Nadine Dorries Conservative Alistair Strathern Labour A by-election took place on 19 October 2023 in the United Kingdom parliamentary constituency of Mid Bedfordshire.

[6] There had been speculation for months that she, Nigel Adams and Alok Sharma were to receive peerages in Johnson's resignation honours list.

The list of proposed peerages went to the House of Lords Appointments Commission (HOLAC), who rejected several names, including Dorries, Adams and Sharma, as they were serving MPs who were not planning to stand down imminently.

[10] Sunak said on 12 June that Johnson asked him to overrule HOLAC or make promises to people of peerages at a later stage, but that he "was not prepared to do that".

When she subsequently announced that she would be resigning "with immediate effect" later in the day, she said "something significant" had happened to change her mind, without giving further detail.

[12] According to The Times, Johnson and his nominees believed mistakenly that they could be re-vetted by HOLAC every six months without needing to be re-nominated, as long as they said they would be standing down at the next general election.

[13] Later the same day, Johnson also announced his intention to resign as an MP over the way the Commons Privileges Committee had investigated his statements to Parliament related to Partygate, eventually triggering another by-election in Uxbridge and South Ruislip.

[14] Dorries later criticised Sunak and his adviser James Forsyth as "posh boys", who "duplicitously and cruelly" blocked her from receiving a peerage.

[17] On the evening of 14 June, Dorries tweeted to say that it was "absolutely" her intention to resign, but that she was delaying doing so until she had received information requested about why she was not awarded a peerage.

[19] In summer 2023, both Flitwick and Shefford Town Councils wrote open letters to Dorries, urging her to immediately vacate the seat, citing her lack of representation for her constituents and criticising her absence.

[20][21] Labour MP Chris Bryant proposed the use of a 19th century Parliamentary rule to table a motion requiring Dorries to attend Parliament or be suspended, which would lead to a recall petition.

The letter was highly critical of Sunak, accusing him of abandoning "the fundamental principles of Conservatism", and also claiming the police had visited her home due to threats made to her person.

[31]) He had been a cabinet member (portfolio-holder) on Waltham Forest London Borough Council since 2021,[32][29] receiving an annual allowance of £37,777,[30] in addition to his salary as "climate lead" at the Bank of England.

[39] Holland ran unsuccessfully as a Reform UK candidate in the 2023 Central Bedfordshire Council elections for the Meppershall and Shillington ward.

[44] Some media sources speculated that the Liberal Democrats would perform strongly, but reported that Labour also expected they could win the seat.

[56] On 21 September it was reported that Labour had issued a cease and desist letter to the Lib Dems, accusing them of publishing "lies and smears" about the Labour candidate in their election leaflets, and using a misleading bar chart showing the Lib Dems as neck-and-neck with the Conservatives, when polling put them in third place.