Christopher BarrettNadine Dorries said she is stepping down as culture secretary, less than a year after she replaced Oliver Dowden in the role.
The Conservative MP for Mid Bedfordshire was the tenth culture secretary in 10 years. Following the election of Liz Truss as prime minister, Dorries has reportedly decided to return to writing books.
Penny Mordaunt and Kemi Badenoch have been linked to role ahead of a cabinet reshuffle expected later today, 6 September.
Dorries entered politics in 2000 having previously worked as a nurse. She worked as a special adviser to Oliver Letwin, the then shadow chancellor, before being elected in 2005. She was appointed minister of state at the Department of Health and Social Care in May 2020, having been promoted from parliamentary under secretary of state in the department, before becoming culture secretary in late September last year.
A published author, Dorries was suspended by the Conservative Party in 2012 following her decision to take part in filming ITV1’s I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here in Australia without first asking permission. She was the first contestant to be voted off the show.
Dorries was reportedly a strong supporter of former prime minister Boris Johnson but made clear her distain for former Conservative Party leader David Cameron and chancellor George Osborne, referring to them as “arrogant posh boys who don’t know the price of milk”.