A local council in Nadine Dorries’s constituency is demanding she resigns as an MP “immediately”, saying “residents desperately need effective representation now”.
The former culture secretary announced on 9 June that she was standing down as an MP “with immediate effect”, just ahead of her close ally Boris Johnson’s own exit from parliament.
But she still hasn’t formally resigned and remains the representative for Mid-Bedfordshire.
In a terse letter to Ms Dorries, Flitwick Town Council said the issue had been raised at a recent meeting, and councillors wanted her to “immediately vacate” her seat to allow a by-election.
“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,” wrote the council’s town clerk, Stephanie Stanley.
“With an estimated population of 13,800 people, Flitwick represents the largest concentration of voters in the Mid-Bedfordshire constituency.
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“Our residents desperately need effective representation now, and Flitwick Town Council calls on you to immediately vacate your seat to allow a by-election.”
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Nadine Dorries spoke to Sky News after her resignation announcement in June
The town mayor, Councillor Andy Snape, said demands had been growing across the community for Ms Dorries to “do the right thing rather than continue to hold the people of Mid-Bedfordshire to ransom while she plays political games for personal gain”.
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He claimed the MP had not held a surgery in the town since March 2020 and had not maintained a constituency office “for a considerable time”.
Councillor Snape also said her “absence and lack of interest/contribution” had held back local projects, as he hit out at her living in the Cotswolds rather than in her constituency.
In a statement on social media, he added: “It’s the job of our MP to represent the views of Mid-Bedfordshire constituents in parliament and hold the government accountable, pushing for positive changes to policy and legislation.
“In my personal opinion, Dorries hasn’t done this.
“Her focus appears to be firmly on her TalkTV show, her new Daily Mail column, and, more recently, her upcoming tell-all book and exerting as much pressure as possible to embarrass the government into giving her a peerage.
“Regardless of your political viewpoint, Mid-Bedfordshire residents desperately need representation at Westminster. It’s time for Dorries to put Mid-Bedfordshire first and let someone else have a go.”
Image: Nadine Dorries is a close ally of former prime minister Boris Johnson
Ms Dorries announced her resignation last month, just hours before Mr Johnson quit in protest against the Privileges Committee findings – ruling he deliberately misled parliament over lockdown breaking parties in Downing Street.
At the time, she said a “new life is opening up” in front of her, so it was the right time to step down.
However, rumours swelled that she had been in line for a peerage and was cut from Mr Johnson’s resignation honours list at the last minute to ensure it got the sign off from the current incumbent in Number 10.
In the following days, Ms Dorries said she would not formally resign until after she got answers from Downing Street about why she did not get her peerage.
“It is absolutely my intention to resign,” she tweeted. “But given what I know to be true and the number of varying and conflicting statements issued by Number 10 since the weekend, this process is now sadly necessary.”
The delay to her exit has drawn criticism from all over the House, with the Tory chair of the public administration and constitutional affairs committee referring to her as the “lingering member for Mid-Bedfordshire”.
Liberal Democrat MP Sarah Olney said the letter showed people were “fed up with being taken for granted”, adding: “While families across Bedfordshire are struggling to see a GP and facing soaring mortgage costs, Nadine Dorries continues to hold on to a job she has no interest is doing.
“Dorries needs to step aside now to give people the chance to elect a proper local champion, one that will stand up for them and champion their voices in parliament.”
Sky New has contacted Ms Dorries for a response to the town council’s letter.
The Mid Bedfordshire Conservative Association had no comment on the row, telling Sky News: “This letter was addressed to Nadine, and therefore a matter for her.”
Only a quarter of British adults think Sir Keir Starmer will win the next general election, as the party’s climbdown over welfare cuts affects its standing with the public.
A fresh poll by Ipsos, shared with Sky News, also found 63% do not feel confident the government is running the country competently, similar to levels scored by previous Conservative administrations under Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak in July 2022 and February 2023, respectively.
The survey of 1,080 adults aged 18-75 across Great Britain was conducted online between 27 and 30 June 2025, when Labour began making the first of its concessions, suggesting the party’s turmoil over its own benefits overhaul is partly to blame.
The prime minister was forced into an embarrassing climbdown on Tuesday night over his plans to slash welfare spending, after it became apparent he was in danger of losing the vote owing to a rebellion among his own MPs.
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Govt makes last-minute concession on welfare bill
The bill that was put to MPs for a vote was so watered down that the most controversial element – to tighten the eligibility criteria for personal independence payments (PIP) – was put on hold, pending a review into the assessment process by minister Stephen Timms that is due to report back in the autumn.
The government was forced into a U-turn after Labour MPs signalled publicly and privately that the previous concession made at the weekend to protect existing claimants from the new rules would not be enough.
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While the bill passed its first parliamentary hurdle last night, with a majority of 75, 49 Labour MPs still voted against it – the largest rebellion in a prime minister’s first year in office since 47 MPs voted against Tony Blair’s Lone Parent benefit in 1997, according to Professor Phil Cowley from Queen Mary University.
It left MPs to vote on only one element of the original plan – the cut to Universal Credit (UC) sickness benefits for new claimants from £97 a week to £50 from 2026/7.
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Govt makes last-minute concession on welfare bill
An amendment brought by Labour MP Rachael Maskell, which aimed to prevent the bill progressing to the next stage, was defeated but 44 Labour MPs voted for it.
The incident has raised questions about Sir Keir’s authority just a year after the general election delivered him the first Labour landslide victory in decades.
And on Wednesday, Downing Street insisted Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, was “not going anywhere” after her tearful appearance in the House of Commons during prime minister’s questions sparked speculation about her political future.
The Ipsos poll also found that two-thirds of British adults are not confident Labour has the right plans to change the way the benefits system works in the UK, including nearly half of 2024 Labour voters.
Keiran Pedley, director of UK Politics at Ipsos, said: “Labour rows over welfare reform haven’t just harmed the public’s view on whether they can make the right changes in that policy area, they are raising wider questions about their ability to govern too.
“The public is starting to doubt Labour’s ability to govern competently and seriously at the same levels they did with Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak’s governments. Labour will hope that this government doesn’t end up going the same way.”
Image: Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves (right) crying as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer speaks. Pic: Commons/UK Parliament/PA
It is hard to know for sure right now what was going on behind the scenes, the reasons – predictable or otherwise – why she appeared to be emotional, but it was noticeable and it was difficult to watch.
Her spokesperson says it was a personal matter that they will not be getting into.
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Even Kemi Badenoch, not usually the most nimble PMQs performer, singled her out. “She looks absolutely miserable,” she said.
Anyone wondering if Kemi Badenoch can kick a dog when it’s down has their answer today.
The Tory leader asked the PM if he could guarantee his chancellor’s future: he could not. “She has delivered, and we are grateful for it,” Sir Keir said, almost sounding like he was speaking in the past tense.
Image: Rachel Reeves looked visibly upset behind Keir Starmer at PMQs. Pic PA
It is important to say: Rachel Reeves’s face during one PMQs session is not enough to tell us everything, or even anything, we need to know.
But given the government has just faced its most bruising week yet, it was hard not to speculate. The prime minister’s spokesperson has said since PMQs that the chancellor has not offered her resignation and is not going anywhere.
But Rachel Reeves has surely seen an omen of the impossible decisions ahead.
How will she plug the estimated £5.5bn hole left by the welfare climbdown in the nation’s finances? Will she need to tweak her iron clad fiscal rules? Will she come back for more tax rises? What message does all of this send to the markets?
If a picture tells us a thousand words, Rachel Reeves’s face will surely be blazoned on the front pages tomorrow as a warning that no U-turn goes unpunished.