Senator Cory Bernardi has ruled out rejoining the Liberal Party because it would create “new bad blood” within its ranks.

The former Liberal senator announced last week he would deregister his Australian Conservatives party after its disappointing election result.

The South Australian says he will seek advice, but suspects he will now sit as an independent in the upper house.

“The principle is right, not to seek to rejoin them (the Liberals),” he told Sky News.

“I left the party to do something; I’m a big boy, I can wear the consequence of the decision.

“It would just open a whole bunch of new bad blood, I suspect, with a bunch of people.”

Senator Bernardi left the Liberals in 2017 to launch Australian Conservatives amid concerns the government was veering too far to the political left.

He said last week his supporters had flocked back to the coalition after Scott Morrison took the top job from Malcolm Turnbull.

The Liberal Party will claim an extra seat in the upper house if Senator Bernardi bows out of politics before his term expires in mid-2022 as he was elected under the party’s banner.

– AAP