So here’s the story from A to Z, the latest Roy Morgan polls are in, and it appears the general public is starting to starting to cotton on to Labor leader Bill Shorten‘s perceived inaction within the role.
For the first time in recent memory (or at least during his stint at the post), Shorten is no longer the preferred Opposition Leader. Instead, deputy Labor leader Tanya Plibersek has surged to the front of polls, indicating that she is currently the public’s pick for preferred ALP leader.
A shift in public opinion has seen Shorten fall behind for the first time since he assumed leadership of the Labor Party following the 2013 election.
Plibersek has jumped up 5% to grab the lead in the Labor polls with a total of 23% of voters, whilst Shorten tumbles down 4% to now sit in second place on 21%. Fellow Labor front bencher Anthony Albanese also enjoys a slight gain in the polls to sit on 13%, with Wayne Swan unchanged on 10%.
The results are even sterner when just ALP voters are taken into account. Plibersek’s overall slice of the voting pie from the Reds jumped up 9 points to 30% overall, nudging ahead of Shorten who took a 9 point hit to fall to 26%.
Whilst this represents a fairly clear and decisive swing towards Plibersek as Labor’s preferred leader, those hoping for a change in pace are going to be sorely disappointed. Following the debacle with the chopped-and-changed leadership during Labor’s stint at the helm during the Rudd/Gillard years, the party amended their rules to avoid further inner-disharmony. After being installed as leader, Shorten now cannot be removed from his post until the next Federal Election. So like it or not, come next year you’ll be looking at Bill Shorten as a candidate for the Prime Minister’s office.
The polling news isn’t great on the other side of the coin, either. Prime Minister Tony Abbott‘s approval rating as leader of the Coalition has fallen to levels not seen since he took over the party’s top job in 2009.
The polls show Abbott has taken a 2 point hit to fall to a dismal 12% on the approved Coalition leader stakes. This is well behind the two horse race for the top of the polls being contested between Malcolm Turnbull, who leads the pack after climbing 2 points since January to grab a healthy 38% of the poll, and Julie Bishop who rises up 1 point to 27%.
Whatever the case, the public seems to be making it more and more abundantly clear: “You wanna get with me? You gotta listen carefully.”
Photo: Stefan Postles via Getty Images.
via Roy Morgan.
