Nadine Dorries: What happens next in Mid Bedfordshire seat?

The parties are already campaigning and people in the constituency are telling us they just want the limbo to be over, but still we wait for Conservative MP Nadine Dorries to formally stand down from her safe seat in Mid Bedfordshire.

She made the move at a similar time to two other Tory MPs stepping down - former Prime Minister Boris Johnson in Uxbridge & South Ruislip in west London, and Nigel Adams in Selby & Ainsty in North Yorkshire.

While those two have formally gone, we're still waiting for her to make it official.

Why is she waiting and what do we know so far about the prospective by-election?

She had been expected to be nominated for a place in the House of Lords in Boris Johnson's resignation honours list, but she was not included in the end.

As a result, she is now saying that although it's "absolutely her intention to resign", she wants to get more information on why she was denied a peerage first.

We expect by-elections for Mr Johnson's and Mr Adams' seats to happen between 13 July and 21 July, but Ms Dorries has until the middle of next week to formally quit, otherwise her by-election could happen as late as September because MPs are due to go on their summer recess after 21 July.

The chief whip of the party whose MP holds the seat starts the process of a by-election and MPs have to agree to it. The Speaker of the House of Commons then issues a warrant to the clerk of the crown, who then sends the writ to the returning officer in the constituency.

A by-election would then be triggered in the rural constituency, which includes the small towns of Ampthill, Flitwick, Shefford and Woburn.

Mid Beds has been a Conservative seat since 1931, with Ms Dorries doubling her majority in the four elections she's fought and won since first being elected in 2005.

Campaigning has already started, even though at this point it could be regarded as a phoney war, with some of the big guns from the main three parties already visiting.

The Conservatives have sent Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden to Flitwick, and party co-chairman Greg Hands was in Mid Beds the day after her announcement.

Despite the lack of formal resignation from the sitting MP, the party has named its new candidate as Festus Akinbusoye, who has been the Bedfordshire Police and Crime Commissioner since his election in 2021.

Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats (the only party to have held the seat previously, albeit back in 1929 when they were the Liberal Party) are claiming they're the favourites to win, with leader Sir Ed Davey and Deputy Leader and St Albans MP Daisy Cooper already visiting.

Labour have already despatched shadow cabinet members Lisa Nandy and Wes Streeting to Bedfordshire, with Ms Nandy pointing to the party already having three Bedfordshire MPs (Bedford, Luton North, Luton South) and an increased presence on Central Beds Council as a reason why they could win.

Labour has just named Alistair Strathern as its candidate.

Mr Strathern, who grew up in Bedfordshire, is a former teacher who now works for the Bank of England, as well as being a cabinet member on Waltham Forest Council in east London.

Partly because of Ms Dorries's presence, this seat has often attracted some weird and wonderful candidates with the Monster Raving Loony Party standing in the previous three contests.

No word from them yet, but we already know of candidates from three other parties, plus an independent.

Gareth Mackey, who is an independent councillor on Central Beds Council is confirmed as standing, while the Greens have put forward Cade Sibley.

Dave Holland will stand for Reform UK while Alan Victor will represent the True and Fair Party.

So it's seven candidates expected already - but for now we wait for Nadine.