Nadine Dorries

Nadine Dorries

Nadine Vanessa Dorries (née Bargery; born 21 May 1957) is a British politician serving as Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport since 2021. A member of the Conservative Party, she has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Mid Bedfordshire since 2005. Born in Liverpool to a working-class family, Dorries was raised in the city's Anfield district 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 the 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 first 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. It 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 at the Department of Health and Social Care with responsibility for mental health, suicide prevention, and patient safety.

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