Turnbull's popularity plummets in own electorate
Malcolm Turnbull’s popularity is plummeting in his Liberal-strong seat of Wentworth, with a new poll indicating a 10 per cent swing in first-preference votes.
The Prime Minister’s popularity is on the decline since he first won the seat in 2004, after experiencing marginal increases at the 2007, 2010 and 2013 elections.
July’s election is expected to be the first swing against him in his eastern Sydney seat, according to Fairfax.
The ReachTel poll shows Turnbull’s popularity among local electors has diminished since he took up the nation’s top job last year, suggesting a preference vote will drop from 63 per cent to 53 per cent this time around, the newspaper reported.
The poll, commissioned by the Labor candidate Evan Hughes, revealed Turnbull’s popularity has dipped across all demographics within Wentworth – including men and women and across all age groups.
It found 55.6 per cent of the electorate’s voters thought less of the Prime Minister since last September; compared with 14.5 per cent who say their opinion of him has improved; and about 30 per cent say their opinion remains unchanged.
More than half of those polled said they were disappointed with his performance, Fairfax reported.
The revelation comes a day after the latest Fairfax-Ipsos poll, which places Labor on 51 per cent, ahead of the Coalition, on 49 for, the first time.
The people of Wentworth are shifting their votes because Turnbull's “just not the man he used to be,” Mr Hughes said.
"Old Malcolm used to voice Wentworth's beliefs but he doesn't stand for those principles anymore."
Respondents say Turnbull’s poor performance on key issues - Medicare, climate change, superannuation and changes to negative gearing - have made them less likely to vote for him.
