Wentworth: Dave Sharma loses his seat to Allegra Spender

Liberal MP Dave Sharma has lost his inner Sydney seat of Wentworth.

Liberal MP Dave Sharma has lost his inner Sydney seat of Wentworth to Independent Allegra Spender.

The Australiancalled the seat for Ms Spender around 8.50pm.

It comes after a close-fought battle in 2019, when Mr Sharma only won by 2346 votes.

Wentworth takes in some of the most exclusive real estate in Sydney, including the suburbs of Paddington, Bondi and Double Bay.

His glamorous rival is the daughter of fashion designer Carla Zampatti and is one of the so-called “teal independents” backed by Climate 200.

Polling tipped Ms Spender, who has painted Mr Sharma as “too weak to stand up to Scott Morrison”, to win the seat.

The closeness of the contest spilled into conflict around campaign posters, with Ms Spender forced to remove campaign material from Ausgrid poles after complaints, something Mr Sharma had reportedly been able to do in previous elections without any issues.

Meanwhile, Mr Sharma was asked to remove a huge billboard on an Edgecliff wall and was roasted over a flyer that also noted his TER (tertiary entrance rank) score of 100.00.

Allegra Spender is endorsed by climate activist Danny Lim

Dave Sharma.

Mr Sharma, who was one of five MPs who refused to support the government’s religious discrimination bill over concerns about gay and transgender students being expelled from faith-based schools, has also tried to promote his green credentials, promising to more than double the number of electric vehicle chargers in Wentworth.

The former diplomat also made headlines for dismissing warnings from Australia’s spy chief for politicians to stop weaponising national security.

Wentworth has never been held by the Labor party and Ms Spender has not outlined who she would support if there was a hung parliament.

Ms Spender told news.com.au prior to election day that she was willing to talk with both major parties about potentially supporting them, and would first look at the numbers to see if one party’s vote was much higher than the other. Beyond this, the issues of climate change and integrity would be relevant if there were negotiations on forming government.

“What I want to make really clear, is I’ll maintain my independence throughout parliament,” she said.

“I’m not interested in building a coalition with anyone.”

Liberal MP Dave Sharma and independent candidate Allegra Spender during the Sky News Wentworth People’s Forum. Picture: Richard Dobson

Ms Spender has campaigned on a platform of climate action, integrity, inclusion and a future-focused economy.

“I think these reflect the values of the electorate,” she said.

She said climate change was probably the issue resonating most in her community, as well as the economy, but said people were also raising a wide range of topics including health, access to public education and mental health.

Asked about her chances, Ms Spender said “it feels pretty positive on the ground” but believes the result on election night will be tight.

“We’ll be fighting for every vote.”

Originally published as Wentworth: Dave Sharma loses his seat to Allegra Spender