09 August 2023 , 13:37
737
0
A Tory minister meekly complained about Nadine Dorries’ absence from Parliament today - while refusing to actually oust her.
Immigration minister Robert Jenrick warned that her constituents in Mid Bedfordshire are not being “properly represented”.
The ex-Cabinet minister has not spoken in the Commons for longer than a year. Her last contribution was on July 7, which was the day Boris Johnson announced he would resign as PM. Ms Dorries last voted in April this year.
She announced in June she was quitting Parliament with “immediate effect” after she was snubbed for a peerage. But eight weeks later, she still hasn’t formally resigned as an MP.
Someone yesterday put up a banner at Flitwick Railway Station in her constituency that read: "Dosser Dorries Out."
Teachers, civil servants and train drivers walk out in biggest strike in decade
Mr Jenrick has said it is time for her to quit. "I think being a Member of Parliament is a special privilege. You sign up for a term in office," he told Sky News. "If you decide you want to leave Parliament for whatever reason, you need to get on and do that. I don't think that Nadine Dorries' constituents are being properly represented. I hope she'll reach that conclusion soon."
However, the Government is not supporting a proposal for MPs to try and force her out and she has faced no disciplinary action from the party after going AWOL.
Labour MP Sir Chris Bryant, who is chair of the standards committee, has suggested she could be sanctioned if she still has not voted by October 26, which will mark six months since she last did. Under his proposals, a motion could be tabled requiring her to attend the Commons on a certain date.
If she failed to do so this could be considered a "contempt of Parliament", which could be punished with a suspension. If MPs approved a suspension of 10 days or more this would give her constituents the opportunity to trigger a by-election.
Downing Street has rejected Sir Chris’s suggested plan. The Prime Minister’s spokesman earlier this week said: “It’s first and foremost for constituents to make that judgement about whether their respective MPs are serving their constituencies.” He added: “I’m not aware of any plans on the Government’s part to introduce that power. It is for the British people to make that decision about whether they are well served by their MPs.”
A poll last month found Labour is on course to overturn the 24,664 Conservative majority in Mid Bedfordshire if there is a by-election. It has been held by the Tories since 1931.
Away from Parliament, Mrs Dorries is hosting a weekly chat show on Talk TV and has written a book titled The Plot: The Political Assassination Of Boris Johnson, to be published in September, just days before the Conservative Party conference.
* Follow Mirror Politics on Snapchat, Tiktok, Twitter and Facebook.