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Politics
Elaine McCallig
Feb 03, 2022
Nadine Dorries struggles to defend Boris Johnson over ‘fake news’ attack on ...
Channel 4
Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries has accused critics of Boris Johnson of being “selfish” and “doing Labour’s work”.
Dorries said that on the same day the government set out steps to “level up” the nation, “a handful of egos want to make it all about them”.
Her comments follow three Conservative MPs yesterday publicly submitting letters of no confidence in Boris Johnson.
The defining mission of the PM & this government is to level up the whole of the UK. On the very day we are setting out steps to make this happen, a handful of egos want to make it all about them. It's selfish, doing Labours work and it\u2019s really not helping their constituents.https://twitter.com/anthonymangnal1/status/1488887664493445125\u00a0\u2026— Nadine Dorries (@Nadine Dorries) 1643823216
But people were quick to point out the irony of Dorries’s remarks.
The political editor of the Byline Times, Adam Bienkov, pointed out that Dorries herself previously called for former prime ministers Theresa May and David Cameron to be sacked.
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In January, Bienkov also highlighted that Dorries previously had strong words for those who want Johnson out. She told The Times: “The people who are doing this are being disloyal to the prime minister, the party, their constituents and the wider country.”
Despite her previously doing so, twice, of course…
Nadine Dorries says Conservative MPs who call for the Prime Minister to resign are \u201ca handful of egos [who] want to make it all about them\u201d and are \u201cdoing Labours work\u201d.pic.twitter.com/KyWBopBibf— Adam Bienkov (@Adam Bienkov) 1643823860
Nadine Dorries tells the Times that any Conservative MP who calls for the Prime Minister to resign is "being disloyal to the prime minister, the party, their constituents and the wider country.\u201d\n\nHere\u2019s what she said back in 2018.pic.twitter.com/HCTWFu2XoM— Adam Bienkov (@Adam Bienkov) 1642581945
Others, including the SNP's shadow culture secretary John Nicolson MP, pointed out her own endeavours in the public eye, including her stint on I’m a Celeb (although her appearance on the reality show wasn’t without controversy).
I notice my opposite number Nadine Dorries has accused some Tory backbench MPs of \u201cattention seeking\u201d.pic.twitter.com/4tPqUOScRy— JOHN NICOLSON M.P. (@JOHN NICOLSON M.P.) 1643827388
Some pointed out that her choice to brand critics a “handful of egos” was unhelpful, while others joked about the “irony” of her remark:
There is clearly widespread anger.\n\nAttacking people expressing that as egomaniacs is as ironic (in the context of Boris) as it is foolish.\n\nIf this government wants to survive, it needs to listen to the public and the conservative movement, & swiftly change course & behavior.https://twitter.com/NadineDorries/status/1488928603035377674\u00a0\u2026— Ben Harris-Quinney (@Ben Harris-Quinney) 1643832961
"A handful of egos want to make it all about them."\n\nHello, is that The Irony Helpline?https://twitter.com/NadineDorries/status/1488928603035377674\u00a0\u2026— Barry Collins (@Barry Collins) 1643830178
Ah yes, saying Tory critics of Boris Johnson are 'a handful of egos... selfish...doing Labour's work' is definitely going to helphttps://twitter.com/NadineDorries/status/1488928603035377674\u00a0\u2026— Lizzy Buchan (@Lizzy Buchan) 1643823916
This should calm everyone down...https://twitter.com/NadineDorries/status/1488928603035377674\u00a0\u2026— Heather Stewart (@Heather Stewart) 1643824469
I\u2019m pretty sure every time @NadineDorries tweets, she convinces a 2019er or a back bencher to sharpen their pencil and write a letter. \n\n#JohnsonOut9 \n#JohnsonTheLiarhttps://twitter.com/nadinedorries/status/1488928603035377674\u00a0\u2026— JaneyM (@JaneyM) 1643825558
this will take the heat out of ithttps://twitter.com/NadineDorries/status/1488928603035377674\u00a0\u2026— Adam Payne (@Adam Payne) 1643824588
\u201cStop going public with your no confidence letters about this government being careless otherwise I, a government minister, will prove your point with a careless tweet attacking you!\u201dhttps://twitter.com/nadinedorries/status/1488928603035377674\u00a0\u2026— Liam O'Dell (@Liam O'Dell) 1643826345
I would respectfully suggest that it is Boris Johnson and his Number 10 staff who have been doing Labour\u2019s work for them. https://twitter.com/NadineDorries/status/1488928603035377674\u00a0\u2026— Julia Hartley-Brewer (@Julia Hartley-Brewer) 1643826447
If there is one thing the current Prime Minister hates its people with big egos and people who behave selfishlyhttps://twitter.com/NadineDorries/status/1488928603035377674\u00a0\u2026— Chloe Chaplain (@Chloe Chaplain) 1643823527
A parody account also weighed in:
I just can\u2019t believe all the MPs making it all about them with their \u201cstandards in public life\u201d and their \u201cvaluing the importance of honesty and integrity\u201d. So selfish!— Nadine Dorries Parody (@Nadine Dorries Parody) 1643827670
Dorries’s tweet was in response to a tweet from Anthony Mangnall MP, who was one of the three Conservative MPs to send letters of no confidence in Boris Johnson to the 1922 Committee.
The other MPs to publicly do so yesterday were senior Tory MP Tobias Ellwood and longstanding MP Sir Gary Streeter. This brings the total number of MPs to publicly call for Johnson’s resignation to 13, though more are believed to have done so privately. A confidence vote will be triggered if 54 letters are submitted.
Mangnall yesterday tweeted that “standards in public life matter”, and said the prime minister’s actions and “mistruths” overshadow the work of his colleagues.
Retweeting Mangnall’s message, Dorries wrote: “The defining mission of the PM & this government is to level up the whole of the UK. On the very day we are setting out steps to make this happen, a handful of egos want to make it all about them. It's selfish, doing Labours work and it’s really not helping their constituents. [sic]”
Earlier this week Dorries made headlines after taking part in three disastrous media interviews in which she tried to defend Johnson following the publication of Sue Gray’s neutered report. A screengrab from the BBC interview in which Dorries looks like she is “snarling” promptly became a meme after the interview was broadcast.
Meanwhile, the Levelling Up whitepaper was revealed yesterday, which includes 12 key points on how the government plans to “level up” the UK. This encompasses plans for improving public transport and education, and crime reduction.
However, the whitepaper also bizarrely includes a list of the largest cities in the world since 7000BC.
Despite everything that's been going on, Johnson isn’t phased. He has gone so far as to tell The Sun that he’ll be throwing his hat into the ring during the next election in 2024 and is confident he will win due to his government’s levelling up plan.
Time will tell…
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