Victorian Liberal deputy director Scott Samson resigns just eight weeks out from the state election

The move is the latest in a series of departures from senior positions in the Victorian Liberal Party.

Outgoing Victorian Liberal deputy director Scott Samson. Picture: LinkedIn

The deputy director of the Victorian Liberal Party has resigned eight weeks out from the state election, joining a list of recent ­departures that includes the ­Opposition Leader’s chief of staff and media director.

Party insiders have attributed Scott Samson’s resignation to a wider restructure of the Liberals’ organisational wing instigated by Greg Mirabella, who took over as state president five weeks ago.

Mr Samson’s departure follows Opposition Leader Matthew Guy appointing childhood friend Nick McGowan as his chief of staff in early August, after Mitch Catlin was forced to resign amid a donations scandal. Media director Lee Anderson announced his resignation days later.

Senior Liberals sought to differentiate between the changes in Mr Guy’s office almost two months ago and those that have occurred more recently within the party secretariat, arguing Mr Mirabella is seeking to “instil a new energy” and muster the best campaign team possible ahead of the November 26 state election.

The Liberals lost four federal seats in May, all of them in Melbourne’s affluent eastern and bayside suburbs.

The most recent Newspoll showed the Andrews Labor government holding a 56-44 per cent two-party-preferred lead over Mr Guy’s Coalition.

“There’s been a significant change of tempo at Liberal HQ, which has involved getting rid of some dead wood,” one party ­insider said.

“There’ve been a number of staff changes. The last one was the departure of the deputy state ­director on Friday, but there’s been some internal reshuffling as well.”

Mr Mirabella received cross-factional support to nominate unopposed as state president after former attorney-general Robert Clark announced he would not seek re-election at the party’s state council in August.

The farmer, businessman and former army officer lost his Senate seat in May after being preselected in the Coalition’s third spot, below Liberal Sarah Henderson and National Bridget McKenzie.

However, party sources credited Mr Mirabella with having run a strong campaign, including in lower house seats on Melbourne’s outer northern fringes, where the Andrews government’s pandemic lockdowns were not popular and voter sentiment remains volatile.

“It was just time for me to move on,” Mr Samson said of his departure. He declined to offer further explanation.

Liberals remain tight-lipped about who will replace Mr Samson, although it is understood a candidate has been identified.

A spokesman for the Liberal campaign said the Victorian Liberals and Nationals had established their joint campaign headquarters and were “fully ­focused on our plan to deliver real solutions for all Victorians”.

“Our experienced and highly skilled team has one mission: to fix the health crisis, ease cost of living pressures and deliver Victoria the fresh start it needs,” the spokesman said.

He said Mr Samson’s role had involved administration and party membership rather than campaign responsibilities.