Nadine Dorries
Encyclopedia
Nadine Vanessa Dorries (née Bargery, born 21 May 1957) is a British
Conservative Party
politician
who has been the Member of Parliament
(MP) for Mid Bedfordshire
since 2005
. She has been involved in parliamentary attempts to change the laws on abortion.
Born in Liverpool
, England
, Dorries initially worked as a nurse eventually becoming a medical representative to Ethicla Ltd. During her earlier career she spend a year in Zambia
as the head of a community school. Having returned home a year later, she founded Company Kids Ltd, which provided child day-care services for working parents. The company was sold in 1998. She became PPC for Hazel Grove
where she did not manage to unseat the Liberal Democrat MP Andrew Stunell
in 2001.
In 2005, Dorries was finally elected to the House of Commons at that year's general election
for the safe seat of Mid-Bedfordshire, with a majority of 11,355. Since taking her seat, Dorries has introduced several unsuccessful Private Member's Bills
in the House of Commons including attempts to reduce the time limit for abortion in Great Britain
, to change the rules regarding the counselling of the women involved and the advocacy of sexual abstince for girls in sex education. She is also an opponent of the current Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow
, who has attempted to have him removed from the post, and has criticised and clashed with her party leader, the Prime Minister David Cameron
.
Dorries has been described as a right-wing conservative, and whose high profile in the media, has led to her being called "Mad Nad". In 2008 Dorries won the The Spectator
magazine's Reader's Representative Award.
, England
, the daughter of a bus driver who died aged 42. She was raised in Anfield, Liverpool, and educated at Rose Heath Primary School, and Halewood Grange Comprehensive School (while Alan Bleasdale
taught there) before her family moved to Runcorn
. Dorries grew up on a council estate
, and her parents took advantage of the "Right to Buy
" scheme. She left the Merseyside area after she married mining engineer Paul Dorries.
Dorries is a keen supporter of Liverpool Football Club. She has said that her great-grandfather, George Bargery, was one of the founders of Everton Football Club
, and either the club's first goalkeeper, or that he played in goal for the club in its first Football League game, a home game against Accrington Stanley
. However, his name does not appear on the teamsheets for the club's first game as Everton FC or its first league game.
Dorries entered nursing
in 1975 as a trainee at Warrington General Hospital. From 1978 to 1981, she practiced as a nurse in both Warrington
and Liverpool according to a 2009 report, but in Liverpool and London according yo her CV when she was a candidate in 2001.
In 1982, she became a medical representative to Ethicla Ltd for a year, before spending a year in Zambia
(1983-84) as the head of a community school, where her husband ran a copper mine.
In 1987 Dorries founded Company Kids Ltd providing child day-care services for working parents. The company was sold in 1998 to BUPA
, at which she served as a director of the health provider for a year.
As Nadine Bargery, reportedly taking ten years off her age, she was selectied as the PPC for Hazel Grove
in Spring 2000. Her candidacy split the constituency party, and she was briefly deselected in August before being centrally imposed. Contesting the seat at the 2001 general election
, she was unsuccessful in her attempt to succeed the Liberal Democrat candidate Andrew Stunell
, who retained the seat by 8,435 votes. Dorries worked for three years as a special adviser to Oliver Letwin
, then Shadow Chancellor, including managing his relations with the media.
Dorries's account of her own selection appears to contradict a news report which The Times ran at the time, reporting that party headquarters placed a majority of women on the shortlist and pressed for the selection of a female candidate:
In a debate on Woman's Hour, broadcast on 22 August 2001, Dorries (as Nadine Bargery) had advocated all-women shortlists if the behaviour of Conservative selection committees did not change. In 2009 though, Dorries was highly critical of David Cameron's proposal to consider using all-women shortlists, arguing against a move which would create "two classes of MPs". She wrote that "Sometimes I feel sorry for some of the Labour women who were selected via all-women shortlists. Everyone knows who they are. They are constantly derided"
for the safe seat of Mid-Bedfordshire on the retirement through ill health after a series of scandals of Jonathan Sayeed
, with a majority of 11,355, and made her maiden speech
on 25 May 2005. She was re-elected in 2010, with an increased majority and a swing of 2.3% from the Lib Dems.
Dorries, described as "a right-wing, working-class Conservative", is a member of the socially conservative Cornerstone Group
. A Christian, she has said in an interview for a Salvation Army
newspaper: "I am not an MP for any reason other than because God wants me to be. There is nothing I did that got me here; it is what God did. There is nothing amazing or special about me, I am just a conduit for God to use."
Dorries initially supported the attempt of David Davis
to become Conservative leader in 2005. but later withdrew her endorsement. David Cameron
, the successful candidate, though "represent[s] everything that through my life . . . [I have] been suspicious of." In May 2007, she criticised Cameron for ignoring the recommendations of the Conservative public policy working group in favour of grammar schools. However, she did defend the selection of Elizabeth Truss
in 2009, whose Conservative candidature was called into question after an extra-marital affair was revealed.
Dorries served as a member of the Innovation, Universities, Science and Skills Committee. In the year to November 2008, she attended only 2% of sessions. The committee then reformed as the Science and Technology Select Committee; she did not attend a single session. In 2010, she was elected to the Health Select Committee.
On 31 October 2006, Dorries introduced a Private Member's Bill
in the House of Commons, which would have reduced the time limit for abortion in Great Britain
from 24 to 21 weeks; introduced a ten day 'cooling-off' period for women wishing to have an abortion, during which time the woman would be required to undergo counselling; and accelerate access to abortion at the end of the cooling-off period. She received death threats from pro-choice activists and was given police protection. Parliament
voted by 187 to 108 to reject the bill.
