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The Liberal Party claims victory in both of the NSW seats it was fighting to retain, marking the end of an anxious month of by-election campaigning, as Gosford is won by Liesl Tesch with a big swing toward Labor.
Voters took to the polls in Gosford, Manly and the North Shore on Saturday for by-elections.
Labor claimed victory early in Gosford, where former paralympian Liesl Tesch will become the new MP, with a swing towards Labor of more than 11 per cent.
That result was expected, but the outcome was less predictable in the safe Liberal seats of Manly and North Shore.
All week, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian had been saying she was bracing for significant swings against the party in both seats, pointing out there was usually a backlash against the sitting Government in a by-election.
The swings against the Government did eventuate, but they were not enough to unsettle the status quo in either seat.
James Griffin is set to become the new MP for Manly, replacing former premier Mike Baird, who was the member for 10 years.
Mr Griffin secured 43 per cent of the first preference vote, a swing against the Liberal Party of almost 25 per cent.
However, the party was most concerned about the seat of North Shore.
There, the issue of forced council mergers was expected to drive Liberal voters to independent candidates, the most prolific being Mosman councillor Carolyn Corrigan.
But Liberal candidate Felicity Wilson won the seat, with 42 per cent of the first preference vote — a 16 per cent swing against the party.
Ms Wilson was under fire in her last week of campaigning, after admitting she wrongly claimed to have lived in the electorate for a decade.
She apologised for the mistake, and was later questioned about whether she exaggerated her education on her LinkedIn profile, by listing a Master of Business Administration (MBA) as one of her qualifications.
Ms Wilson denied misleading anyone about her studies, explaining: "It has always been well known, and indeed I acknowledged throughout the preselection process, that I am still completing my MBA (which I am due to finish this year)."
'Government can live with the swings'
ABC election analyst Antony Green said the Government could live with the swings, because ultimately its priority was keeping the seat.
"If it's held both seats they don't have the embarrassment of losing safe Liberal seats," he said.
"They don't have the difficulty of trying to win them back next election.
"The current angst over council amalgamations may have subsided in two years' time but it's certainly very toxic for the Government at the moment."
Topics: elections, government-and-politics, state-parliament, gosford-2250, north-sydney-2060, manly-2095
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