The Member for MacKillop in the state’s south-east, Nick McBride, has announced he has quit the Liberals and will sit as an independent – saying his former party’s factionalism and division has left the Liberals “unelectable”.
Mr McBride has accused the “far Right” faction of the Liberal Party of deliberately undermining him in his South-East seat, saying he’d been left “isolated” by his own party.
Mr McBride is the sixth former Liberal MP to join the crossbench in recent years. His departure leaves the Liberal Party with 15 seats in the 47-seat House of Assembly.
As put by Tom Koutsantonis
The resignation of Nick McBride from the South Australian Liberal Party confirms that it is a party that now belongs to the radical Right.
That the great-grandson of Sir Philip McBride, one of the founders of the modern Liberal Party and a confidant to Sir Robert Menzies, now feels there is no place for him in the party is an indictment on its current state, and on its leadership.
It is clear this is no longer a party for traditional Liberals of the sensible centre-right; it is no longer the party for farmers, for small business. It is not even a party for many members of parliament who were elected under its banner. Instead, it has become a party for extreme fringe groups, emboldened and enabled by the weakness of its current leadership.
We are seeing the forces of Alex Antic and the far Right taking over the Liberal Party in South Australia. And the factional cracks are gaping for all to see – not even the Liberal Party’s safest seat holder feels safe in the Liberal Party anymore.
If David Speirs can’t stand up to the extremists in his own party, how can the people of South Australia trust him to stand up for their interests?
