The former culture secretary dramatically announced in June she was resigning from parliament “immediately” after she was denied a seat in the House of Lords.
But the close ally of Boris Johnson has yet to formally stand down from her Mid Bedfordshire seat. She has not spoken in the Commons chamber since June 7, 2022.
Speaking to LBC on Tuesday, Starmer said Dorries has “got to go” and trigger a by-election.
“She hasn’t been representing them for a very long time,” he said. “She said she would resign with immediate effect.
“I don’t know what her dictionary definition of immediate effect is. But ten weeks after the event doesn’t seem immediate.”
The Labour leader said if Dorries does not quit, the prime minister should find a way to push her out of the Commons.
“I would say to Rishi Sunak, get a grip, of this is one of your MPs, do something about it, force the issue and get on with it,” Starmer said.
Sunak has also previously criticised Dorries, telling her that people in her seat “aren’t being properly represented”.
There is no love lost between the pair, with Dorries recently accusing “posh” Sunak of blocking her peerage, something the prime minister has strongly denied.
Two local councils in Dorries’ constituency have also demanded the MP stand aside.
A parliamentary petition signed by voters in her seat has called for the law to be changed to allow people to trigger a by-election if their MP has been “absent from their constituency and parliament for 10 sitting days”.