Liberals in fight to hold Malcolm Turnbull’s seat of Wentworth

The Liberals face an uphill battle to retain Malcolm Turnbull’s seat with a new poll showing its vote has plummeted.

Dr Kerryn Phelps may run as an independent for the seat of Wentworth. Picture: Chris Pavlich.

The Morrison government is facing an uphill battle to retain Malcolm Turnbull’s seat of Wentworth, with a new poll showing the Liberal vote has plummeted since Mr Turnbull said he would quit politics after being rolled as Prime Minister.

MORE: Turnbull’s predecessor, Peter King, plans to run again as an independent

The ReachTel poll shows the Liberals running 50-50 per cent on a two-party preferred vote against potential high profile independent Kerryn Phelps, as Wentworth voters punish the party for dumping the former prime minister. The poll, commissioned by left-leaning think tank The Australia Institute, also shows the primary Liberal vote has plummeted from 62 per cent under Mr Turnbull to just 39 per cent.

The vote fell further when the 886 respondents were asked about their support for Liberal preselection frontrunner Dave Sharma.

The former ambassador to Israel garnered just 34 per cent support, The Daily Telegraph reports.

Mr Turnbull told his local supporters on Monday he would resign on Friday, after representing them for 14 years.

Professor Phelps, the former president of the Australian Medical Association, hasn’t confirmed whether or not she will run as an independent. A number of candidates other than Mr Sharma are lining up ahead of the Liberal preselection for Wentworth.

Business Council of Australia executive director Andrew Bragg resigned his post on Tuesday to run.

“Under the party’s rules, I am unable to make further comment on the preselection,” he posted to social media.

Meanwhile, Tony Abbott has endorsed his sister Christine Forster, a Sydney City counsellor, to run for the seat. Ms Forster says she has a strong record of championing Liberal Party values at a local government level.

“As someone with local credentials and a strong track record of strong liberalism, I feel they are the types of candidates we want in any seat,” she told AAP.

Elsewhere, the Labor candidate for the seat, local businessman Tim Murray, has been praised by Mr Turnbull’s Singapore-based son.

“He’s a great guy and I know him well,” Alex Turnbull told Fairfax Media.

NSW state independent MP Alex Greenwich has confirmed he won’t run as an independent in the seat.

AAP