Ben Houchen is Mayor of the Tees Valley and host of the Blueprint podcast on ConservativeHome
One of The Blueprint Podcasts USPs is its ability to access the stories often unseen in the hidden world of politics, offering listeners unparallel access to Westminster with exclusive stories and takes from those operating on the inside.
Enter, Nadine Dorries. A former minister, bestselling author, and, of course, I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! veteran. Say what you will about her, but there’s no denying she’s a woman of many hats, each more surprising than the last. Her stint in the jungle might have raised eyebrows, but it’s clear she’s never been afraid of wading into the fray, whether it’s with snakes in the outback or political vipers in Westminster.
The notoriously outspoken Dorries unsurprisingly took the opportunity on the podcast to dive into her two books – The Plot, and Downfall, which she argues reveal the rot within the party that has seen it kicked into opposition.
In doing so Nadine pulled back the curtain on her tenure in government with the kind of candour that has made her a divisive yet compelling figure in British politics. If her stories are to be taken, as written, even the staunchest conservative would find it hard to argue that by the time the election came, that the party was not in a fit state to govern.
Her revelations about Dominic Cummings, apparently, rather strangely referred to as the “Dark Lord,” by those in Number 10, painted a vivid picture of a man whose influence and Machiavellian approach defined much of Boris Johnson’s early premiership.
According to Nadine, Cummings wasn’t just content to shape the government’s direction; he was allegedly plotting Boris’s downfall from day one. If true, it’s a disappointing reminder of how politics can sometimes resemble an episode of Game of Thrones, with betrayal lurking at every corner, rather than being a duty and a mission to better our great nation.
But it wasn’t just Cummings who came under Nadine’s sharp critique.
She took aim at the 2019 intake of MPs, a cohort who it was said didn’t know their arse from their elbow. Many, she claimed, believed their victory was down to their own efforts rather than Boris’s electoral magic, which led them to drop the former Prime Minister when the going got tough.
It is difficult to disagree with this perspective and I suspect deep down a number of now former MPs may reflect on that period and think they may still have an office in Westminster had they not followed believed their own egos back in 2022.
However, perhaps most striking were her comments about alleged sex parties and the so-called “RN group.” The details, while salacious, carry serious implications for the Conservative Party. If these allegations hold weight, they could deepen the public’s disillusionment with politics at a time when trust in our institutions is already perilously low. For a party striving to maintain its reputation for discipline and moral authority, this is the last kind of publicity it needs.
Nadine’s reflections, regardless of how much weight readers choose to give them, serve as a timely reminder of why we need to stay focused on the issues that truly matter – from delivering on levelling up to ensuring we restore faith in politics. Whatever your view of Nadine Dorries, her Blueprint interview is a vivid, if occasionally uncomfortable, portrait of the highs and lows of modern Conservative politics.
And whilst her books may prove to be a salacious read, if the Conservative Party wants to regain the trust of the British people it simply has to become more serious and remove itself from an image of self-serving arrogance, critiqued by Dorries, and focus squarely on talking about one thing:
A plan to fix things.