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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.
Mr Fitzgibbon says Ms McKay isn t to blame for the loss and that Labor s brand is the problem. I won t have a bad word said about Jodi McKay, he told ABC TV on Monday.
Labor has conceded to the Nationals in the NSW Upper Hunter by-election.
ALP candidate Jeff Drayton says he phoned his Nationals rival David Layzell on Sunday morning to congratulate him on his election as the next member for Upper Hunter.
Mr Layzell had claimed around 30 per cent of the first preferences from nearly 40,000 votes counted at midday on Sunday.
Mr Drayton was next on 22 per cent, with the One Nation and Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party candidates following on 12 per cent.
Labor candidate for Upper Hunter Jeff Drayton and NSW Opposition Leader Jodi McKay speak to the media on polling day in Muswellbrook on Saturday, 22 May.
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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.
NSW Nationals set to win crucial by-election for Upper Hunter seat dailymail.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from dailymail.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.