In May 2008, she tabled an amendment to the proposed Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill
seeking to reduce the upper limit for abortions to 20 weeks from the current 24 weeks of pregnancy. Reportedly written by Andrea Williams then of The Lawyers' Christian Fellowship, Dorries has denied that her campaigning on the abortion issue receives funding from Christian fundamentalist groups, although Dorries website for the "20 Reasons for 20 Weeks" campaign in 2008 was registered by Christian Concern For Our Nation (CCFON), another organisation with which Williams is involved; one of the pressure group's interns set up the website without charge to Dorries.
Dorries amendment was defeated by 332 votes to 190, with a separate 22 week limit opposed by 304 votes to 233 - with MPs continuing to support the 24 week limit. She said of her tactics on this issue in 2007: “If I were to argue that all abortions should be banned, the ethical discussions would go round in circles … My view is that the only way
forward is to argue for a reduction in the time limit … it’s every baby’s right to have a life.”
, Gordon Brown's head of strategy and planning, which suggested spreading a rumour that Dorries had a one-night stand with a fellow MP, in an email to Derek Draper
, a Labour-supporting blogger. The email was leaked and McBride resigned. Dorries denounced the accusation as libellous, "[t]he allegations regarding myself are 100 per cent untrue", and demanded an apology intent on exposing the Number 10 "cesspit".
Brown subsequently said he was 'sorry' and that he took 'full responsibility for what happened'. Dorries threatened libel proceedings against McBride, Draper and Downing Street but failed to carry out that threat. McBride paid Dorries an undisclosed sum, estimated at £
1,000 plus £2,500 towards her costs.
to draw parallels between the McCarthy 'Witch-Hunt
s' and the press's 'drip-drip' revelation of MP's expenses, eliciting David Cameron's public criticism. She claimed everyone was fearing a 'suicide', and colleagues were constantly checking up on each other. Later in the day her blog was taken down. It transpired that Withers
, lawyers acting for the Barclay Brothers, the owners of the Daily Telegraph, had required the removal of the blog, on threat of libel action against the service provider.
In January 2010, it emerged that Dorries was being investigated by John Lyon
, the parliamentary commissioner for standards
, regarding her claim for second home expenses and that it was expected that a number of neighbours in Dorries' constituency were preparing to give evidence against her. It was also revealed that Dorries had claimed £20,000 in office expenses for work undertaken by a media relations and public affairs company.
(TUC). The motion, submitted to the TUC by the Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists
pointed out that "around two million days a year are lost through sickness as a result of lower limb disorders" and that "many employers in the retail sector force women workers to wear high heels as part of their dress code". It did not call for a ban on high-heels at work, but rather called on employers to consider the health-impact of their dress codes and encourage the wearing of healthy, comfortable shoes.
. Prior to his election in June 2009, she accused him of opportunism and disloyalty to the Conservative Party and questioned his mental stability. She described his election as "a two-fingered salute to the British people from Labour MPs, and to the Conservative Party". After Bercow's wife, Sally
, was approved as a Labour parliamentary candidate and gave an interview about her personal life, Dorries argued that the Bercows were damaging the historic respect accorded to the office of Speaker.
documentary series Tower Block of Commons, in which MPs stay with welfare claimants. Two single mothers with whom Dorries stayed accused Dorries of hiding £50 in her bra and offering them temazepam
tablets. Dorries rejected these claims.
In October 2010, Dorries suggested that benefit claimants who made more than 35,000 postings on Twitter
should be reported to the Department for Work and Pensions
. On being told by the Bedfordshire on Sunday
newspaper that one of her constituents was out of work due to ill health and had posted more than 37,000 tweets, Dorries told the newspaper that her constituent's tweeting gave housebound disabled people a bad name.
, just before his tenure was reapproved, she objected to Bercow's abandonment of the speaker's "magnignificent" ceremonial clothes and placed herself among those MPs who accuse him of not carrying forward "the great tradition of authority, control and impartiality".
On May 9, 2010, two days after regaining the Mid-Bedfordshire constituency in the general election, The Sunday Times
revealed that Dorries was facing the first expenses claims complaint of the new parliament. The newspaper reported that she had claimed around £10,000 for an annual report in 2007 on her performance as an MP, but that her former Commons researcher had never seen the report or worked on it. Dorries insisted that she had indeed published the report, placing a photograph of it on her blog. She subsequently told the Biggleswade Advertiser that the report was never printed and a credit note issued with refund on September 13, 2008.
On January 13, 2011, it was announced by the Daily Mirror that police were investigating Dorries in regards to her expenses. Three days later, The Sunday Times reported that police had since handed a file to the Crown Prosecution Service
for consideration.
The bill drew criticism from health care and sex education professionals, questioning claims made during the bill's reading, and the bill was opposed in the House by Labour MP Chris Bryant
who described it as "the daftest piece of legislation I have seen". Dorries accused her opponents of behaving as though she was advocating "the compulsory wearing of chastity belts for all teenage girls".
The bill is set for second reading
on 20 January 2012 (Bill 185). after she was granted leave to introduce the bill on a vote of 67 to 61 on 4 May 2011.
. Dorries stated: ‘If a stronger ‘just say no’ message was given to children in school, there might be an impact on sex abuse, because a lot of girls, when sex abuse takes place don’t realise until later that was a wrong thing to do... I don’t think people realise that if we did empower this message into girls, imbued this message in school, we would probably have less sex abuse’
website, regarding Dorries' use of the House of Commons' Portcullis emblem on her blog was upheld in March 2008, on the basis that Dorries "gave the impression it had some kind of parliamentary endorsement or authority." She gave a full explanation of the statement to her local newspaper, in which she reveals that her whereabouts on her blog had been disguised due to unwanted attention on the basis of Police advice. She also claims that she made the statement in order to protect her staff and family.
