Voters to head to polls in February for the Werribee by-election

Voters in Melbourne’s west will head back to the polls next month to elect a replacement for long-serving Labor MP Tim Pallas in the seat of Werribee.

Voters in Melbourne’s west will head back to the polls next month, with a date now set for the Werribee by-election.

Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, Maree Edwards, on Monday announced February 8 for the poll to elect a replacement for long serving Labor MP and Treasurer Tim Pallas, who resigned from parliament late last year.

The vote, which will be a key test of Jacinta Allan’s leadership and likability among Victorians, will be held on the same day as the Prahran by-election.

Labor has been criticised for not fielding a candidate in the highly prized seat of Prahran, which has become vacant after former Greens deputy leader Sam Hibbins suddenly quit in the wake of allegations of inappropriate behaviour.

Labor’s candidate in Werribee, John Lister, is a local teacher and CFA volunteer.

On Monday, Ms Allan held a press conference alongside Mr Lister in Werribee, marking her second visit in just days in a sign that Labor’s campaign is well under way.

Long-serving Labor MP and Treasurer Tim Pallas resigned from parliament late last year. Picture: Aaron Francis

The Liberal Party is yet to announce who it will put forward to contest the traditionally safe Labor seat.

But pollsters said the government should be feeling nervous heading into the by-election, with the Liberals a chance to clinch the seat.

Former Labor strategist and pollster Kos Samaras said there was “enough grievance” in the community to suggest the government could easily cop a 10 per cent swing against them.

Previous election results for Werribee have also revealed a worrying downward trend for Labor.

In 2014, Werribee was one of the safest seats in the west, with Mr Pallas comfortably winning 56.6 per cent of the primary vote, on a margin of 11.4 per cent.

Four years later, in 2018, he held the seat again but his primary vote had dropped to 46 per cent.

In the last election, Mr Pallas’ primary vote dropped to 45.6 per cent, but notably the Liberal Party saw a swing of 8.7 per cent to the Liberals who garnered 25.3 per cent of the votes.