Rogue crossbencher Craig Kelly to run with Clive Palmer’s United Australia Party

The rogue crossbench MP will run as Clive Palmer’s lead candidate at the next elections.

MP Craig Kelly will run as a candidate for Clive Palmer’s United Australia Party. Picture: Gary Ramage

Rogue crossbench MP Craig Kelly will run as billionaire Clive Palmer’s lead candidate at the next election, promising to push an “alternative narrative” about lockdowns and spend millions to attack the major parties.

Mr Kelly, who left the Liberal Party in February over his support for unorthodox coronavirus treatments such as ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine, will stay on to fight for his NSW seat of Hughes under Mr Palmer’s United Australia Party banner.

But in a major shake-up, Mr Kelly will become leader of the UAP and Mr Palmer will act in a behind-the-scenes role as party chairman, as the billionaire promises to fight Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese over lockdowns and Covid-19 vaccinations.

Mr Kelly said on Monday that he would lead the UAP into the next election and run candidates in all 150 seats, and Mr Palmer would not run.

“With endless authoritarian lockdowns … I no longer recognise the country I grew up in,” Mr Kelly said. “And this is all happening on my watch. Someone must lead a fightback. I have therefore decided to accept the offer, to lead the United Australia Party into the next election.

“The United Australia Party will be fighting to end the lockdowns and offer an alternate approach to the current mayhem and destruction that the Labor and Liberal parties have jointly created.”

Mr Kelly said the UAP campaign would be “very well-­financed” and would be set to spend equal or more than the $80m Mr Palmer spent on his 2019 federal campaign.

Mr Kelly will take the lead role in talking to media and will be the primary face on all party campaign material instead of its founder Mr Palmer.

Despite claiming he would have the ultimate say on party policy as leader, Mr Kelly was contradicted by Mr Palmer’s spokesman hours later, who said the “party executive” – on which Mr Palmer and Mr Kelly will sit – would finalise election policies.

The Hughes MP needed to have his preselection secured by the Prime Minister and Malcolm Turnbull in previous preselections, but ultimately abandoned the government over its refusal to back unsupported treatments for Covid-19.

The Australian revealed Mr Kelly and Mr Palmer were in talks to join forces in May after the billionaire was seen walking the halls of parliament with the MP, and Mr Palmer said he stood ready to bankroll his campaign to keep his seat.

The Queensland tycoon has promised legal action against any Morrison government policies that further push Covid-19 vaccinations, after he failed in a High Court bid to bring down Western Australia’s hard Covid-19 border.

Multiple sources say Mr Palmer intended to specifically target Defence Minister Peter Dutton, who played a key role in overhauling the LNP’s hierarchy at the weekend’s LNP state convention.

Close ties between Mr Palmer and former high-ranking members of the LNP’s organisational wing were at the centre of internal debate ahead of the purge led by Mr Dutton and state Opposition Leader David Crisafulli.