Unrest as Tim James wins Liberal Party preselection for safe seat of Willoughby

Hard-right Liberal Party figure Tim James has won preselection for the NSW state seat of Willoughby, but it’s caused serious ructions.

Tim James with fellow Willoughby candidates Kellie Sloane, centre, and Gail Giles-Gidney. Picture: Toby Zerna

Hard-right Liberal Party figure Tim James is expected to be considered for the front bench in the Perrottet government, but his preselection for the safe seat of Willoughby has caused serious ructions within the party.

Mr James won preselection on Thursday against former Willoughby mayor Gail Giles-Gidney, the left-aligned candidate; and former television personality Kellie Sloane, also a moderate but not endorsed by left faction powerbrokers.

Moderates in the party acknowledged Mr James was a strong candidate but claimed that selecting a conservative male over two accomplished women would send the wrong message and alienate many in the electorate loyal to former premier Gladys Berejiklian, the popular outgoing member.

“It’s a business-minded, moderate seat and they won’t react well to a conservative male,” one said. “Tim will probably still win the seat but there’s likely to be a big swing against us.

“But he is an incredibly hardworking guy, a decent guy, and if he is elected he will be an outstanding local member.”

Liberal Willoughby candidate Tim James.

In round one of the voting Ms Sloane received 31 votes, Mr James 37 and Ms Giles-Gidney 41. In the run off, the Menzies Research Centre executive director defeated Ms Giles-Gidney 58-52.

The result has also caused divisions within the left faction, with some wondering if they backed the horse.

“They read the tea leaves wrong – Kellie got more of the local votes than Gail, with no team and without any factional support”, a Sloane supporter said.

The mother of three was backed by former premier Mike Baird, former treasurer Joe Hockey and several prominent business figures including Seven Group chief Ryan Stokes.

Ms Giles-Gidney had been endorsed by Ms Berejiklian and was heavily supported by federal MP Trent Zimmerman, a key decision-maker of the moderate faction.

For Mr James it was a case of third-time lucky, after two previous tilts at Liberal preselection. He declined The Australian’s request for an interview, saying he was “not yet authorised to speak”.

Willoughby, on Sydney’s lower north shore, has been held by the Liberal Party since 1981, with Ms Berejiklian holding it for 18 years before resigning.

At the last state election in 2019, she won the seat with 57.03 per cent of the votes.

Labour is not expected to field a candidate at the upcoming by-election, expected to be held as early as February.