Nadine Dorries’ departure is relief for Sunak but byelection holds danger

Nadine Dorries said Rishi Sunak had put ‘personal ambition above the stability of the country and our economy’. Photograph: Alastair Grant/AP

Rishi Sunak’s relief that Nadine Dorries is finally standing down as an MP has been tempered by fears of a difficult byelection ahead and anger among Conservative backbenchers that her angry outbursts will end up on Labour’s general election leaflets.

The former cabinet minister and Boris Johnson loyalist resigned her Commons seat of Mid Bedfordshire on Saturday, accusing the prime minister of betraying Tory principles and telling him: “History will not judge you kindly.”