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Nadine Vanessa Dorries is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport from 2021 to 2022. A member of the Conservative Party, she was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for Mid Bedfordshire in 2005.
Born in Liverpool to a working-class family, Dorries was raised in the city's district of Anfield and the nearby towns of Halewood and Runcorn. She began work as a trainee nurse in Warrington and subsequently became a medical representative. During her early career, she spent a year in Zambia as head of a community school. After returning to England, she founded Company Kids Ltd, which provided child day-care services for working parents. She sold the company in 1998. She was elected to the House of Commons at the 2005 general election for the Conservative safe seat of Mid Bedfordshire.
As a backbencher, Dorries introduced several unsuccessful private member's bills, including attempts to reduce the time limit for abortions in the UK and changes to the rules regarding counselling for the women involved, and the advocacy of sexual abstinence for girls in sex education. An opponent of John Bercow, she attempted to have him removed as Speaker of the House of Commons. She also clashed with David Cameron and George Osborne, describing them as "two arrogant posh boys". In 2012, she lost the Conservative whip after she took part in the reality TV programme I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! without informing the chief whip. The whip was returned in 2013 and she was re-admitted to the parliamentary party.
In July 2019, Boris Johnson appointed Dorries as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Patient Safety, Suicide Prevention and Mental Health. In May 2020, she was promoted to a minister of state. In Johnson's cabinet reshuffle in September 2021, he promoted her to Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. Despite being invited to stay on, she resigned from her role as Secretary of State ahead of the formation of the Truss ministry, after Liz Truss took over from Johnson on 6 September 2022. After stating in February 2023 that she would not seek re-election at the next general election, Dorries announced her intention in June 2023 to stand down as an MP, which would result in a by-election in Mid Bedfordshire. As of 14 June 2023, Dorries is yet to proceed with the formal process to vacate her seat.
