Allan government licking its wounds after humiliation in Werribee

Labor has copped a resounding vote of no confidence. If it’s replicated statewide at next year’s election, the party will be obliterated from the treasury benches.

The humiliating collapse of Labor’s vote in its traditional heartland should reset the way the Victorian ALP practices its politics.

Jacinta Allan admitted this publicly on Sunday as her colleagues spent the day licking their wounds.

The resounding vote of no confidence in Labor – that saw almost one in five voters move their vote – sent shockwaves through the party.

If replicated statewide at the November 2026 election, it would obliterate the party from the treasury benches.

Labor’s candidate in the Werribee by-election John Lister. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

While it might not have the answers immediately, the ALP does have time on its side.

It also has the benefit of incumbency, realised through its ability to tap into the resources of government to boost its stocks, but offset by the post-pandemic global trend of incumbents being brutally punished at the ballot box.

But what will change?

Will we suddenly have a debt plan that actually drives debt down?

Premier Jacinta Allan’s government may reset the way it practices its politics. Picture: Valeriu Campan

Will a crackdown on crime return a feeling of safety to Victorian families?

Will the cost-of-living crisis ease?

Will the growing chasm between the inner-city managerial class and outer metro folk be bridged?

What’s unlikely to change is the Premier’s diehard commitment to the Suburban Rail Loop.

She spruiked the SRL on the eve of the election and again on Sunday as an important project not just for transforming the way we move around the city, but for working class jobs.

Suggestions that its $34.5bn price tag is too expensive, right now, are batted away by the project’s supporters who say it doesn’t hamper in any way more critical government responsibilities.

The Premier has spent the past week insisting that she is listening to the community, starting with a promised review into bail laws.

She’d do well to follow up with reviews into cost of living, debt, budget blowouts, and the health system too.

These issues are all at the forefront of voters’ minds.

The notion of listening to the community has been bandied about as though it’s some novel idea recently stumbled upon.

And in a political landscape in which both major parties have forgotten how to campaign and engage with their local communities, maybe it is.

The Liberal Party moved away from its base years ago, while Labor has now caught up.

And with that comes a dearth of policies and programs that actually identify with people.

Slick communications campaigns are great but voters want policies they can actually connect with.

Which is precisely why independents and minors are doing so well at the ballot box.

The Werribee by-election should be the wake-up call Labor MPs need to be reminded that there is no such thing as a safe seat.

Labor MPs need to be reminded that there is no such thing as a safe seat. Picture: Ian Currie

Without a marginal mindset, Labor MPs risk repeating the mistakes of Werribee, and replicating the result.

You win seats, and hold seats, by doing the hard yards at a local level, and not just at election time.

The Liberals, under John Pesutto, were at pains to reconnect at a local level, and they have surged in the polls since.

But polls mean nothing when votes aren’t being converted at the ballot box.

The challenge for the Liberals will be to convince voters they can be trusted with their vote and are ready to govern.

Originally published as Allan government licking its wounds after humiliation in Werribee