Lib Dems to push for swift Mid Bedfordshire by-election

The Lib Dems plan to table a motion as soon as the Commons return next week.

Former Tory cabinet minister Nadine Dorries (Kirsty O’Connor/PA) (PA Archive)

The Liberal Democrats will try to force the Conservative Party to hold the Mid Bedfordshire by-election at the start of October.

With Parliament scheduled to reconvene on Monday, concerns have arisen that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak might postpone the by-election in Nadine Dorries’ former seat to avoid scheduling conflicts with the Conservative Party conference.

Arguing the people of Mid Bedfordshire deserve to have their voices heard in Parliament without unnecessary delays, the Lib Dems plan to table a motion as soon as the Commons return.

We will fight to give the people of Mid Bedfordshire the strong voice they deserve on access to GPs, the cost of living and tackling crime

Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper

This would potentially lead to a by-election in Mid Bedfordshire on Thursday October 5.

Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper said: “People in Mid Bedfordshire have been denied a voice in Parliament for far too long, all because Nadine Dorries abandoned them and Rishi Sunak refused to do anything about it. They should not be made to wait a day longer to elect an MP who will finally stand up for them.

“It would add insult to injury if Rishi Sunak now decides to delay this by-election for his own political reasons.

“If the Conservatives refuse to call this by-election as soon as Parliament returns, the Liberal Democrats will step in and force them to.

“We will fight to give the people of Mid Bedfordshire the strong voice they deserve on access to GPs, the cost of living and tackling crime.”

Under conventional parliamentary norms, it is the chief whip of the party whose member of Parliament has resigned who typically moves the writ for a by-election.

However, parliamentary rules allow members from other parties to propose such motions.

The Conservatives hold a parliamentary majority, which gives them the power to potentially oppose any motion.

However, doing so could result in allegations of deliberately postponing the by-election.

The departure of former Tory cabinet minister Ms Dorries came after weeks of pressure on her to quit and act on her June 9 pledge to step down with “immediate effect” in protest at not getting a peerage in Boris Johnson’s resignation honours list.

Labour and the Liberal Democrats are already campaigning for the seat, with Mr Sunak facing the prospect of another difficult electoral test for the Conservatives in a nominally safe constituency.

The Government has been approached for comment.