Tim James chosen candidate to replace Gladys Berejiklian in Willoughby
A hard-right candidate has been chosen to contest Gladys Berejiklian’s former seat of Willoughby for the NSW Liberal Party.
NSW
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In a shock result, three-time preselection hopeful and right-wing candidate Tim James will contest the seat of Willoughby for the Liberal Party in the by-election sparked by former premier Gladys Berejiklian’s resignation.
The Menzies Research Centre executive general manager had an upset win over favourite Gail Giles-Gidney, former Willoughby Mayor.
Ms Giles-Gidney was the favoured candidate of the party’s left faction, and had received endorsements from high-profile Liberals including Ms Berejiklian and federal MP Trent Zimmerman.
Former journalist Kellie Sloane ran third and was eliminated in the first round of voting, before Mr James succeeded over Ms Giles-Gidney 58 votes to 52.
The bombshell result is expected to cause drama within Liberal Party ranks given the differences between Mr James — from the hard-right faction — and Ms Berejiklian, from the party’s left.
The Willoughby tilt is the third time Mr James has run for Liberal preselection, after twice failing in a bid to contest the seat of North Shore for the party.
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