Nadine Dorries’ announcement that she would step down as an MP, before then delaying her exit, has brought a new focus on her Mid Bedfordshire constituency – and claims that the former culture secretary is barely visible in an area she has represented since 2005.
“It’s been quite surprising how many people say, ‘We never see her here,’ or ‘She’s never done anything for this area,’” one opposition campaigner said. “We’re also getting lots of people who are angry at being left in limbo by her failure to resign.”
Dorries, who said she was pausing her exit while she sought more information about why she was denied a peerage in Boris Johnson’s resignation honours, had a near-25,000 majority in the 2019 general election.
Even though the largely rural constituency is solidly Tory – the last time the party lost the seat was in 1929 – both the Liberal Democrats and Labour believe they can win when the byelection is eventually called.
Activists from both parties, who have already started campaigning, say Dorries’ seemingly relaxed approach to local duties has made her unpopular with many voters they have talked to, helping their cause.
Labour has come second locally in recent general elections, but the Lib Dems – who are bookmakers’ favourites – argue they can tempt more former Tory voters.
Dorries last spoke in the Commons in July last year, and has voted only six times so far this year. While she is a prolific Twitter user, she has barely mentioned any local issues on her feed at all this year, focusing mainly on Johnson and the show she presents on TalkTV.
She does not list the address of a constituency office on her website or parliamentary page. Some local people say her last known office, in the town of Shefford, was closed down and is now a dance studio. It is not known if, or when, she undertakes constituency surgeries.
It has previously been reported that Dorries’ main home is in the Cotswolds. One television source says she has previously appeared on camera from this home and asked to be cited as being in London, which was refused.
Dorries has said she also has an address in her constituency, but it is not known if this is still the case, and if so how much time she spends there.
The Guardian contacted Dorries’ Westminster office by phone and email several times and messaged the MP directly, but received no reply. An automated reply to the emails said her staff only respond to people who give an address within her constituency.
Opposition members say the impression they have gained from initial campaigning is of an MP disconnected from her constituents. “I know that a lot of people don’t know what an MP can help them with, but it seems like people here have come to expect no local support from Dorries,” one Labour source said.
A Liberal Democrat source said: “It cannot be overstated just how unpopular Nadine Dorries is here. We’ve heard endless stories about people being let down, from letters never answered to meeting requests denied. Most constituents know she has completely given up on the job since the last election.”
The uncertainty over when Dorries will step down has caused difficulties for Festus Akinbusoye, the Bedfordshire police and crime commissioner who has been picked by the Conservatives to fight for the seat.
The local radio station BBC Three Counties, which was repeatedly refused an interview by Akinbusoye, ambushed him at an event, with the Tory candidate saying he did not know when the byelection might take place.
