Mid Bedfordshire: ‘When did Nadine Dorries find time to be our MP?’

The political circus has descended on Mid Bedfordshire. In the few days since Nadine Dorries announced she was standing down, triggering a by-election, hundreds of party activists have been knocking doors. The Conservative Party chair and Liberal Democrat leader have both paid visits. But what do voters make of their departing MP and what do they want in the future?

Fresh from his haircut in Ali Barber near Flitwick station, Holden Nicholson admits he is not Nadine Dorries’ “biggest fan”.

He says the area “feels like it’s a bit of a Tory hotbed”.

“It’s always felt a bit like this can be a bit of a safe Tory seat, so they can stick in whoever they want here and it’s not going to go too bad,” the 23-year-old former student says.

For him – and others – her 2012 stint in the I’m a Celebrity! jungle sticks in the mind.

“It felt like we’re meant to have an MP that’s doing stuff for the area and she’s not even in the area supporting us, so what’s the point?”

What does he hope for from the next MP?

“Someone who is a bit more interactive with people – asking people what they want in the area and you can see marked improvements in where you’re living and the lives of people around here.”

Andrew Brownlee, 53, also waiting for a trim, goes further. He wants “transparency and authenticity – working for the population that they represent”.

“But that doesn’t seem to happen in modern day politics,” he added.

He believes the by-election is “fluff about nothing” and “won’t change anything”.

“There are genuine disparities in our population at the moment.

“We’re in a first-world country and there are third-world struggles going on. There’s real poverty and there’s real inequity in the way that we live and we’re not looking at it – or the politician-class aren’t looking at – those sorts of things.”

By Andrew Sinclair, BBC East of England political correspondent

Pandemonium had broken out in the room: journalists and MPs were either on their phones or gathered in excitable huddles, I went to the front of the room to grab my bag and came across Nadine Dorries standing on her own, fighting back tears.

That day in 2016 – when Boris Johnson announced that he would not be standing for the Conservative leadership – sums up the character of the former MP for Mid Bedfordshire: fiercely loyal and always wearing her heart on her sleeve.

A Scouser and a nurse, she stood out among the early 2000s intake of Tory MPs as someone with real, gritty life experience. She used it in her early speeches in Parliament where she made a name for herself – and made a lot of enemies – by trying to reduce the time limit for abortion.

She was also one of the first MPs to look for ways to connect with people who don’t normally engage with politics. She lived in a tower block for a TV documentary and famously appeared in the ITV reality show I’m a Celebrity. She was the first to be voted off but had no regrets.

We don’t know who the next MP for Mid Bedfordshire will be, but they are unlikely to be as colourful.

Ms Dorries, a former nurse who was raised on a Liverpool council estate, first won the seat in 2005. She held it in 2019 with a majority of more than 24,000.

She announced she would stand down “with immediate effect” after it emerged she would not be made a peer in Boris Johnson’s resignation honours.

As well as her time in ITV’s jungle, she has also been a prolific author.

“She went in the jungle, she’s written several books and she’s now got a television programme, and she’s supposed to be our MP. So when does she find time to do that?” asked Ann Dale, who has lived in Flitwick for 24 years.

The 80-year-old says she has never seen Ms Dorries in person but has “seen her on the television, of course” and that “everybody says they can’t get hold of her to get her to do anything for the constituency”.

“I don’t think she’s done a lot for the constituency actually,” she says.

Now Mrs Dale wants “somebody that will look after the constituency and get stuff done for us”.

“We’ve lost the bank, we’ve lost the Post Office. It’s all going down hill.

“We want people that know the area and do something for the area.”

But for others, Ms Dorries’ personal story has been one of her strengths.

“I’ve always quite liked her right from day one,” says Patricia Godfrey, 72.

“I remember reading about her history. I thought it sounded very interesting.

“I thought she was very good.”

“Someone who tells the truth, I think,” she added. “It would be nice to have someone more present.”

Ms Dorries may also be remembered for campaigning against plans for a large incinerator and a late night club in Ampthill.

Linda Neal says she is “sorry that we lost her”.

“She delivered, simple as that,” she says. “So many talk and don’t do, but she did.”

But her strongest words were reserved for whoever comes next.

“I want them to have a brain for a start – and they really need to focus on where this country’s going, instead of all this in-fighting.

“It’s like kids playing in the playground. I hate it.”

As parties jostle for position and begin naming candidates, Chris Archer, 66, says he “wouldn’t even bother voting at all”.

There are, he adds, too many issues that need addressing, from installing a lift at Flitwick station to local policing.

“We’re the forgotten community here, which is a shame because that is one of the reasons that we moved here,” he says.

“You can’t complain about the schools, the schools have been brilliant for the children.

“But it just doesn’t seem to be going in the right direction any more. It’s just not happening and nobody seems to do anything about it.”

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