Former chief of staff to Tony Abbott, Peta Credlin. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

Ms Credlin told Paul Murray on Sky News that she was previously offered seats in parliament.

She said she did not want to enter the parliament as she didn’t think she had the “thick skin” to cope with the pressures of being a public figure.

She also said she didn’t want to “kowtow” to “nameless nobody” branch officials to gain and hold preselection.

“At various stages, I have been offered seats, I have been warned off seats, I have been told to wait my time in the queue behind some important bloke,” she told Sky News.

Ms Credlin said she chose to work in a backroom job where her merits would be rewarded.

“I didn’t think that I wanted to kowtow to some nameless nobody in a branch in order to get preselected and God forbid have to kowtow my whole time in parliament to hold onto it,” she said.

Ms Credlin also went on to say she thought the current Turnbull Cabinet was “too large”, with 30 members including 20 in Cabinet and another 10 in the outer ministry.

She said that some of its younger members could have spent more time in the ministry before being promoted.

“I think there are some people in Cabinet who perhaps could have done with more time in the ministry to blood them, so they don’t end up delivering policy in Canberra that’s an absolute shocker that we’ve seen,” she said.

She said the Cabinet should consist of around 15 members and the ministry should be larger, to allow younger MPs to get their experience there before being eligible for promotion to the Cabinet.

Ms Credlin cited former prime minister John Howard, who had a “hierarchy to the system”.

“Not many people were promoted directly,” she said.

“I think that’s a good way to go.”

“Once in Cabinet, unless they retire it is really hard to get them out.”