On 21 October 2010, the MP's standards watchdog criticised Dorries for maintaining a blog which would "mislead constituents" as to how much actual time she was spending in her constituency. Dorries admitted "My blog is 70% fiction and 30% fact. It is written as a tool to enable my constituents to know me better and to reassure them of my commitment to Mid Bedfordshire. I rely heavily on poetic licence and frequently replace one place name/event/fact with another." Referring to her main home being in Gloucestershire she said "I have always been aware that should my personal domestic arrangements become the knowledge of my political opponents, they would be able to exaggerate that to good effect." Another example given was that Dorries falsely claimed in her blog that her daughter was going to school in the constituency. The conservative journalist Peter Oborne
thought Cameron should have "ordered Miss Dorries to apologise personally to her constituents, and stripped her of the party whip there and then."
On 27 October 2010 Dorries partially retracted her 70% fiction claim, posting a blog entry which stated that "It also only takes any individual with a smattering of intelligence to see that everything on the blog is accurate, because it is largely a record of real time events. It was only ever the perception of where I was on any particular day which was disguised."
Following this incident she made a complaint of harassment by an online blogger to the police.
. Equatorial Guinea
is a small African country, but the third biggest oil producer on the continent, ruled since 1979 by the President Teodoro Obiang Nguema. It has one of the worst human rights records on the continent. Although she met the Prime minister of Equatorial Guinea, Ignacio Milam Tang
, she didn't mention this high-level meeting in her blog. She has been quoted as saying to him: "We are here to dispel some of the myths about Equatorial Guinea and also with humility to offer you help to avoid the mistakes we have made." According to the official website of Equatorial Guinea, Dorries was one of nine British MPs on the trip.
which would have blocked abortion services such as BPAS
and Marie Stopes International
providing counselling services. She argued that these organisations had a vested financial interest in encouraging abortions, but "independent" counselling services could be anti-abortion faith groups. David Cameron's government at first supported the proposal, but later changed its mind, reportedly because Liberal Democrat leader and deputy prime minister Nick Clegg
was opposed to the change. Her criticism of Cameron's change of mind was supported by some commentators such as Cristina Odone
who shares Dorries concerns. Clegg's apparent opposition was for Dorries a means of "blackmailing our Prime Minister", and a question regarding Lib Dems influence was the source of Cameron's description of Dorries as "extremely frustrated" at Prime minister's questions
on 7 September. Cameron was criticised by feminists and others for the comment, but subsequently apologised.
The issue of abortion counselling was debated in the Commons immediately following this incident. The motion was originally seconded by Labour MP Frank Field, but he withdrew his support after health minister Anne Milton
intervened to suggest the government would support the "spirit" of Dorries amendment. The amendment was lost when put by 368 votes to 118, a majority of 250. Despite this, Dorries claimed a victory because of Milton's comments.
In January 2011, Dorries stated that, since December 2010, she had been in a relationship with John Butler, a married man who had been a family friend for 13 years previously and whom, she claimed, had separated from his wife shortly before. According to the Mail on Sunday, the couple split up in summer 2011.
Dorries maintains a high profile in the media where she has been derided as 'Mad Nad' while a defender, journalist Quentin Letts
has accused other MPs of feeling "envy" for her flamboyance and publicity skills.
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British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
who has been the Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) for Mid Bedfordshire
Mid Bedfordshire (UK Parliament constituency)
Mid Bedfordshire is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election...
since 2005
United Kingdom general election, 2005
The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....
. She has been involved in parliamentary attempts to change the laws on abortion.
Born in Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, Dorries initially worked as a nurse eventually becoming a medical representative to Ethicla Ltd. During her earlier career she spend a year in Zambia
Zambia
Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
as the head of a community school. Having returned home a year later, she founded Company Kids Ltd, which provided child day-care services for working parents. The company was sold in 1998. She became PPC for Hazel Grove
Hazel Grove (UK Parliament constituency)
Hazel Grove is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.- Boundaries :...
where she did not manage to unseat the Liberal Democrat MP Andrew Stunell
Andrew Stunell
Robert Andrew Stunell, known as Andrew Stunell, OBE is a Liberal Democrat politician in the United Kingdom. He is the Member of Parliament for Hazel Grove, and was first elected at the 1997 general election...
in 2001.
In 2005, Dorries was finally elected to the House of Commons at that year's general election
United Kingdom general election, 2005
The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....
for the safe seat of Mid-Bedfordshire, with a majority of 11,355. Since taking her seat, Dorries has introduced several unsuccessful Private Member's Bills
Private Member's Bill
A member of parliament’s legislative motion, called a private member's bill or a member's bill in some parliaments, is a proposed law introduced by a member of a legislature. In most countries with a parliamentary system, most bills are proposed by the government, not by individual members of the...
in the House of Commons including attempts to reduce the time limit for abortion in Great Britain
Abortion in the United Kingdom
Abortion has been legal on a wide number of grounds in England and Wales and Scotland since the Abortion Act 1967 was passed. At the time, this legislation was one of the most liberal laws regarding abortion in Europe...
, to change the rules regarding the counselling of the women involved and the advocacy of sexual abstince for girls in sex education. She is also an opponent of the current Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow
John Bercow
John Simon Bercow is a British politician who has been the Speaker of the House of Commons in the United Kingdom since June 2009. Prior to his election to Speaker he was a member of the Conservative party....
, who has attempted to have him removed from the post, and has criticised and clashed with her party leader, the Prime Minister David Cameron
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
.
