Nadine Dorries facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids The Right Honourable Nadine Dorries
Official portrait, 2021

Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
In office 15 September 2021 – 6 September 2022
Prime Minister	Boris Johnson
Preceded by	Oliver Dowden
Succeeded by	Michelle Donelan
Minister of State for Patient Safety, Suicide Prevention and Mental Health
In office 27 July 2019 – 15 September 2021
Prime Minister	Boris Johnson
Preceded by	Jackie Doyle-Price
Succeeded by	Gillian Keegan
Member of Parliament for Mid Bedfordshire
In office 5 May 2005 – 29 August 2023
Preceded by	Jonathan Sayeed
Succeeded by	Alistair Strathern

Personal details
Born	Nadine Vanessa Bargery (1957-05-21) 21 May 1957 (age 68) Liverpool, England
Political party	Conservative
Spouse	Paul Dorries (m. 1984; div. 2007)
Children	3
Education	Halewood Grange Comprehensive School
Alma mater	Warrington General Hospital (nurse trainee)
Occupation	Politician nurse businesswoman author
Signature

Nadine Vanessa Dorries (born 21 May 1957) is a British author and a former politician. She was a Member of Parliament (MP) for Mid Bedfordshire from 2005 to 2023. She belonged to the Conservative Party.

From 2021 to 2022, Nadine Dorries served as the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. This is a very important job in the government.

Nadine Dorries was born in Liverpool, England. Her family was working-class. She grew up in areas like Anfield and Runcorn. She started her career as a trainee nurse. Later, she worked as a medical representative. She also spent a year in Zambia, where she led a community school.

After returning to England, she started her own company called Company Kids Ltd. This company helped working parents by providing child day-care services. She sold her company in 1998. In 2005, she was elected to the House of Commons as an MP.

During her time as an MP, she sometimes disagreed with other politicians. For example, she was part of the reality TV show I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! in 2012. This caused her to temporarily lose her party's support. However, she was later welcomed back.

In 2019, Boris Johnson made her a minister for patient safety and mental health. In 2021, she was promoted to Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. She left this role in 2022. In 2023, she officially resigned as an MP.

Early Life and Education

Nadine Vanessa Bargery was born in Liverpool on 21 May 1957. Her father was a bus driver. Her mother was Anglican, and Nadine was raised in that faith.

She grew up in the Anfield area of Liverpool. She went to Rose Heath Primary School. Then she attended Halewood Grange Comprehensive School in Halewood. Later, her family moved to Runcorn. She lived on a council estate. In 1975, she began training to be a nurse at Warrington General Hospital.

Starting Her Career

From 1978 to 1981, Nadine Dorries worked as a nurse. She worked in Warrington and Liverpool. After she married Paul Dorries, a mining engineer, she left the Liverpool area.

In 1982, she worked as a medical representative for a year. From 1983 to 1984, she lived in Zambia. There, she was the head of a community school. Her husband worked at a copper mine in Zambia.

In 1987, she started her own business, Company Kids Ltd. This company offered day-care services for children of working parents. She sold the company in 1998. After selling her company, she worked as a director for BUPA, a health provider, for a year.

Before becoming an MP, she tried to become a Member of Parliament for Hazel Grove in 2001. She did not win that election. She also worked as an adviser to Oliver Letwin, a Shadow Chancellor, helping him with media relations.

Becoming a Member of Parliament (2005–2023)

In 2005, Nadine Dorries was chosen to represent the Conservative Party for the area of Mid Bedfordshire. This was considered a "safe seat," meaning the Conservative Party usually won there easily.

She was elected to the House of Commons in the 2005 general election. She gave her first speech as an MP on 25 May 2005.

Working on Committees

Nadine Dorries was a member of different committees in Parliament. These committees look closely at specific topics. She was part of the Innovation, Universities, Science and Skills Committee. Later, she joined the Health Select Committee in 2010.

Questions About Expenses

In 2009, there were questions about her expenses as an MP. Newspapers looked into claims she made for her second home. She said some claims were mistakes. She also faced questions about money claimed for an annual report in 2007. She later said this report was not printed and a refund was issued.

