THE Ulster Unionists hope to attract more defectors from the DUP after welcoming back the Lisburn councillor who was disciplined by Peter Robinson's party over the Red Sky affair.
Former Housing Executive board member Jenny Palmer and her husband John, also a Lisburn councillor, rejoined the UUP in a move that will be seen as a major morale boost for Mike Nesbitt's party.
Notably though Mrs Palmer confessed yesterday that she had considered joining Jim Allister's TUV before opting to defect to the UUP ranks.
Mrs Palmer rose to prominence in 2013 when she blew the whistle on the DUP's efforts to influence the outcome of a Housing Executive vote on extending Red Sky's maintenance contract.
The former DUP councillor told last year's assembly inquiry into the affair that Stephen Brimstone, special adviser to the then social development minister Nelson McCausland, had "bullied" her by making a phone call in which he pressurised her to vote to retain the Red Sky contract.
Mrs Palmer, who along with her husband defected from the Ulster Unionists in 2003 before both were elected as councillors in Lisburn, was later disciplined by the DUP.
In a joint statement announcing their decision to rejoin the Ulster Unionist Party, Jenny and John Palmer said it was "like returning to the family home again".
"We are re-energised, just like the Ulster Unionist Party, and we are looking forward to this new beginning in politics," they said.
The couple said the Ulster Unionists' decision to leave the executive over revelations around the last month's murder of Kevin McGuigan was an important factor in their decision to leave the DUP.
"They have led by example during what is a shocking state of affairs," the statement said.
Mr Nesbitt said the couple's integrity had been "clear to see in recent months".
Making reference to the unsympathetic hearing Mrs Palmer received from DUP MLAs when giving evidence to the Stormont scrutiny committee, he said: "Elected representatives have to deal with the rough and tumble of politics on a daily basis, but people like Sammy Wilson went way beyond the pale during the social development committee evidence sessions.
"I have a great admiration for how Jenny and John stood their ground during what was clearly a deeply difficult and testing time for them."
Mr Nesbitt said his party was in "growth mode".
"Let’s see who else makes a move to a party determined to put the country first and do what’s right for Northern Ireland," he said.