Dorries has been described as a right-wing conservative, and whose high profile in the media, has led to her being called "Mad Nad". In 2008 Dorries won the The Spectator
The Spectator
The Spectator is a weekly British magazine first published on 6 July 1828. It is currently owned by David and Frederick Barclay, who also owns The Daily Telegraph. Its principal subject areas are politics and culture...
magazine's Reader's Representative Award.
Early life
Dorries was born Nadine Bargery in LiverpoolLiverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, the daughter of a bus driver who died aged 42. She was raised in Anfield, Liverpool, and educated at Rose Heath Primary School, and Halewood Grange Comprehensive School (while Alan Bleasdale
Alan Bleasdale
Alan Bleasdale is an English television dramatist, best known for writing several social realist drama serials based on the lives of ordinary people.The Bleasdales live in prescot,liverpool,wales and london.-Early life:Bleasdale is an only child; his father worked in a food factory and his mother...
taught there) before her family moved to Runcorn
Runcorn
Runcorn is an industrial town and cargo port within the borough of Halton in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. In 2009, its population was estimated to be 61,500. The town is on the southern bank of the River Mersey where the estuary narrows to form Runcorn Gap. Directly to the north...
. Dorries grew up on a council estate
Council house
A council house, otherwise known as a local authority house, is a form of public or social housing. The term is used primarily in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. Council houses were built and operated by local councils to supply uncrowded, well-built homes on secure tenancies at...
, and her parents took advantage of the "Right to Buy
Right to buy scheme
The Right to buy scheme is a policy in the United Kingdom which gives tenants of council housing the right to buy the home they are living in. Currently, there is also a right to acquire for the tenants of housing associations...
" scheme. She left the Merseyside area after she married mining engineer Paul Dorries.
Dorries is a keen supporter of Liverpool Football Club. She has said that her great-grandfather, George Bargery, was one of the founders of Everton Football Club
Everton F.C.
Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...
, and either the club's first goalkeeper, or that he played in goal for the club in its first Football League game, a home game against Accrington Stanley
Accrington Stanley F.C. (1891)
Accrington Stanley was an English football club based in Accrington, Lancashire. Established in 1891, the club played in the Football League between 1921 and 1962, when the club became only the second ever to resign from the League mid-season. The club went into liquidation in 1966...
. However, his name does not appear on the teamsheets for the club's first game as Everton FC or its first league game.
Dorries entered nursing
Nursing
Nursing is a healthcare profession focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life from conception to death....
in 1975 as a trainee at Warrington General Hospital. From 1978 to 1981, she practiced as a nurse in both Warrington
Warrington
Warrington is a town, borough and unitary authority area of Cheshire, England. It stands on the banks of the River Mersey, which is tidal to the west of the weir at Howley. It lies 16 miles east of Liverpool, 19 miles west of Manchester and 8 miles south of St Helens...
and Liverpool according to a 2009 report, but in Liverpool and London according yo her CV when she was a candidate in 2001.
In 1982, she became a medical representative to Ethicla Ltd for a year, before spending a year in Zambia
Zambia
Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
(1983-84) as the head of a community school, where her husband ran a copper mine.
In 1987 Dorries founded Company Kids Ltd providing child day-care services for working parents. The company was sold in 1998 to BUPA
Bupa
Bupa is a large British healthcare organisation, with bases on three continents and more than ten million customers in over 200 countries. It is a private healthcare company, in direct contrast to the UK's National Health Services, which are tax-funded healthcare systems and do not require private...
, at which she served as a director of the health provider for a year.
As Nadine Bargery, reportedly taking ten years off her age, she was selectied as the PPC for Hazel Grove
Hazel Grove (UK Parliament constituency)
Hazel Grove is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.- Boundaries :...
in Spring 2000. Her candidacy split the constituency party, and she was briefly deselected in August before being centrally imposed. Contesting the seat at the 2001 general election
United Kingdom general election, 2001
The United Kingdom general election, 2001 was held on Thursday 7 June 2001 to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. It was dubbed "the quiet landslide" by the media, as the Labour Party was re-elected with another landslide result and only suffered a net loss of 6 seats...
, she was unsuccessful in her attempt to succeed the Liberal Democrat candidate Andrew Stunell
Andrew Stunell
Robert Andrew Stunell, known as Andrew Stunell, OBE is a Liberal Democrat politician in the United Kingdom. He is the Member of Parliament for Hazel Grove, and was first elected at the 1997 general election...
, who retained the seat by 8,435 votes. Dorries worked for three years as a special adviser to Oliver Letwin
Oliver Letwin
Oliver Letwin MP FRSA is a British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he is currently the Minister of State at the Cabinet Office, and a Member of Parliament representing the constituency of West Dorset...
, then Shadow Chancellor, including managing his relations with the media.
Selection and all-women shortlists
In 2009, she gave this account of her 2005 selection:"Three weeks before the 2005 general election I, a council estate Scouser, was selected as the Conservative candidate to represent a southern rural constituency. Because the vacancy occurred so quickly and so close to D-day, the party provided my association with a shortlist of seventeen candidates, of which about five were women. Following a long day of interviews in hot sunny rooms, the list was whittled down to a shortlist of three ... I was informed that I had been selected outright on the first ballot ... That pride, that sense of achievement, the knowledge that I was selected on the basis of my performance and merit above all other candidates on that day is what enables me to hold my head up high in this place."
