Constituents in Mid Bedfordshire have shared their thoughts about AWOL MP Nadine Dorries – with some saying they haven’t seen their Westminster representative in years.
Despite claiming to be a ‘constituent MP’ in 2014, the former culture secretary has been largely absent from parliament since she resigned “with immediate effect” in June without actually resigning – meaning a by-election can’t take place.
‘Wanted’ posters have been spotted in her constituency and a local town council has even called on her to resign immediately in a savage letter.
But Dorries has, thus far, remained unperturbed.
Speaking to Sky News, one local bookshop owner said he has not seen the Tory MP “for years – but I sell her novels”.
Another man says the MP used to be more present and had met her on a couple of occasions “usually when she was standing outside Waitrose”.
Back in 2013, thousands of her constituents signed a petition calling for a by-election after she turned up in the Australian jungle as part of the TV show I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!
That still grates for some locals.
“She can stay in the jungle because that’s just how much good she is for us … to be honest I’ve never seen the woman,” says one lady back in Ampthill.
In nearby Flitwick, three homemade posters hung near the train station proclaim “dosser Dorries out” and “£86k a year, but she’s never here!” – a reference to the salary paid to MPs.
But not everyone was as incensed.
One man said she had been “treated really badly” by Rishi Sunak and had been an “excellent MP”, before adding with a wry smile: “When she is in parliament.”
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