Nadine Dorries is not 'properly representing' her constituents Rishi Sunak tells LBC after she pledged to quit

2 August 2023, 09:46 | Updated: 2 August 2023, 11:15

Rishi Sunak says people 'deserve' an MP that engages with constituents and represents them

By EJ Ward

@EJWardNews

Speaking to LBC's Nick Ferrari during an exclusive phone-in Prime Minister Rishi Sunak admitted that Nadine Dorries's constituents were "not being properly represented."

The question comes after a council in Nadine Dorries’s constituency is demanding that she immediately resign as an MP, saying “residents desperately need effective representation now”.

The former culture secretary announced on 9 June that she was standing down as the MP for Mid Bedfordshire “with immediate effect”, but she has yet to formally resign.

Reacting to a question from LBC listener Nathan who asked, "What should happen to an MP who doesn't speak in Parliament in over a year and takes two months to officially resign."

"I think people deserve to have an MP that represents them, wherever they are, engaging with you, representing you. Whether that is speaking in Parliament, or being present in their constituencies," Mr Sunak said.

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When Nick asked the PM if that meant the people of Mid Bedfordshire were being failed, Mr Sunak shot back with: "At the moment people aren't being properly represented."

But the Prime Minister pledged a "fantastic candidate going forwards."

Flitwick Town Council called on Ms Dorries "to immediately vacate your seat" amid "concerns and frustration" about her focus on her TV work and "political manoeuvres to embarrass the Government".

In a strongly worded letter, the councillors said: "The last time you spoke in the Commons was 7 June 2022.

"You have not maintained a constituency office for a considerable time, and it's widely understood that you have not held a surgery in Flitwick since March 2020.

"Rather than representing constituents, the council is concerned that your focus appears to have been firmly on your television show, upcoming book and political manoeuvres to embarrass the Government for not appointing you to the House of Lords.

"Councillors noted that your behaviour widely reported in the press is not in line with the Seven Principles of Public Life set out by Lord Nolan in 1995."

They noted that the residents of Flitwick, which with a population of around 13,800 represents the largest concentration of voters in the constituency, "desperately need effective representation now".

"Flitwick Town Council calls on you to immediately vacate your seat to allow a by-election."

Mid-Bedfordshire has been held by Ms Dorries since 2005 and the Conservative Party generally since 1931.

Rishi Sunak joined Nick Ferrari at Breakfast to take your calls | Watch Again