Malcolm Turnbull and the Coalition bounce back with best result in 31st Newspoll

IN a new twist for the Turnbull Government, the Prime Minister and the Coalition have come back after he lost his 30th Newspoll with surprising new results.

IN a new twist for the Turnbull Government, the Prime Minister and the Coalition have bounced back after he lost his 30th Newspoll with surprising new results.

The Australian reports that the Coalition had their best two-party preferred position since September 2016, cutting Labor’s lead to two points with the May budget countdown in full swing.

The Coalition has reduced Labor’s lead to 51-49 on a two-party-preferred split.

Malcolm Turnbull has also managed to return in his 31st Newspoll with a better personal approval rating when compared to Bill Shorten.

Mr Turnbull maintained his lead over the Opposition Leader as preferred Prime Minister with 38 per cent of the vote.

The Labor leader dropped a point to 35 per cent.

Mr Turnbull’s win comes after he reached the same benchmark he used to roll Tony Abbott for the Liberal leadership in 2015.

The 31st Newspoll found there was no change for One Nation, which stayed at 7 per cent. The Greens also lost a point and went to 9 per cent, The Australian also reports.

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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are greeted by Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, his wife Lucy at Australia House in London. Picture: Elle Pellegrini

Mr Turnbull who has been in London meeting Prince Harry, Meghan Markle and British Prime Minister Theresa May, will be in Germany ahead of Anzac Day commemorations in France.

At the 30th Newspoll, many started to speculate over whether Mr Turnbull may be facing an internal leadership challenge.

At the time, Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop shut down any suggestions she might challenge for the leadership swiftly after the result was published, saying she was “absolutely” loyal to him.

Twenty-seven per cent of respondents in the 30th Newspoll said they wanted Ms Bishop as Liberal leader.

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She only narrowly missed out on pipping Mr Turnbull as most popular. He was backed by 28 per cent of voters as preferred Liberal leader.

Mr Abbott said that Mr Turnbull needs a “united team” to win the next election but he won’t apologise for speaking out against the government’s policies.

Mr Turnbull said he could still win the next election, despite the poor result.

Mr Abbott dodged questions about whether he felt vindicated by Mr Turnbull’s 30th Newspoll loss but backed his own record, telling 2GB that the Liberal Party gained 25 seats with him in the top job.

“It’s not about me, it’s got to be about our country,” he said in a surprise reaction.

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton also revealed he wanted to be prime minister one day but denied he was about to challenge Mr Turnbull.

“There are 149 people in the federal parliament, I’m one and I think the other 148, if they’re being honest, would tell you if the opportunity came their way they’d be interested as well,” he said.

“There are lots of reasons why you would want to lead … what I think is the greatest country in the world.

“That’s something that many parliamentarians aspire to and I think opportunities can come. But for me, as I say, loyalty is important and I’ve made a virtue of that.”

Read more in The Australian.

Originally published as Malcolm Turnbull and the Coalition bounce back with best result in 31st Newspoll