DORRIES IS NO CELEBRITY, BUT WILL BE GOT OUT.

I've often felt that members of Parliament were little removed from the entertainment industry and recent events have proved me to be correct in this belief.

 

The Conservative MP for somewhere in Bedfordshire, Nadine Dorries, has decided that, rather than do her day job of representing her constituents, she will instead take a month's holiday in Australia while participating in an appalling 'reality' TV show, "I'm a celebrity, get me out of here". That she is a member of Parliament and not a 'celebrity' seems to have passed her by, as does the fact that she is forsaking both those who elected her and her Party.

 

Ms Dorries has a track record of being something of a maverick and her Party has reacted, as might have been expected, by withdrawing the 'Whip' from her, effectively suspending her from Party membership. One imagines that, in due course, her constituents will do rather more and withdraw her Parliamentary seat.

 

It seems that Ms Dorries has decided that politics is not, after all, for her and a career in the entertainment world is more to her liking. In doing this she is following the examples of several others; Neil Hamilton who lost his seat and then, with his wife, took to the chat show circuit; the unlamented Lembit Opik, who gave up his Commons seat to pursue a career as a stand-up comedian, something which many probably felt he'd always been; and George Galloway, whose dreadful antics on "Big Brother" plunged new depths of political desperation. Others, Brian Walden and Mathew Parris spring to mind, have also followed a political career with one in the media, though these have nearly always been what might be called 'respectable'. It is also the case that none of these felt it right to leave the country for a protracted period in order to pursue their alternative careers while also still being a Member of Parliament.

 

Ms Dorries apparently failed to even tell her Party managers of her intentions, no doubt being aware of the reception she would receive, and so no arrangements were put in place for either the temporary representation of her constituents or for 'pairing' in the event of votes in the House of Commons. It's been reported that the Conservative Chief Whip, George Younger, is expecting Ms Dorries to present herself before him on her return. No doubt the reception will be frosty and the meeting painful.

 

If I were Ms Dorries, I think I'd resign now and stay in Australia. That, of course, would entail her giving up her Parliamentary salary and the assorted perks which go with the job so, presumably, she'll hang on until her constituency kicks her out, which will not be before the next election in 2015. If ever there was an argument for being able to expel recalcitrant MPs from Parliament, surely this is it.