Nadine Dorries to quit as Tory MP over 'infighting and lack of cohesion' in Conservative party
9 February 2023, 19:36
Former culture secretary Nadine Dorries has announced she will not stand as an MP at the next general election.
Ms Dorries, who frequently positioned herself as a Boris Johnson loyalist, has been critical of Rishi Sunak since he became Prime Minister in October.
In July, the ex culture secretary posted an edited image of Mr Sunak wielding a knife, suggesting he stabbed Mr Johnson in the back.
Announcing her decision, Ms Dorries blamed a "lack of cohesion" and "infighting" in the Conservative party as her reasons for stepping down as an MP.
"Those MPs who drank the Kool-Aid and got rid of Boris Johnson are already asking themselves the question: who next?," Ms Dorries said on her TalkTV programme.
"And I'm afraid that the lack of cohesion, the infighting and occasionally the sheer stupidity from those who think we could remove a sitting prime minister, who secured a higher percentage of the vote share than Tony Blair did in 1997, just three short years ago.
"That they could do that and the public would let us get away with it. I'm afraid it's this behaviour that I now just have to remove myself from.
"And so, despite it being a job that I've loved for every year that I've done it, I'm now off. Oh gosh, I've just said it out loud, there's no going back now."
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Ms Dorries is the 18th Tory MP to announce she will not stand at the next general election as polls increasingly suggest the Conservative party could be out of government for the first time since 2010.
Other Tory MPs who have announced they will not stand include Sir Charles Walker, Sajid David and George Eustice.
Matt Hancock, who lost the Tory whip after appearing on reality TV show I'm A Celebrity, has also announced he will not stand at the next election.
