Nadine Dorries - A Study In Dishonesty

While many Zelo Street readers will have turned in early last night, or watched the election drama unfold from home, I was at the count at Priory House in Chicksands, HQ of Central Bedfordshire Council, in support of the serially tenacious Tim Ireland of Bloggerheads, because I volunteered to stand in my friend’s corner to show support in the face of hostility from what I can only conclude is a less than totally principled politician.

Mid-Bedfordshire’s newly-returned Tory MP (yes, it’s her again) Nadine Dorries has made a number of highly creative allegations about TI in the recent past, many of them openly defamatory. Most of these do not need to be considered here; a simple test using one of her more recent utterances is sufficient. As Bedfordshire Today has told, she “says she cannot be in the same room as the man”. It’s clear from the article who “the man” is.

As the count for the Parliamentary Election got under way, all the candidates - except the fragrant Nadine - were present and, with their agents and counting agents, were watching as the piles of white ballot papers were separated out and tallied. Only as the declaration approached did the Dorries presence appear, with the bright blue “Nadmobile” parked out front, unlike we mere mortals who had to use the car park.

Perhaps she considers herself the equivalent of local royalty; the security detail surrounding her was certainly in that category - at least at first - as the impression was given that she was trying to resemble the President of somewhere unstable. Would she be unable to be in the same room as “the man”? Surprisingly not: time after time, she was within two metres of TI, yet no wobblers were thrown. There was no adverse reaction.

Anyone might have thought that she had invented the idea, as she strutted around in her less than practical footwear and wearing not what I thought was a mere dark blue dress, but, as Zelo Street’s occasional fashion consultant has reminded me, a reassuringly expensive designer number. This stood in stark contrast to her cheap fake tan. Then, in responding to the result, she obligingly pulled another whopper.

Ms Dorries stood briefly (thankfully) on the small stage and expressed her thanks, on behalf of all the candidates, for all the hard work put in by the election officials. It would have been hard for her to speak for all the other candidates: Monster Raving Loony candidate Ann Kelly could not have passed on her thanks to the counters, as she was not present. It seems, in fact, that she was not even in the country.

If I had any doubts beforehand as to whether Ms Dorries really was as flagrantly dishonest as she is sometimes painted, this display dispelled them. Reality, for her, gives every appearance of being a truly movable feast, especially when it comes to being creative in dissuading persistent critics. She’s said one thing to the press, only for her actions to prove otherwise. And that is before the Shefford hustings saga (see HERE).

One thing I can guarantee Zelo Street readers - there will be more on this subject.