Dorries's account of her own selection appears to contradict a news report which The Times ran at the time, reporting that party headquarters placed a majority of women on the shortlist and pressed for the selection of a female candidate:
"Mrs Dorries, who has three teenage children, easily beat her 11 rivals and won the plum safe seat on the first ballot at the selection this weekend. Party officials were thrilled that the seat has gone to a woman. Previously, only two women had been selected in the 17 safe seats where sitting MPs have retired. Senior party figures had made clear to local dignitaries that they would like the seat to go to a woman and presented the constituency with a shortlist of seven women and five men to underline the point."
In a debate on Woman's Hour, broadcast on 22 August 2001, Dorries (as Nadine Bargery) had advocated all-women shortlists if the behaviour of Conservative selection committees did not change. In 2009 though, Dorries was highly critical of David Cameron's proposal to consider using all-women shortlists, arguing against a move which would create "two classes of MPs". She wrote that "Sometimes I feel sorry for some of the Labour women who were selected via all-women shortlists. Everyone knows who they are. They are constantly derided"
Entering parliament
Dorries was elected to the House of Commons at the 2005 general electionUnited Kingdom general election, 2005
The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....
for the safe seat of Mid-Bedfordshire on the retirement through ill health after a series of scandals of Jonathan Sayeed
Jonathan Sayeed
Jonathan Sayeed is a British politician who was a Conservative Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom from 1983 to 1992 and from 1997 to 2005....
, with a majority of 11,355, and made her maiden speech
Maiden speech
A maiden speech is the first speech given by a newly elected or appointed member of a legislature or parliament.Traditions surrounding maiden speeches vary from country to country...
on 25 May 2005. She was re-elected in 2010, with an increased majority and a swing of 2.3% from the Lib Dems.
Dorries, described as "a right-wing, working-class Conservative", is a member of the socially conservative Cornerstone Group
Cornerstone Group
The Cornerstone Group is a socially conservative or traditional conservative political organisation within the British Conservative Party. The group emphasises traditional values, exemplified by the motto: Faith, Flag, and Family. It consists of Members of Parliament with a traditionalist stance,...
. A Christian, she has said in an interview for a Salvation Army
The Salvation Army
The Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....
newspaper: "I am not an MP for any reason other than because God wants me to be. There is nothing I did that got me here; it is what God did. There is nothing amazing or special about me, I am just a conduit for God to use."
Dorries initially supported the attempt of David Davis
David Davis (British politician)
David Michael Davis is a British Conservative Party politician who is the Member of Parliament for the constituency of Haltemprice and Howden...
to become Conservative leader in 2005. but later withdrew her endorsement. David Cameron
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
, the successful candidate, though "represent[s] everything that through my life . . . [I have] been suspicious of." In May 2007, she criticised Cameron for ignoring the recommendations of the Conservative public policy working group in favour of grammar schools. However, she did defend the selection of Elizabeth Truss
Elizabeth Truss
Elizabeth Mary Truss , also known as Liz Truss, is a British Conservative Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for South West Norfolk since the 2010 general election.-Early life:...
in 2009, whose Conservative candidature was called into question after an extra-marital affair was revealed.
Dorries served as a member of the Innovation, Universities, Science and Skills Committee. In the year to November 2008, she attended only 2% of sessions. The committee then reformed as the Science and Technology Select Committee; she did not attend a single session. In 2010, she was elected to the Health Select Committee.
Abortion time limits
Dorries has said she witnessed "botched" abortions on two occasions, an experience that influenced her campaign to lower the point during a pregnancy at which an abortion can be performed.On 31 October 2006, Dorries introduced a Private Member's Bill
Private Member's Bill
A member of parliament’s legislative motion, called a private member's bill or a member's bill in some parliaments, is a proposed law introduced by a member of a legislature. In most countries with a parliamentary system, most bills are proposed by the government, not by individual members of the...
in the House of Commons, which would have reduced the time limit for abortion in Great Britain
Abortion in the United Kingdom
Abortion has been legal on a wide number of grounds in England and Wales and Scotland since the Abortion Act 1967 was passed. At the time, this legislation was one of the most liberal laws regarding abortion in Europe...
from 24 to 21 weeks; introduced a ten day 'cooling-off' period for women wishing to have an abortion, during which time the woman would be required to undergo counselling; and accelerate access to abortion at the end of the cooling-off period. She received death threats from pro-choice activists and was given police protection. Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
voted by 187 to 108 to reject the bill.
In May 2008, she tabled an amendment to the proposed Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill
Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008
The Bill's discussion in Parliament did not permit time to debate whether it should extend abortion rights under the Abortion Act 1967 to also cover Northern Ireland...
seeking to reduce the upper limit for abortions to 20 weeks from the current 24 weeks of pregnancy. Reportedly written by Andrea Williams then of The Lawyers' Christian Fellowship, Dorries has denied that her campaigning on the abortion issue receives funding from Christian fundamentalist groups, although Dorries website for the "20 Reasons for 20 Weeks" campaign in 2008 was registered by Christian Concern For Our Nation (CCFON), another organisation with which Williams is involved; one of the pressure group's interns set up the website without charge to Dorries.
Dorries amendment was defeated by 332 votes to 190, with a separate 22 week limit opposed by 304 votes to 233 - with MPs continuing to support the 24 week limit. She said of her tactics on this issue in 2007: “If I were to argue that all abortions should be banned, the ethical discussions would go round in circles … My view is that the only way
forward is to argue for a reduction in the time limit … it’s every baby’s right to have a life.”
Damian McBride email affair
In April 2009, Dorries claimed to have commenced legal action following the publication of emails sent by Damian McBrideDamian McBride
Damian McBride is a former civil servant and former special advisor to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. McBride began his civil service career at HM Customs and Excise...
