There’s nothing your mole enjoys more than the smell of hypocrisy in the morning. Yes, another politician has decided that they’re suddenly very much in favour of loyalty – if the loyalty is towards a cause they support.
The Tory MP Nadine Dorries tweeted in fury last night after the government’s Brexit defeat that the Tory rebels should be deselected and never allowed to stand again:
Tonight, the Tory rebels have put a spring in Labours step, given them a taste of winning, guaranteed the party a weekend of bad press, undermined the PM and devalued her impact in Brussels. They should be deselected and never allowed to stand as a Tory MP, ever again.
— Nadine Dorries (@NadineDorries) December 13, 2017
I’ve been a rebel myself, but never when a Marxist government was knocking at the door.
— Nadine Dorries (@NadineDorries) December 13, 2017
The Govt recently nominated Grieve to be Chairman (paid) of the Intelligence and Security Committee. He has repaid that by his treachery. We’re there no loyal MPs for the job,? You know, like the way Labour do it when they are in government.
— Nadine Dorries (@NadineDorries) December 13, 2017
Harsh words indeed. But your mole couldn’t help remembering that Dorries has rebelled loads of times (43 to be precise) – you can see them all here on her voting record – on subjects such as Sunday opening hours, the EU referendum, same-sex marriage, parliamentary recall, abortion and smoke-free premises.
She also showed her disloyalty by calling David Cameron and George Osborne (when they were Prime Minister and Chancellor) “two posh boys who don’t know the price of milk” in 2012.
In the same year, Dorries was suspended by her party for entering I’m a Celebrity without asking permission to take time off parliament to be in the show, on which she once said: “We can always rebel. I’m an expert at rebelling.”
It also looks like she’s against deselecting MPs, calling Labour the “nasty party” for rumours that some members are calling for deselection:
I’m confused @NadineDorries so help me out: is deselection a good thing or a bad thing? pic.twitter.com/25qFIARosK
— Tom Copley (@tomcopley) December 14, 2017