Nadine Dorries, the former culture secretary, has announced she is quitting parliament, triggering a by-election in her Mid Bedfordshire constituency that will cause a headache for prime minister Rishi Sunak.
She had been pruned from Boris Johnson’s list of resignation peerages, set to be published on Friday afternoon, precisely because Sunak did not want to risk a by-election in the seat, according to The Times.
Dorries said on Twitter she had informed the Conservative chief whip she was standing down “with immediate effect”, adding it had been an honour to serve her constituency “but it is now time for someone younger to take the reins”.
This is a developing story.
