A damning new poll has revealed that Labor leader Bill Shorten is the least popular opposition leader of all time.
The results published by The Australian show that the majority of voters prefer Shorten’s arch-rival Anthony Albanese, after the leader of the opposition landed his 66th successive bad ranking in the opinion polls.
Shorten, who was elected party leader in 2013, has racked up the highest number of negative satisfaction ratings for any opposition leader since records began in 1985. The findings also show the Melbourne politician is even less likeable than former prime minister Tony Abbott, who held the top job from September 2013 to September 2015.
Speaking today, Shorten said: “I think you would all agree, I’ve made a practice of not commenting on the polls when they’re good, bad or indifferent. I tell you the numbers which I focus on. It’s the fact that this government is cutting $14 from pensioners for energy over every fortnight.
“It’s the fact that the out of pocket cost to see a doctor for a mum has gone up by $8. It’s the fact that there’s a thousand people in north west Tasmania waiting in some cases for up to a year to get elective surgery.
“These are the numbers that matter and as you know I don’t talk about the polls.”
More than 1,500 people took part in the Newspoll, which has put an end to Bill’s short reign as Labor’s preferred leader, after he beat both his rivals in a similar poll last month.
Shorten’s run of negative net satisfaction as a party leader is now exceeded only by Paul Keating, who did not achieve a single positive net satisfaction score in any Newspoll when he was prime minister.
While the poll results are bad news for Shorten, it’s a confidence boost for Albanese, who has emerged as the clear favourite to lead the Labor Party to the next election.
The Grayndler representative is now the frontrunner having secured 26 per cent of the vote, while Shorten and deputy leader Tanya Plibersek are tied in second place on 23 per cent.
Albanese brushed off his personal triumph though and described himself as a “team player”.
He said: “I’m concerned about the team, I’m a team player.
“Every member of Labor’s team is playing their role and we only have one priority which is to get rid of this rotten government. This government that doesn’t have an agenda for the nation.”
Shorten’s decline in popularity could be linked to his part in the duel citizenship drama after he failed to refer several Labor MPs to the High Court last year, with the opposition leader effectively putting the blame on the courts for moving the legal goalposts.
Three Labor MPs – Justine Keay, Susan Lamb and Josh Wilson – and one Independent – Rebekha Sharkie – stepped down after the High Court ruled that fellow Labor politician, Senator Katy Gallagher, was ineligible to hold her seat because she was a dual British citizen at the time of her nomination.
The Newspoll also showed that, while Labor are the party most Australians would like to see in government, Malcolm Turnbull still tops the list as preferred prime minister claiming 47 per cent of the vote compared to Shorten on 30 per cent.
But the coalition have dropped behind Labor in the popularity stakes and are now trailing 52-48 on a two-party-preferred basis.