The video discusses toxic cultures within British institutions, particularly focusing on the Conservative Party. Nadine Dorris, a former Conservative Culture Secretary, introduces her book "The Self Destruction of the Conservative Party," highlighting issues within the party. The host questions Dorris on her criticisms of various party leaders, including Kemi Badenoch, and the internal dynamics that have led to leadership changes. Furthermore, Dorris addresses allegations around a culture of misconduct and inappropriate behavior among MPs and the lack of accountability within the Tory party.

Drawing on her book and personal experiences, Dorris sheds light on her perspectives about recent leadership transitions in the Conservative Party. She elaborates on how loyalty to personal ethics and truth sometimes clashes with party dynamics. Criticisms of past leaders, their perceived disloyalty, and the broader implications of these leadership styles on the party's future are central topics.

Main takeaways from the video:

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Key Vocabularies and Common Phrases:

1. obsequiousness [əbˈsiːkwiəsnəs] - (noun) - Excessive eagerness to please or obey - Synonyms: (fawning, servility, sycophancy)

What I don't like is when I don't like obsequiousness and I don't like people being held.

2. compilation [ˌkɒmpɪˈleɪʃən] - (noun) - The action or process of collecting a variety of materials or information. - Synonyms: (collection, assemblage, anthology)

Well, the book is a compilation of a series of interviews...

3. verbatim [vərˈbeɪtəm] - (adverb) - In exactly the same words as were used originally. - Synonyms: (word for word, exactly, precisely)

These are almost his words verbatim, where he said to Laura...

4. aloofness [əˈluːfnəs] - (noun) - A state of being emotionally distant or detached. - Synonyms: (detachment, indifference, remoteness)

Kemi's ted, her aloofness, rudeness, but mostly her well known aversion to hard work...

5. aversion [əˈvɜːʃən] - (noun) - A strong dislike or disinclination. - Synonyms: (dislike, distaste, antipathy)

But mostly her well known aversion to hard work will eventually blow her up.

6. barring [ˈbɑːrɪŋ] - (preposition) - Except for; if not for. - Synonyms: (excepting, excluding, but for)

It goes to external media barristers to be checked before it goes into print as well.

7. assertion [əˈsɜːrʃən] - (noun) - A confident and forceful statement of fact or belief. - Synonyms: (declaration, statement, claim)

That was also evidence from civil servants.

8. rife [raɪf] - (adjective) - Widespread, especially of undesirable or harmful things. - Synonyms: (widespread, prevalent, abundant)

A culture has developed within the party which is rife among certain MPs.

9. harassment [həˈrasmənt] - (noun) - Aggressive pressure or intimidation towards others. - Synonyms: (pestering, intimidation, bullying)

For their actions as sexually inappropriate behaviour and harassment, sexual and otherwise.

10. misconduct [mɪsˈkɒndʌkt] - (noun) - Unacceptable or improper behavior, especially by a professional person. - Synonyms: (wrongdoing, misbehavior, impropriety)

Allegations around a culture of misconduct and inappropriate behavior among MPs.

Nadine Dorries on the ”self-destruction” of the Tory Party and Boris Johnson being “removed” as PM

That photograph came to me on a timer, so a very limited time. I've never seen one before, but it literally came with the number 30 and it kind of clicked down for the amount of time that I had to look at it. So that. That was that particular photograph. What did you see? But, God, I don't want to go into the details, but it's. I'm asking you, it's late night. It's. It was an image of an MP that I've known very well for a long time, stood naked in his office with another MP sat on a green window seat behind him with the London Eye in the background, who was also naked. We're going to discuss toxic cultures in UK institutions, and one of the reasons why is because of a new book written by the former Conservative Culture Secretary, Nadine Dorris. It's called the Self Destruction of the Conservative Party, which tells you a lot about what's in the book.

