Nadine Dorries is widely known amongst the public, but a majority of those who have heard of her have a negative impression
An overwhelming 82% of the British public say they have heard of the backbench Tory MP for Mid-Bedfordshire, Nadine Dorries, who on Wednesday became the first contestant to be voted off the ITV reality show I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!, after 12 days in the Australian jungle.
The MP has said she wanted to appear on the show because it is watched by millions of people and would allow her to connect with new audiences, as well as raise awareness of issues that are important to her, such as reducing the time limit on abortions from 24 weeks to 20 weeks.
But while, according to our poll, Dorries is widely known amongst the public, of those who had heard of her 57% say they have a negative view of the MP, while only 12% say they view her positively and 29% view her neither positively nor negatively.
The results are perhaps not surprising considering an earlier YouGov poll (conducted in November) found that 77% thought she was wrong to go on I’m a Celebrity, and 73% said the Conservative Party was right to suspend her for it, while only 18% said she shouldn’t have been suspended.
Meanwhile, it is unclear whether Dorries will promptly return to the UK, or remain in an Australian hotel where she says she has set up a temporary office and is continuing her work as an MP. There is also uncertainty over whether she will be permitted back into the Tory party.
See the full poll results here
