The Daily Telegraph reported last week that Mike Baird could be leaving NSW politics sooner rather than later. A tipster tells us that he could be headed to bigger and better things, particularly if Tony Abbott sees fit to resign in the wake of Niki Savva’s explosive new book:

“Who would be Abbott’s likely successor in the seat of Warringah should he resign, causing a by-election? Liberal sources say a likely candidate could be Mike Baird, the NSW premier.  Mike’s father, Bruce, was a NSW government minister who quit to join the bigger game in Canberra, so it may be a case of ‘like father, like son’. At present the expectation is for Mike to lead the Coalition to an unprecedented third term, but should the federal seat of Warringah become vacant the call to Canberra could well be too much for him to resist. Baird’s state electorate of Manly has the same footprint as the federal seat of Warringah, so Baird would be a shoo-in. With Baird’s popularity he would then be looked on as a potential heir to Malcolm Turnbull when he retires in a party that lacks an apparent replacement. A move such as this would also help consolidate the moderates’ increasing stranglehold on the party.”

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