Labor would win by-elections if Anthony Albanese was leader
ANTHONY Albanese would comfortably defeat the Turnbull government in crucial by-elections in Queensland and Tasmania this Saturday if he were Labor leader instead of Bill Shorten.
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ANTHONY Albanese would comfortably defeat the Turnbull government in crucial by-elections in Queensland and Tasmania this Saturday if he were Labor leader instead of Bill Shorten.
But under Mr Shorten, Labor is in a gruelling battle to win, with exclusive YouGov Galaxy polling showing it faces a humiliating defeat in the Queensland seat of Longman and is neck-and-neck with the Coalition in the Tasmania’s Braddon.
The polling confirms senior ALP strategists’ concerns that voter disdain for Mr Shorten, and lack of trust in him as a leader, is a drag on Labor’s vote. It also gives an insight into how Mr Turnbull would fare if he were competing against Mr Albanese, instead of against Mr Shorten, at the next federal election.
According to the Galaxy Poll, the Turnbull Coalition government is set to win the seat of Longman this weekend with a two-party-preferred vote of 51 to 49 per cent.
But if Labor transport and infrastructure spokesman Mr Albanese were leader instead of Mr Shorten, Labor would be on track for a strong win, at 53-47 per cent to Labor.
And, with Mr Albanese at the helm, Labor’s primary vote in Longman would be 43 per cent instead of just 37 per cent.
And the trend is replicated in Braddon, where the ALP’s primary vote would be a very comfortable 44 per cent instead of 40 per cent under Mr Albanese, while the two-party-preferred vote would sit at 53-47 to Labor instead of its current 50-50.
The result of the “Super-Saturday” by-elections this weekend — sparked by the failure of Labor MPs to renounce their dual citizenship before the last election — are crucial in that they could determine Mr Shorten’s fate.
A dismal result for the ALP could mean a push by a group of Labor MPs to oust Mr Shorten as leader before the next federal election, which Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has indicated will be in May next year.