, Gordon Brown's head of strategy and planning, which suggested spreading a rumour that Dorries had a one-night stand with a fellow MP, in an email to Derek Draper
Derek Draper
Derek William Draper is a former lobbyist, former editor of the LabourList website, and psychotherapist. As a political advisor during the 1990s he became widely known for his role in two political scandals, "Lobbygate" and "Smeargate".-Biography:Draper was educated at Southlands High School in...
, a Labour-supporting blogger. The email was leaked and McBride resigned. Dorries denounced the accusation as libellous, "[t]he allegations regarding myself are 100 per cent untrue", and demanded an apology intent on exposing the Number 10 "cesspit".
Brown subsequently said he was 'sorry' and that he took 'full responsibility for what happened'. Dorries threatened libel proceedings against McBride, Draper and Downing Street but failed to carry out that threat. McBride paid Dorries an undisclosed sum, estimated at £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
1,000 plus £2,500 towards her costs.
Expenses claims
In May 2009 the Daily Telegraph, as part of its exposure of MPs' expenses claims, questioned whether the property in Dorries's constituency, on which she claimed £24,222 Additional Costs Allowance (for 'secondary' housing costs), had been in fact her main or only home from 2007 onwards. The newspaper also queried hotel bills including one for 'Mr N Dorries': these had been disallowed by the Fees Office and Dorries said they were submitted by mistake. On 22 May she went on BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
to draw parallels between the McCarthy 'Witch-Hunt
Joseph McCarthy
Joseph Raymond "Joe" McCarthy was an American politician who served as a Republican U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death in 1957...
s' and the press's 'drip-drip' revelation of MP's expenses, eliciting David Cameron's public criticism. She claimed everyone was fearing a 'suicide', and colleagues were constantly checking up on each other. Later in the day her blog was taken down. It transpired that Withers
Withers (law firm)
Withersworldwide is an international law firm dedicated to advising successful people, their families and their businesses. Withers provides integrated advice on the US, UK and international legal and tax needs of their clients which can cover a large variety of issues such as restructuring their...
, lawyers acting for the Barclay Brothers, the owners of the Daily Telegraph, had required the removal of the blog, on threat of libel action against the service provider.
In January 2010, it emerged that Dorries was being investigated by John Lyon
John Lyon (commissioner)
John Lyon, CB, is the current British Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards. He commenced his appointment, which was for a period of five years, on 1 January 2008....
, the parliamentary commissioner for standards
Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards
The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards is an officer of the British House of Commons.He or she is appointed by a Resolution of the House of Commons and works a four-day week.- Tasks :...
, regarding her claim for second home expenses and that it was expected that a number of neighbours in Dorries' constituency were preparing to give evidence against her. It was also revealed that Dorries had claimed £20,000 in office expenses for work undertaken by a media relations and public affairs company.
High heels at work
In late 2009 Nadine Dorries campaigned against what she called "a proposal to ban the wearing of high heels in the office" which was to be debated at the 2009 Trades Union CongressTrades Union Congress
The Trades Union Congress is a national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions in the United Kingdom, representing the majority of trade unions...
(TUC). The motion, submitted to the TUC by the Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists
Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists
The Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists is a trade union in the United Kingdom.The union originated in 1912 as the Society of Chiropodists, the first organisation of chiropodists in Europe...
pointed out that "around two million days a year are lost through sickness as a result of lower limb disorders" and that "many employers in the retail sector force women workers to wear high heels as part of their dress code". It did not call for a ban on high-heels at work, but rather called on employers to consider the health-impact of their dress codes and encourage the wearing of healthy, comfortable shoes.
Criticism of Speaker Bercow
Dorries is one of the most outspoken opponents of the Speaker of the House of Commons John BercowJohn Bercow
John Simon Bercow is a British politician who has been the Speaker of the House of Commons in the United Kingdom since June 2009. Prior to his election to Speaker he was a member of the Conservative party....
. Prior to his election in June 2009, she accused him of opportunism and disloyalty to the Conservative Party and questioned his mental stability. She described his election as "a two-fingered salute to the British people from Labour MPs, and to the Conservative Party". After Bercow's wife, Sally
Sally Bercow
Sally Bercow is the wife of the Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow. She was a housemate on Celebrity Big Brother and was evicted from the house on 26 August 2011.-Early life:...
, was approved as a Labour parliamentary candidate and gave an interview about her personal life, Dorries argued that the Bercows were damaging the historic respect accorded to the office of Speaker.
Benefit claimants
In February 2010 Dorries took part in the Channel 4Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
documentary series Tower Block of Commons, in which MPs stay with welfare claimants. Two single mothers with whom Dorries stayed accused Dorries of hiding £50 in her bra and offering them temazepam
Temazepam
Temazepam is an intermediate-acting 3-hydroxy benzodiazepine. It is mostly prescribed for the short-term treatment of sleeplessness in patients who have difficulty maintaining sleep...
tablets. Dorries rejected these claims.
In October 2010, Dorries suggested that benefit claimants who made more than 35,000 postings on Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
should be reported to the Department for Work and Pensions
Department for Work and Pensions
The Department for Work and Pensions is the largest government department in the United Kingdom, created on June 8, 2001 from the merger of the employment part of the Department for Education and Employment and the Department of Social Security and headed by the Secretary of State for Work and...
. On being told by the Bedfordshire on Sunday
Bedfordshire on Sunday
Bedfordshire on Sunday is a free local newspaper published in Bedfordshire, England.The newspaper is distributed as two editions, one covering Bedford borough and its surrounding villages, the other edition serves Central Bedfordshire...
newspaper that one of her constituents was out of work due to ill health and had posted more than 37,000 tweets, Dorries told the newspaper that her constituent's tweeting gave housebound disabled people a bad name.
