Newspoll wow
For months, Labor MPs have dismissed mediocre poll results on the basis they didn't come from Newspoll. But now their favourite poll has them behind on the two-party-preferred count.
Newspoll holds a special significance within the Labor Party.
This is partly because the poll, conducted for The Australian newspaper, has been highly regarded by both sides of politics for decades, accurately predicting the results of nearly every state and federal election.
But it’s also because, for quite a few years now, the same person overseeing Newspoll has also been responsible for the ALP’s internal polling. Dr Campbell White, Labor’s longtime chief pollster, was in charge of Newspoll as YouGov’s head of polling from 2019 to 2023.
After White left YouGov last year to set up his own firm, Pyxis Polling & Insights, both The Australian and the ALP’s federal branch stuck with him by switching to the new outfit.
This is a large part of why Monday’s Newspoll — showing the Coalition ahead of Labor 51-49 on a two-party-preferred basis for the first time this term — has unsettled many within the ALP.
