The New South Wales Nationals are claiming an early win in the Upper Hunter by-election, while Labor’s primary vote has tanked by more than 8 per cent.
Nationals win rewards NSW Coalitionâs COVID track record
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May 23, 2021 â 6.15pm
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The Nationalsâ victory in the Upper Hunter byelection will be spun in many different ways but it is undoubtedly a vote of confidence for the Coalitionâs solid performance in keeping NSW safe during the pandemic.
While the primary vote fell for both the Nationals and the opposition compared to 2019, the incumbent Nats held up better than the ALP. It appears likely that, once preferences are distributed, the Nationals might slightly improve their vote on a two-party basis.
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Labor is shell-shocked at the terrible result of a NSW by-election that saw its primary vote slide backwards and the government retain the marginal seat, NSW opposition leader Jodi McKay says.
Ms McKay told reporters on Sunday she was devastated by the Upper Hunter result. We did not think that the result would be the way it is. We thought that people would hear our message, she said. We didn t expect that our vote would go to independents, we didn t expect our vote to be torn away as it was.
Labor conceded defeat on Sunday, with both Ms McKay and ALP candidate Jeff Drayton calling their Nationals counterparts to congratulate them.
Federal Labor backbencher Joel Fitzgibbon says Labor's "devastating" loss in the NSW Upper Hunter by-election is "a very bad result" for the party but he doesn't think NSW leader Jodi McKay should quit.Ms McKay's leadership is under intense pressure after Labor's primary vote slumped to 21 per cent on Saturday, down from 28 per cent at the previous election, while the Nationals candidate David Layzell claimed about 30 per cent of first preferences.