Nadine Dorries has quit as a Tory MP, announcing her resignation just before she was denied a peerage in Boris Johnson’s exit honours list.
The former culture secretary shocked Westminster by revealing that she is standing down from her mid-Bedfordshire seat with immediate effect.
Mr Johnson’s exit honours list was published on Friday afternoon, with seven of his friends and close political allies being elevated to the Lords.
Just over an hour before it was released, Ms Dorries announced on Twitter that she was quitting the Commons after 18 years as an MP.
“I have today informed the chief whip that I am standing down as the MP for Mid Bedfordshire, with immediate effect,” she said.
“It has been an honour to serve as the MP for such a wonderful constituency but it is now time for another to take the reins.”
Her former seat, where she held a 24,664 majority, will now be contested in a by-election which the Liberal Democrats have high hopes of winning.
Ms Dorries had been expected to be on the honours list alongside Alok Sharma, the former COP26 president. Both served in Mr Johnson’s Cabinet.
Instead the list featured seven names including Ross Kempsell, who served as a media adviser to the former prime minister in Downing Street.
Five of the people ennobled served Mr Johnson either in No 10 or when he was Mayor of London.
They also include Dan Rosenfield, his former chief of staff, Ben Gascoigne, his ex political secretary, Charlotte Owen, a former adviser, and Kulveer Ranger, who was Director of Transport for London.
Ben Houchen, the Tory mayor of the Tees Valley, and Shaun Bailey, a Tory member of the London Assembly, have also been given peerages.
Mr Johnson has also handed out knighthoods and damehoods to many other close allies from his time in power, including eight Tory MPs.
Conor Burns, a staunch defender of the former prime minister, has been handed a knighthood as has Simon Clarke, the former levelling up secretary.
Jacob Rees-Mogg, a former business secretary, Priti Patel, an ex home secretary, and Amanda Milling, a former Tory chairman, are all on the list.
Michael Fabricant, the MP for Lichfield, Andrea Jenkyns, a former education minister and Sir Bill Cash, a veteran Eurosceptic, have also been honoured.
Mr Johnson has controversially handed out honours to several officials who served with him and who were caught up in the partygate scandal.
They include Martin Reynolds, his former principal private secretary, who became known as “Party Marty” after sending out invites to a Bring Your Own Bottle gathering.
Shelley Williams-Walker, who was dubbed “DJ SWW” after reportedly taking charge of the music at one of the Downing Street parties, has been handed an OBE.
Political opponents attacked the honours list for “doling out rewards for those who tried to cover up rule-breaking and toadied to a disgraced former prime minister”.
Angela Rayner, Labour’s deputy leader, said: “It’s a sickening insult that those who planned Covid parties and held boozy lockdown bashes while families were unable to mourn loved ones are now set to be handed gongs by Rishi Sunak.
“As Boris Johnson faces yet more allegations and investigations about his conduct, the privilege of an honours list is spectacularly ill-judged and wholly undeserved.
“It’s shameful that Rishi Sunak has failed to stand up to his former boss’s outrageous demands and agreed to hand out prizes to this carousel of cronies.
“He promised integrity, but this weak Prime Minister is once again showing his appalling judgement by doing Boris Johnson’s bidding.”
Daisy Cooper, the deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats, added: “Boris Johnson has been allowed to hand out gongs to his partygate pals, and Rishi Sunak has just waved it through.
“We’ve gone from the lavender list to the catalogue of cronies. This is corruption pure and simple.”