The song by Joan Armatrading from 1976 opens with the lines “I am not in love But I’m open to persuasion“. According to a BBC news report David Cameron who no-one believes is in love with Nadine Dorries, has suggested she can only regain the Tory Whip when she has recovered the ‘affection’ of her colleagues in the Parliamentary Party. Like most people I am not privy to the inner workings of the Conservative Party, but my suspicion is that affection is not something that sloshes around in large volumes. However if I was one of Ms Dorries constituents who had voted for her as a Conservative MP, I might wonder if the PM has lost sight of what the Party sees as its core raison d’être.

Clearly to be accepted by and in good relationship with her colleagues must be an advantage for all MPs. However finding MPs who lack affection amongst themselves is not like trying to find Wally is it? My personal view is that Nadine Dorries was wrong to go on “I’m a Celebrity, get me out of here” and I would not find it easy to agree with her on many of the views she has espoused since she arrived at Westminster. However suggesting that she can only return to the Whip when she regains ‘affection’ is to quote another of Mr Cameron’s MPs speaking today on another matter ‘barking mad’.