Attempt to remove Bercow and expenses redux
She was reportedly part of a plot to oust John Bercow from the Speaker's chair in the run up to the 2010 general election, and, after the election, sent an email to all new MPs advocating his removal. Writing in the Daily MailDaily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
, just before his tenure was reapproved, she objected to Bercow's abandonment of the speaker's "magnignificent" ceremonial clothes and placed herself among those MPs who accuse him of not carrying forward "the great tradition of authority, control and impartiality".
On May 9, 2010, two days after regaining the Mid-Bedfordshire constituency in the general election, The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
revealed that Dorries was facing the first expenses claims complaint of the new parliament. The newspaper reported that she had claimed around £10,000 for an annual report in 2007 on her performance as an MP, but that her former Commons researcher had never seen the report or worked on it. Dorries insisted that she had indeed published the report, placing a photograph of it on her blog. She subsequently told the Biggleswade Advertiser that the report was never printed and a credit note issued with refund on September 13, 2008.
On January 13, 2011, it was announced by the Daily Mirror that police were investigating Dorries in regards to her expenses. Three days later, The Sunday Times reported that police had since handed a file to the Crown Prosecution Service
Crown Prosecution Service
The Crown Prosecution Service, or CPS, is a non-ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for public prosecutions of people charged with criminal offences in England and Wales. Its role is similar to that of the longer-established Crown Office in Scotland, and the...
for consideration.
Abstinence advocacy for girls in sex education
On 4 May 2011, Dorries proposed a bill to require that sex education in schools should include content promoting abstinence to girls aged 13 to 16 which was presented as teaching them "how to say no". While sex education already mentions the option of abstinence, the bill would require active promotion of abstinence to girls, with no such requirement of the education provided to boys. Owing to Dorries' claims about practices used in teaching about sex, Sarah Ditum in The Guardian accused Dorries of making Sex and Relationship Education (SRE) "sound like a terrifying exercise in depravity".The bill drew criticism from health care and sex education professionals, questioning claims made during the bill's reading, and the bill was opposed in the House by Labour MP Chris Bryant
Chris Bryant
Christopher John Bryant is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Rhondda since 2001...
who described it as "the daftest piece of legislation I have seen". Dorries accused her opponents of behaving as though she was advocating "the compulsory wearing of chastity belts for all teenage girls".
The bill is set for second reading
Reading (legislature)
A reading of a bill is a debate on the bill held before the general body of a legislature, as opposed to before a committee or other group. In the Westminster system, there are usually several readings of a bill among the stages it passes through before becoming law as an Act of Parliament...
on 20 January 2012 (Bill 185). after she was granted leave to introduce the bill on a vote of 67 to 61 on 4 May 2011.
Abstinence and child sex abuse
On 16 May 2011, Dorries appeared to suggest that a lack of awareness around abstinence among young girls is linked to rates of child sexual abuseChild sexual abuse
Child sexual abuse is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include asking or pressuring a child to engage in sexual activities , indecent exposure with intent to gratify their own sexual desires or to...
. Dorries stated: ‘If a stronger ‘just say no’ message was given to children in school, there might be an impact on sex abuse, because a lot of girls, when sex abuse takes place don’t realise until later that was a wrong thing to do... I don’t think people realise that if we did empower this message into girls, imbued this message in school, we would probably have less sex abuse’
Blog fiction
A complaint from the Liberal ConspiracySunny Hundal
Sunny Hundal is a British blogger.He was born in London to Sikh parents of Indian origin. He describes himself as a vegetarian and a strong environmentalist. He has a degree in Economics from Brunel University and has written articles for leading British newspapers including The Financial Times...
website, regarding Dorries' use of the House of Commons' Portcullis emblem on her blog was upheld in March 2008, on the basis that Dorries "gave the impression it had some kind of parliamentary endorsement or authority." She gave a full explanation of the statement to her local newspaper, in which she reveals that her whereabouts on her blog had been disguised due to unwanted attention on the basis of Police advice. She also claims that she made the statement in order to protect her staff and family.
On 21 October 2010, the MP's standards watchdog criticised Dorries for maintaining a blog which would "mislead constituents" as to how much actual time she was spending in her constituency. Dorries admitted "My blog is 70% fiction and 30% fact. It is written as a tool to enable my constituents to know me better and to reassure them of my commitment to Mid Bedfordshire. I rely heavily on poetic licence and frequently replace one place name/event/fact with another." Referring to her main home being in Gloucestershire she said "I have always been aware that should my personal domestic arrangements become the knowledge of my political opponents, they would be able to exaggerate that to good effect." Another example given was that Dorries falsely claimed in her blog that her daughter was going to school in the constituency. The conservative journalist Peter Oborne
Peter Oborne
Peter Oborne is a British journalist and political commentator. He was educated at Sherborne School and The University of Cambridge. He is a Daily Mail and Daily Telegraph columnist, author of The Rise of Political Lying and The Triumph of the Political Class, and, with Frances Weaver, the...
thought Cameron should have "ordered Miss Dorries to apologise personally to her constituents, and stripped her of the party whip there and then."
On 27 October 2010 Dorries partially retracted her 70% fiction claim, posting a blog entry which stated that "It also only takes any individual with a smattering of intelligence to see that everything on the blog is accurate, because it is largely a record of real time events. It was only ever the perception of where I was on any particular day which was disguised."
Following this incident she made a complaint of harassment by an online blogger to the police.
Visit to Equatorial Guinea with nine other MPs
In August 2011 Nadine Dorries led the first delegation of British members of Parliament to Equatorial GuineaEquatorial Guinea
Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea where the capital Malabo is situated.Annobón is the southernmost island of Equatorial Guinea and is situated just south of the equator. Bioko island is the northernmost point of Equatorial Guinea. Between the two islands and to the...
