David Littleproud’s election failures stoke Nationals revolt

Nationals leader David Littleproud shakes hands with Peter Dutton at the Liberal Party campaign launch in western Sydney last month. Picture: Richard Dobson / NewsWire

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David Littleproud has failed the key performance indicators that would’ve helped save his job.

Ahead of the Nationals partyroom meeting on Monday, ­Littleproud is facing a revolt based on weak leadership and election campaign failures across the board.

Littleproud – who some in the Nationals believe would be more suited to sitting in the Liberal party­room – has overseen a disastrous result for the country party.

In the span of one week, ­Littleproud’s deputy leader, Perin Davey, lost her Senate seat, the ­Nationals’ high-profile recruit ­Jacinta Nampijinpa Price defected to the Liberal Party, a rump of ­Nationals MPs copped swings against them, the Nationals failed to win back their previously safe electorate of Calare from Andrew Gee, and the party fell short in the target seats of Bendigo and ­Bullwinkel.

In a devastating outcome for the Nationals, the party is expected to lose its major party status in the Senate following the losses of Davey and Price. This means less resources and smaller offices.

Senior Nationals sources have also confirmed that unlike previous campaigns, the Nationals did not engage their own dedicated pollster, but relied heavily on the Liberals’ preferred pollster, Freshwater Strategy.

Littleproud, who last Saturday night declared his party’s campaign had been “flawless” and executed in a “professional way”, is facing a leadership challenge on Monday from former Turnbull and Morrison government minister Matt Canavan.

The anger in Nationals ranks is white hot.

In the wake of last Saturday’s election result, Flynn MP Colin Boyce demanded Littleproud ­resign. The views of Boyce, one of the few Nationals MPs to enjoy a positive swing, are not isolated to the rump of members typically ­associated with former leader Barnaby Joyce.

“He was quite prepared to take 50 per cent of the glory if the ­Coalition won the government, and now it’s time for him to take 50 per cent of the responsibility for what is a monumental political disaster for conservative politics,” Boyce told the ABC.

Others in Nationals ranks point out that Littleproud sat on Peter Dutton’s expenditure review committee and had signed off on Coalition policies being criticised in the election post-mortem.

They believe the Nationals leader cannot avoid his co-­architect role in delivering one of the most catastrophic results for the conservative parties in ­generations.

Ahead of Liberal Party MPs and senators voting for their new leadership team on Tuesday, ­Nationals MPs on Friday – still fuming about Price’s defection to the Liberals – warned that the ­Coalition agreement was now in question and that the country party should consider the West Australian model.

Those in the Nationals partyroom who had tentatively backed Littleproud as the “not Barnaby” candidate will likely have some fresh options next week.