Nadine, Doris, thank you very much for being with us. There's quite a lot about Cami Badenoch in there and I'd like to start by asking you about her. She, like you, is a strong woman with deeply conservative principles who wants the Tory Party to get back into government. What is it would you say that you have against her? So, well, so actually she's now the leader of the Conservative Party, which happened, I think, just before I published the book. And I respect the wishes of the membership and Kemi Beijanok will have my support from here. And, you know, I used to criticise, and I've had to look deep in myself recently because I used to criticise Labour MPs who supported Jeremy Corbyn during the 2017 election and did that until quite recently, actually, and realize myself now when I question myself and think, so, you know, she's been elected as leader of the Conservative Party.

The membership of Puttute there o I will always support. I am going to have to support Kemi now because I put the party and the principles of conservatism first. And that's why Labour MPs were doing it under Jeremy Corbyn, because they had their first allegiance to the party. And I will continue to support Kemi. But my issue, I think, probably to your deeper point, is that there are people who have been working at the heart of the Conservative Party who have removed a series of Prime Ministers over a number of years and have created chaos in the Conservative Party, particularly over the last four to five years. And they are the same people who removed Boris Johnson, who put Rishi Sunak in place, who then tried to remove Rishi Sunak and who were campaigning for Kemi and have now put Kemi in place.

Right, and let me pause you there, because there's a lot to unpack there. Okay. I mean, didn't Boris Johnson essentially remove himself? Didn't Rishi Sunak essentially remove himself with that crushing defeat in July? And didn't the Tory membership, which you say you respect, vote Kemi Badenokin over Robert Jenrick? So there's a lot there in terms of the history of what happened. And I've written two books on this now, so there are almost 300,000 pages on what happened up to the point when Boris Johnson went to Rishi Sunak coming in. But I'll just quote you the words of Dominic Cummings in an interview with Laura Kuenssberg.

And that interview happened weeks after, after Boris Johnson won the 2019 election. These are almost his words verbatim, where he said to Laura, we knew we needed a job doing so we knew we needed him to be Prime Minister, but we didn't to do that, but we didn't want him to stay. We were working to remove him from the moment he won the 2019 election. And you believe Dominic Cummings, do you? Well, I know the processes that took place. So I know the following January, the telephone call that Boris Johnson again, which was in my first book, received, telling him that he had to stand down. If he didn't stand down, he would be removed. And if he stood down voluntarily, he may be allowed to come back again at some time in the future.

Right, so you believe, Mr. Cummings, that incident in that interview with Laurie. Yeah, because not. Because I have the evidence to back what he was doing over a long period of time. I want to come back to the Kemi Badenot question. I hear what you're saying about you support her now, you respect the members and so on, but you did choose to include in your book and it was a 50, 50 chance that she could win the leadership. Of course, someone who said to you Kemi's ted, her aloofness, rudeness, but mostly her well known aversion to hard work will eventually blow her up. You also said on X in October that having her as a leader would be a nightmare. What, what is it that. What have you got against.

So there's nothing personal I've got against her. That book is a book. Yeah, well, the books. So your first quote was somebody else's words, not mine. Yeah, sure, sure, sure. Series of interviews with other people. Well, the book is a compilation of a series of interviews and actually there was a lot I didn. So there's a lot that didn't make the cut for the book. But that was, you know, valid opinion of somebody who had worked with Kemi for a number of years as a minister when she'd been a minister in her department. So it was a valid opinion piece to include. So there's a. There are a number of stories in there. Somebody else who worked with her who said a minister had to do her red box because when she was sexually estate, she didn't actually do her own red box.

That was, that was also evidence from civil servants. What I would say is, what I've said in almost every interview that I've done, you know, There was almost 300,000 words to that book. It's 100,000 now. There was. The lawyers at my publishers are very, very. I mean, they insist that everything is backed up with screenshots, with evidence and with, you know, statements from people if it's necessary from a number of sources. Right. Everything in the book is valid opinion or is absolute fact. And not only that, it goes to external media barristers to be checked before it goes into print as well.

