In the constituency of Mid Bedfordshire, most people have an opinion about their apparently AWOL MP Nadine Dorries.
“She’s an acquired taste,” says a man with a grin and a snort as he trots off through Ampthill’s weekly market.
The former culture secretary announced she was resigning “with immediate effect” in June after missing out on a peerage in her ally Boris Johnson’s honours list.
But she still hasn’t formally quit – meaning a by-election can’t take place.
“I’ve not seen her for years, but I sell her novels,” said the owner of the Ampthill market bookstand – a nod to Ms Dorries’ parallel career as a writer.
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”.
This is not the first time Nadine Dorries has ruffled feathers in her patch.
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.
A sign calling for Nadine Dorries to quit hung outside a local train station station. Pic: Jez Darr
Sky News received no reply when we visited two addresses registered to Ms Dorries in Worcestershire and the Cotswolds.
Text messages have…
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Source: news.sky.com
This notice was published: 2023-08-11 01:02:00
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