Revealed: Who voters think should have replaced Palaszczuk

An exclusive poll has revealed who Queensland voters wanted to replace Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, in a three-cornered contest for Labor leader.

Steven Miles has pipped his colleagues to be endorsed by Queenslanders as Labor’s best choice to replace Annastacia Palaszczuk as premier, new polling reveals.

Asked to pick between Mr Miles and his leadership rivals Health Minister Shannon Fentiman and Deputy Premier Cameron Dick, Queenslanders were nearly deadlocked between the Premier and his ambitious Left-faction colleague Ms Fentiman. 

The Courier-Mail’s new UComms poll of 1911 Queenslanders revealed 37.8 per cent of respondents believed Mr Miles was the best replacement for Ms Palaszczuk.

Ms Fentiman was a close second, with 35 per cent believing she was the better choice.

The poll has a margin of error of 2.3 per cent.

Mr Dick, who was promoted by Mr Miles to Deputy Premier alongside his Treasury portfolio, was the preferred pick among 27.1 per cent of those polled.

There was some speculation among Labor sources that Ms Fentiman would be stronger for the party in the regions, however the UComms polling revealed that Mr Miles retained his support as the preferred replacement in the regions.

Mr Miles was also more popular as the preferred Palaszczuk replacement among women (41.6 per cent) compared to Ms Fentiman (34.7 per cent) and Mr Dick (31.3 per cent).

Steven Miles (main) has pipped his colleagues Shannon Fentiman and Cameron Dick.

Ms Fentiman and Mr Miles were effectively equally popular among men, receiving 34.7 per cent and 34.1 per cent respectively.

Nearly two-thirds of Labor voters believed Mr Miles, who has a PhD in union renewal, was the best option to replace Ms Palaszczuk.

But Ms Fentiman dominated as the preferred pick among Greens voters, with 53.8 per cent picking her above both men.

Mr Dick was the least popular among Greens and Labor voters but was the leading option among Queenslanders who support the LNP, One Nation and the Katter’s Australian Party.

Ms Palaszczuk’s shock resignation on December 10 triggered a leadership tussle, ­despite the outgoing Queensland Premier anointing Mr Miles as her preferred successor.

In a move which split the powerful Left faction Ms Fentiman, a long-time friend of Mr Miles, announced her intention to vie for the leadership.

It was a short-lived two-way battle, with a late-night deal brokered between the Australian Workers’ Union and the United Workers’ Union resulting in the bloc of Labor Right MPs opting to support Mr Miles.

Supporters of Ms Fentiman said before the deal was brokered there were two votes ­between her and the top job, though supporters of Mr Miles maintained it was never that close.