This is what you've said about five out of the six Tory leaders in recent years. Cameron, an arrogant posh boy with no passion to want to understand the lives of others. May. But we're good friends now. Fair enough. May. Sadly, she let me down and she's let other people down. Trust you said she was off her trolley. I never said that about Liz in the book. No, that's somebody else who said that. I never said that. Okay, Sunak Stooge and a coward Basinock. As I've already said, having her as a leader would be a nightmare. Now, you hate disloyalty, you hated what you saw as. But I love fair comment by your colleagues to Boris Johnson. Are you disloyal? No.

So I think the one thing people. No, I'm not disloyal. I mean, I do. I, I hate. What I don't like is when I don't like obsequiousness and I don't like people being held. Not held to account. And so if I think there's a fair criticism to make, I'll be. I'll make it. David Cameron knows that, you know, when I made the posh boy comment, it was fair comment at the time, it was fair comment and I know from comments that he's made since that they kind of knew it was fair comment. I felt it was A comment that had to be made because they need to address their behaviors at the time. But what I would say is that loyalty is the one thing that people criticise me for. It's the thing that journalists sit there and say, one journalist said to me today, you haven't, Victoria. But one journalist has said to me this afternoon in an interview, didn't you just go too far with your loyalty? So, you know, I can't really win.

You wrote in the book, and this is one of the. The more jaw dropping extracts that you have seen a photo of two naked male Tory MPs in an MP's office. Can I ask you to tell our audience what it is you say you saw in that picture? So, again, I had to provide information to the lawyers, obviously, to be able to include. So I was recently. MPs have lost their seats and some stood down and some of those MPs weren't terribly nice to the staff who'd worked for them for a long time. And those photographs came from. I think that particular. That photograph came to be on a timer, so a very limited time. I've never seen one before, but it literally came with the number 30 and it kind of clicked down for the amount of time that I had to look at it. So that was that particular photograph.

What did you see? But, God, I don't want to go into the details, but it's. I'm asking you. It's late night. It's an image of an MP that I've known very well for a long time stood naked in his office with another mp, sat on a green window seat behind him with the London Eye in the background, who was also naked in an MP's office. There are two offices in Portcullis House and There is a WhatsApp thread that was ran by an MP with the initials RN, which means right now. And that WhatsApp thread was used for coordinating certain activities in both of those offices on a regular basis.

And why are you choosing to tell people that? Because I think that part of the problem with the Conservative Party is that a culture has developed within the party which is rife among certain MPs, and it began with the fact that the MP who ran the right now WhatsApp thread, he has been reported to the whip's office over a number of years for a number of reasons, and yet he was still standing in the 2017 and other elections and whips basically covered up instead of holding him to account for him and other MPs who have reported, instead of holding them to account for their actions instead of holding some of them for account for their actions as sexually inappropriate behaviour and harassment, sexual and otherwise.

It's completely dumbed down. And those are pages are then rolled out again to go and stand for their constituencies again. And is this an element of the toxic culture within the Tory party? And I've actually seen. So what I've seen is hard evidence of it. I have right now on my phone, the screen grabs for those WhatsApp threads, for those conversations. You know, I've seen. I've been sent photographs of an MP leering into the camera where I've been told the bottom half has been cut off to protect me from seeing what his hand was doing. Another Tory mp. Yeah. This is a married, straight Tory MP on a gay MPs WhatsApp face.

Okay, but why is what they do in their private life relevant? It's in an office, Victoria. It is not their private life. What they do outside of the palace of Westminster is absolutely their business. But when bad behaviours and complaints are covered up in the way that they are in the Conservative Party, it sends out a message that says, you can behave in any way you want. You can drink as much as you want. Central office will come and pay your bar bills off. When you get into trouble, you can act in an inappropriate way with young staffers, male or female, and we will cover that up for you. Not only that, you can go and fight the next selection.

POLITICS, LEADERSHIP, GLOBAL, UK POLITICS, TOXIC CULTURE, NADINE DORRIS, BBC NEWSNIGHT