Nadine Dorries resigns as culture secretary
Nadine Dorries is to step down as secretary of state at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) after a year in the role.
The MP for Mid Bedfordshire submitted her resignation letter today ahead of Liz Truss’s appointment as prime minister.
Dorries said she had been asked to stay on as culture secretary but had told Truss she would “be better placed to support her from outside of the cabinet”.
In her resignation letter, she wrote: “The department I leave behind is truly wonderful. It is filled with civil servants who are bursting with drive and talent and together we have achieved so much.”
Dorries said that although many underestimate DCMS, the department “packs a mighty punch”.
She said that levelling up had been central to her agenda as culture secretary and she had been determined to “ensure that those who thought theatres, museums, art galleries and libraries were not places for them felt welcome”.
She said she was proud to have secured an additional £43.5m of Arts Council England funding to be invested outside London, and to have ensured that up to £24m a year will be redirected from London to culturally deprived areas by 2025.
The full cabinet is expected to be unveiled by Truss imminently. Former Tory leadership candidate Kemi Badenoch is among the names rumoured to be in contention for the role.
The new culture secretary will be the 11th appointment to the role since 2010.
The next incumbent will face a full in-tray, with cultural leaders calling for urgent action to help the sector through the cost of living crisis.
See the Museums Association's statement on the cost of living crisis
Culture secretaries since 2010
- Jeremy Hunt, May 2010 – September 2012
- Maria Miller, September 2012 – April 2014
- Sajid Javid, April 2014 – May 2015
- John Whittingdale, May 2015 – July 2016
- Karen Bradley, 14 July-2016 – January 2018
- Matt Hancock, January 2018 – July 2018
- Jeremy Wright, July 2018 – July 2019
- Nicky Morgan, July 2019 – February 2020
- Oliver Dowden, February 2020 – September 2021
- Nadine Dorries, September 2021 – September 2022