Nadine Dorries resigns: Which party is the favourite to win in Mid Bedfordshire?

The former cabinet minister has finally quit, months after promising to do so.

Nadine Dorries has at last resigned as an MP, with a by-election now set to take place in the vacated Mid Bedfordshire seat.

The former cabinet minister quit in a scathing resignation letter, in which she accused Rishi Sunak for running a “zombie parliament”.

Now her seat, which the Tories held with a majority of 24,664 at the 2019 general election is up for grabs.

Nadine Dorries has resigned her parliamentary seat.

Labour has selected Alistair Strathern as its candidate, who previously worked as a climate leader for insurance at the Bank of England.

Also a councillor, Mr Strathern has protested with Greenpeace, and been campaigning with visits from a series of big Labour figures, including Sir Keir Starmer.

His party have insisted they’ll go “all guns blazing” to win, and claim they are the favourites, pointing to a recent Sunday Telegraph poll which put Labour in the lead, with the Lib Dems in fourth place.

However, the Liberal Democrats also believe they have a chance of winning, and are the bookies favourite.

Labour's Mid Bedfordshire by-election candidate Alistair Strathern meeting local activists while canvassing in the constituency.

Emma Holland-Lindsay is the Lib Dem candidate, previously worked for a disabled children's charity and now runs campaigns for the UK’s biggest women’s organisation

The seat is a real target for the party, with Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey having visited the constituency three times on the campaign trail already.

However, with both Labour and the Lib Dems claiming they are the favourites, there is a small chance the seat could stay blue.

For the Tories, this would see Festus Akinbusoye elected, who became Bedfordshire's police and crime commissioner in May 2021.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey with Cllr Emma Holland-Lindsay, the candidate for the Mid Bedfordshire constituency.

Tory peer and elections guru Lord Hayward said: “What we’re seeing in Mid Bedfordshire is not only a very determined campaign both by the Labour Party and by the Liberal Democrats, but there’s also likely to be a strong independent as well, plus likely Greens and the like.

“If you have a split opposition, whatever circumstances it is, then what you may well get is the sitting party being able to retain the seat.”

Despite this, the Government still expect to lose the seat, there is just uncertainty over which party might claim it for themselves.

The by-election is expected sometime in October.