What the Coalition don't get is that in one of the safest seats in the country for the Liberal party, they were never going to lose. There are too many rusted ons in Bennelong who will never change their vote unless another work choices John Howard comes along.
This was not a normal election - the incumbent remained, so all the stuff saying by-elections always get a swing against the government of 5-6% just don't apply.
Almost impossible to get the blue ribbon Conservatives to change their vote. They had no reason to as Alexander was already installed and his having to re-contest would have been seen as unnecessary.
It's the spin of the media, the polls and the Coalition that the bar for success was set at 10%. What rubbish. Labor should not be judged against this. Anything over 2% would have been a good result for Labor, given how the voters reacted to Joyce having to re-contest his seat.
Yet here we are, being asked to swallow the spin from usual suspects, defining this result as a huge success for Turnbull when he has a 5% swing against him. Who else could come up with such fantasy?
