Nigel Satterley, a Rich Lister and Liberal Party member, is so dismayed he thinks the Liberals could become a spent force in the state as its base and the business community turn elsewhere.
Nigel Satterley calls them “happy clappers” – the “offbeat religious groups” he believes are taking control of the Liberal Party and costing them votes, particularly among women.
“And you can leave the happy clappers – Globalheart Church and Kingdomcity – and the clan, which will be one Liberal Party where whatever they stand for no one knows.” “The Liberal Party only has itself to blame for WA voters once again rejecting it so comprehensively,” he wrote inlast month, claiming the clan has consolidated its control of the party, including over its governing body, the state council.
“The previous three disastrous WA elections show that no one is listening to the constructive criticism and feedback being shared by many,” he recently tweeted, adding other “well-respected Liberal members” also believed the “core ideals and values of the Liberals” are no longer being represented by the party.
for the first time since it was created in 1949. Others, such as prominent company director Diane Smith-Gander, donated to Chaney’s campaign.after the election last monthThe loss of the blue-ribbon seat of Curtin, which takes in Perth’s wealthy western suburbs, was the final kick in the guts for the party after having to campaign harder than ever before.
He’s also seeking support at the party’s state conference at the end of July to overhaul how it preselects candidates, giving all local members a vote rather than a handful of powerbrokers in branches, to “demonstrate to the Western Australian public that we have listened to the result”.