South-East MP Nick McBride blames dark forces as he quits SA Liberals over divisive factionalism

A rogue Liberal MP has quit his party to sit as an independent, saying he is sick of divisive factional “dark forces”.

Nick McBride will quit the Liberal Party to sit as an independent. Picture: Ben Clark

Liberal defector Nick McBride is accusing the party of being run by “dark forces” that are beyond the control of state leader David Speirs.

Mr McBride, who The Advertiser revealed would quit the Liberals and become independent, said the dark factional forces were “capable of knifing” and “capable of cutting you out without even knowing”.

Asked whether Mr Speirs was in control of the party, Mr McBride told ABC Radio that he would “not point the finger and say it’s David”.

“I think it belongs more to the membership and the factionalism than to the leader itself,” he said.

Mr McBride said he had not promised Mr Speirs he would back the Liberals in the event of a hung parliament at the next election but, rather, had said he would respectfully consider any decision and put his South East electorate of MacKillop first.

Mr McBride revealed on Wednesday that he was quitting the party, sick of factional divisions and believing he can achieve more for his South-East electorate of MacKillop by sitting in parliament as an independent.

Mr McBride, who was first elected in 2018, said the party had not learnt the lessons of the 2022 election, when it was thrashed by a Labor Party led by Peter Malinauskas and was destined for another long period in opposition.

READ MORE: Renegade Lib’s resignation batters Speirs’ recovery mission

“I can tell you while we are factional and while we are divisive we are unelectable, it’s further away from us than ever before,’’ Mr McBride said.

Mr McBride’s defection cuts the number of Liberal MPs in the lower house to only 15. Mr McBride becomes the fifth member of the crossbench, while the Labor government holds 27 seats.

Mr McBride, who chairs his family’s extensive pastoral company, said while he hoped his status as an independent would help attract more government funding to MacKillop, no deals had been done with Labor and he had no interest in joining the cabinet.

“I have never engaged in the promotion of Nick McBride into any ministerial role into the Labor party,’' he said. “I have ruled it out categorically, do not even talk to me about it. I cannot do it, it is against my skin, my blood, my ethics, my Liberal values.’’

There have long been rumours Mr McBride would leave the party and in September 2021 the MP confirmed he had been considering his future but ultimately decided to remain. He made waves in an interview with The Advertiser in 2019 when he said: “They spent 16 years in opposition and now I see why.”

Liberal Opposition leader David Speirs speaking during Question Time. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Naomi Jellicoe

Mr McBride, who describes himself as from the centre-right tradition of the party, said he had also felt increasingly isolated and had “no doubt” he would face a challenge to his preselection if he remained a Liberal MP.

“I don’t belong to the far-right faction, they don’t come in behind me. I don’t have that groundswell of support there. And I’m not in the left either,’’ he said. “I am not jumping before I am pushed, rather, it is no longer tenable for me to remain as a Liberal MP,’’

Mr McBride’s wife Katherine McBride also recently lost a preselection against federal Barker MP Tony Pasin, which he said had caused a backlash from some in the party.

“Since then, I’ve gotten MPs that barely talk to me because of that,’’ he said.

Mr McBride said he understood some in his electorate would be disappointed with his decision.

“I was Liberal, I was elected as Liberal, they’re right I was and I haven’t stayed in that role for the period that is deemed fair or perhaps what they elected me to represent,’’ he said.

But Mr McBride said while there was around 400 Liberal members in the seat, there are “27,000 people in MacKillop” that can vote for me’’.

He also said he believed he could win in 2026 and the ideal scenario would leave him in a position to hold the balance of power in the lower house and change MacKillop’s status as a “forgotten” seat.

“When Labor is in power, they know they can never get traction in that seat, when Liberals are there, they sort of take it for granted.’’

Opposition leader David Speirs said, “it’s disappointing that Nick McBride has decided to leave the party despite reassurances just weeks ago that he would remain a Liberal and was dedicated to the team.”