In 2013, she announced she would no longer claim her personal expenses. She said she would use her salary for these costs. She believed this would help her campaign to change the expenses system for MPs.

Her Blog and Public Statements

Nadine Dorries had a blog where she wrote about her work. In 2010, she was criticized for her blog. A watchdog said it might "mislead constituents" about how much time she spent in her area. She said her blog was "70% fiction and 30% fact." She later explained that she disguised her location on the blog for safety reasons.

Reality TV Show Appearance

In November 2012, Nadine Dorries appeared on the reality TV show I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!. She did not tell her party leaders she was going to be away from Parliament. Because of this, the Conservative Party temporarily suspended her from the party. This meant she could not vote with the party in Parliament.

She was the first contestant voted off the show. In May 2013, she was allowed back into the Conservative Party. She later shared how much money she earned from the show.

Views on Brexit

Nadine Dorries strongly supported the UK leaving the European Union (Brexit). In the 2016 EU referendum, she campaigned for the "Leave" side. She was critical of Prime Minister David Cameron, who wanted to "Remain."

She believed that if the UK stayed in the European Union Customs Union, it would not truly have left the EU. The Customs Union is an agreement where EU countries do not charge taxes on goods traded between them.

Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (2021–2022)

Dorries with Boris Johnson and Michael Gove in Birmingham during the 2022 Commonwealth Games

On 15 September 2021, Nadine Dorries became the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. This was a major promotion. In this role, she was in charge of things like digital technology, culture, media, and sports in the UK.

She often spoke about wanting to change the BBC. She believed there was "elitism" at the BBC. She also tried to privatize Channel 4, which means selling it to a private company. However, her plans for Channel 4 were later stopped by the next minister.

In July 2022, she gave special protection to a plaque of Cecil Rhodes in Oxford. She said it had "special historic interest." This decision was debated because Rhodes had a controversial past.

Leaving Parliament (2022–2023)

On 5 September 2022, Nadine Dorries resigned from her role as Culture Secretary. She decided to step down to focus on writing books.

On 9 June 2023, she announced she would resign as an MP right away. This would cause a special election in her area. However, she later changed her mind. She said she would not resign until she received information about why she was not given a special title called a "peerage."

Many people, including other politicians and local councils, criticized her for not resigning immediately. They said her constituents were not being properly represented. On 29 August 2023, she officially resigned from Parliament. The special election for her seat was held on 19 October and was won by Alistair Strathern of the Labour Party.

Author

In September 2013, it was announced that Nadine Dorries had signed a deal to write three books. Her first book, The Four Streets, was published in April 2014. It became a best-selling e-book.

By 2022, she had published 16 books. She also announced a deal for six more books. In 2023, she released a book called The Plot. This book talks about the reasons she believes Boris Johnson left his role as Prime Minister.

Political Views

Nadine Dorries is known as a "right-wing, working-class Conservative." She is a member of the Cornerstone Group, which is a socially conservative group of politicians.

Same-Sex Marriage

She did not support the law that introduced same-sex marriage in the UK. She believed this issue could cause her party to lose many votes.

Burka Ban

In 2018, she commented on the burka. She said that no woman in a free society should be forced to cover her face. She also said it was "shameful" that the UK was behind other countries like France and Denmark on this issue.

Views on Other Politicians

Nadine Dorries often spoke her mind about other politicians. She criticized John Bercow, who was the Speaker of the House of Commons. She also criticized David Cameron and George Osborne, calling them "two arrogant posh boys."

Personal Life

Nadine Dorries married Paul Dorries, a mining engineer, in 1984. They had three daughters. They separated in 2007 and later divorced.

Nadine Dorries has dyslexia, which is a learning difficulty that affects reading and writing.

Honours

Nadine Dorries became a member of the Privy Council on 20 September 2021. This means she can use the special title "The Right Honourable."

Awards

In 2008, she won The Spectator's Readers' Representative Award.

Images for kids

Nadine Dorries' signature