More Tories say Nadine Dorries should not be let back into the Conservative Party than say she should be, and more than a third of UKIP supporters think she would make UKIP less credible if she joined their party
The Conservatives suspended Nadine Dorries' party membership after it was revealed she was to appear on reality show "I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here", but today they have reinstated her after days of rumours suggesting she would defect to UKIP and calls from senior Tories to give her back the whip.
New YouGov research conducted just before her party membership was reinstated reveals that 43% of Tories would have supported the party's decision to reinstate her, while 45% think she should not be allowed to rejoin the party. This puts Tories out of line with the more forgiving general public, 41% of whom say the Conservative Party should (as it has) let her rejoin, compared to 36% who wanted the party to keep her out.
The same survey found that a majority (58%) of the public thought whe was wrong to take part in "I'm a Celebrity...", and Tories were particularly harsh - almost seven in ten (69%) Conservatives say it was wrong for her to appear on the show.
The poll also suggests many UKIP voters may be relieved the Conservative Party took Dorries back. 35% of UKIP supporters think their party would be less credible if Nadine Dorries were to join it, compared to only 7% who think it would be more credible. Most (42%), however, think it would make no difference.
In comparison, 23% of the general population think Nadine Dorries joining UKIP would make the party less credible and 7% think more credible. Most (51%) think it would make no difference to UKIP's credibility.