. Equatorial Guinea
Equatorial Guinea
Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea where the capital Malabo is situated.Annobón is the southernmost island of Equatorial Guinea and is situated just south of the equator. Bioko island is the northernmost point of Equatorial Guinea. Between the two islands and to the...
is a small African country, but the third biggest oil producer on the continent, ruled since 1979 by the President Teodoro Obiang Nguema. It has one of the worst human rights records on the continent. Although she met the Prime minister of Equatorial Guinea, Ignacio Milam Tang
Ignacio Milam Tang
Ignacio Milam Tang is an Equatoguinean politician who has been Prime Minister of Equatorial Guinea since July 2008. He is a member of the Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea .-Political career:...
, she didn't mention this high-level meeting in her blog. She has been quoted as saying to him: "We are here to dispel some of the myths about Equatorial Guinea and also with humility to offer you help to avoid the mistakes we have made." According to the official website of Equatorial Guinea, Dorries was one of nine British MPs on the trip.
Abortion counselling
Dorries proposed amendments to the Health and Social Care Bill 2011Health and Social Care Bill 2011
The Health and Social Care Bill 2011 is proposed health care reform legislation introduced in the House of Commons on 19 January 2011. If passed, the Bill would be the most extensive reorganisation of the structure of the National Health Service in England to date. It proposes to abolish NHS...
which would have blocked abortion services such as BPAS
British Pregnancy Advisory Service
The British Pregnancy Advisory Service is a British charity whose stated purpose is to "[support] reproductive choice by advocating and providing high quality, affordable services to prevent or end unwanted pregnancies with contraception or by abortion."...
and Marie Stopes International
Marie Stopes International
Marie Stopes International is an International Non-Governmental Organisation working on Sexual and Reproductive Health with headquarters in London, UK. It is named after Marie Stopes, a Scottish author, campaigner for eugenics, women's rights, and a pioneer in the field of family planning...
providing counselling services. She argued that these organisations had a vested financial interest in encouraging abortions, but "independent" counselling services could be anti-abortion faith groups. David Cameron's government at first supported the proposal, but later changed its mind, reportedly because Liberal Democrat leader and deputy prime minister Nick Clegg
Nick Clegg
Nicholas William Peter "Nick" Clegg is a British Liberal Democrat politician who is currently the Deputy Prime Minister, Lord President of the Council and Minister for Constitutional and Political Reform in the coalition government of which David Cameron is the Prime Minister...
was opposed to the change. Her criticism of Cameron's change of mind was supported by some commentators such as Cristina Odone
Cristina Odone
Cristina Patricia Odone is a journalist, editor, and writer living in the United Kingdom. She has written for several newspapers, and was formerly the editor of The Catholic Herald, and deputy editor of the New Statesman.- Career :...
who shares Dorries concerns. Clegg's apparent opposition was for Dorries a means of "blackmailing our Prime Minister", and a question regarding Lib Dems influence was the source of Cameron's description of Dorries as "extremely frustrated" at Prime minister's questions
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime minister's questions is a constitutional convention in the United Kingdom that takes place every Wednesday during which the prime minister spends half an hour answering questions from members of parliament...
on 7 September. Cameron was criticised by feminists and others for the comment, but subsequently apologised.
The issue of abortion counselling was debated in the Commons immediately following this incident. The motion was originally seconded by Labour MP Frank Field, but he withdrew his support after health minister Anne Milton
Anne Milton
Anne Frances Milton is a British Conservative Party politician and former nurse who has been the Member of Parliament for Guildford since 2005. After service on the Health Select Committee, in November 2006 she was appointed Shadow Minister for Tourism. In July 2007 she was appointed Shadow...
intervened to suggest the government would support the "spirit" of Dorries amendment. The amendment was lost when put by 368 votes to 118, a majority of 250. Despite this, Dorries claimed a victory because of Milton's comments.
Personal life
After she claimed her 53-year-old husband Paul Dorries had given her an ultimatum, she separated from him at Christmas 2006 saying that her husband, who has multiple sclerosis, were at 'entirely different stages in our life'. They have three daughters. They are now divorced.In January 2011, Dorries stated that, since December 2010, she had been in a relationship with John Butler, a married man who had been a family friend for 13 years previously and whom, she claimed, had separated from his wife shortly before. According to the Mail on Sunday, the couple split up in summer 2011.
Dorries maintains a high profile in the media where she has been derided as 'Mad Nad' while a defender, journalist Quentin Letts
Quentin Letts
Quentin Richard Stephen Letts is a British journalist and theatre critic, writing for The Daily Telegraph, Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday, The Oldie and New Statesman, and previously for The Times.- Early life :...
has accused other MPs of feeling "envy" for her flamboyance and publicity skills.
External links
- The Blog of Nadine Dorries official site
- Mid Bedfordshire Conservatives
- Meet the MP: Nadine Dorries, BBC NewsBBC NewsBBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
, 28 November 2005 - Facebook campaign against Dorries' abstinence for girls bill
Audio
- Discussing abortion on Radio 4's Woman's Hour in October 2006
- Talking to Mark Darcy of Radio 4's Westminster Hour about abortion in 2006
Articles
- Attempting to lower abortion time limit in 2006
- Telegraph article: The World according to Nadine Dorries - November 2007
- Telegraph article - Bridget Jones MP - November 2007
- http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/may/22/mps-expenses-conservatives
- Guardian article on Dorries' abstinence for girls sex education bill
- Daily Mail Article on Daniel Ward
Video