pic: PA
Douglas Alexander – trade policy minister to Scotland secretary
A promotion for the Blair/Brown minister who returned to politics last year after being ousted in 2015 by then 20-year-old SNP MP Mhairi Black.
He takes over from Ian Murray, who has been removed from the cabinet.
Douglas Alexander is the new Scotland secretary
Sir Alan Campbell – Chief whip to Lord President of the Council and leader of the House of Commons
An MP since 1997 and part of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown’s frontbench, Sir Alan is taking over Lucy Powell’s role.
He will be in charge of organising government business in the Commons – a sizeable job.
Who is out?
Lucy Powell has been sacked as leader of the House of Commons.
Ian Murray has been sacked as Scotland secretary.
Bridget Phillipson remains as education secretary but her brief has narrowed as Mr McFadden has taken over the skills part of her job.
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