Madeleine Ogilvie would have choked on her cornflakes after reading this morning’s news that Elise Archer is running as an independent candidate in Clark.

The development comes amid reports that Ms Ogilvie has extraordinarily asked Liberal Campaign HQ to only preselect two candidates for the seat.

Liberal and political insiders know how vulnerable Ms Ogilvie is electorally and it appears she’s putting herself ahead of the broader campaign. 

Ms Ogilvie recently took to social media to undermine the campaign of Marcus Vermey in Nelson, now a possible rival in Clark, and she’s scared he might take her job. 

Don’t forget it was a desperate Madeleine Ogilvie who orchestrated the Liberals’ double UTAS backflip in a pathetic attempt to get some votes at last year’s election. 

The Liberal Team has been split down the middle this week on leadership and now they're battling with candidates before they're even pre-selected. 

If the Liberals were as focused on the budget as they were on saving their own jobs, we wouldn't be having a fourth election in seven years.

Ella Haddad MP
Labor Member for Clark