DESPITE growing internal moves to get rid of him and pointed calls from colleagues to retire from politics, Tony Abbott has insisted he’s not going anywhere.

The divisive former prime minister has lost a lot of friends in the Liberal Party of late, over his persistent destabilising of Malcolm Turnbull’s agenda and the prime role he played in Peter Dutton’s failed leadership coup.

When he addressed his local branch last week to seek their endorsement to run again in the next election, he faced a surprising rebellion from those who would ordinarily be loyal.

There was a palpable anger in the room — one member reportedly muttering “f*** you” when Mr Abbott spoke about the need for unity — and 32 per cent ended up voting against his preselection.

He stood unopposed as the candidate for Warringah, meaning one-third of his local membership preferred no one at all to the former leader.

And Fairfax Media reports there is a groundswell of support to dump Mr Abbott and replace him with a more moderate candidate.

The branch backlash followed damning vox pops with voters in his Manly seat and vocal calls from members of his own party to get out of Canberra sooner rather than later.

Mr Abbott is clinging on for his political life, but can he survive?

‘IT’S TIME TO GO’

After the chaos that ultimately led to Scott Morrison become PM, and the resulting hammering the government received in the polls, some questioned whether Mr Abbott was a liability for the party.

“I think he’ll retire at the next election,” Queensland Liberal MP Andrew Laming told ABC Radio in the days after the coup. “I’d encourage him to.”

Fellow Queensland Liberal Warren Entsch chimed in, saying it was time for Mr Abbott to step back — for the sake of the government’s survival.

“I think his mission is accomplished,” Mr Entsch said.

“He has got rid of his nemesis. Everything there was purely about revenge.”

Nationals backbencher Damian Drum also called for Mr Abbott to “get out of the joint” after years of underhanded tactics designed to damage the Turnbull government.

“He vowed he wouldn’t be a wrecker and that’s exactly what he’s been, a wrecker,” he said.

And Liberal MP Michelle Landry blamed Mr Abbott for the perception of chaos within the government, saying he was “out for revenge”.

Some locals who have voted for Mr Abbott in the past have been unable to hide their anger at their MP’s involvement in the chaotic events that gripped Canberra.

When vox-popped by news.com.au last month, a number said they wouldn’t be voting for him again.

“His name is mud at the moment … I voted for him but never again,” one Manly woman told news.com.au.

“I felt Malcolm was doing the best he could and the impact on (former foreign minister) Julie Bishop too, was unbelievable. I’m almost embarrassed to be Australian at the moment.”

The woman, who has lived in the northern beaches for about 30 years, said Mr Abbott was “totally out of touch”.

“He’s just pure ego. He’s supposed to be governing the country but it’s just appalling behaviour and vengeance.”

Another Manly resident said he was “absolutely” reconsidering his vote and thought other locals were also getting tired of Mr Abbott.

“He is just tired in the teeth and hanging around, I don’t know what for,” he said. “He just seems to be stirring the pot rather than genuinely being of service as a local member.”

A Fairlight woman, who’s lived in the area for four years, said she had always voted for the Liberal Party but would not vote for Mr Abbott again.

“I think he’s the same as any other politician, they don’t stand true to their word,” she said.

DAMAGED AFTER BRANCH MEETING

The result of the meeting to re-endorse Mr Abbott left him rattled and humbled, it was said in the days after.

Then, a repeated refusal to release the full ballot results for several days added fuel to speculation that he had only just held on.

“There was such a high protest vote that people now think Tony will lose the general election in Warringah. This shows that it is Tony’s last term. People are very upset with the leadership spill,” one source told The Australian.

As an MP with more than two decades notched up in the job, and a former prime minister no less, he should have enjoyed a strong backing.

But Federal Liberal Party president Nick Greiner said Mr Abbott faced a heated reception from his local base.

“There are clearly very strong, different views about Tony — his views, the way he has behaved since he was defeated by Mr Turnbull,” Mr Greiner said.

The feeling among one-third of the branch was that Mr Abbott’s destabilising campaign was damaging and that he had also failed to read the electorate on key issues.

It was said that the mini rebellion was sign that he had not represented the views of Warringah Liberals on such issues as same-sex marriage and climate change.

SCOMO BACKING HIM IN

In the days after Mr Turnbull’s departure, former Prime Minister John Howard said Mr Abbott should be returned to the frontbench.

It was a call that Mr Morrison resisted, but he extended an olive branch in the form of a special envoy position focusing on indigenous affairs.

And for his part, it seems Mr Abbott is backing the new leader too.

In an interview on 2GB, Mr Abbott said he thought Scott Morrison had “got off to a very good start”.

“After a very difficult period with quite a lot of self-inflicted wounds, we are now again on the right track,” he said.

ABBOTT STANDING FIRM

Despite the mounting pressure, Mr Abbott has said his time in parliament is far from over and he intends to stay in the job for at least another term.

He told Fairfax Media that he is still “relatively young and strong” and hadn’t given “a nanosecond’s thought” to retiring.

He signalled his desire to stay in politics for at least six more years and promised to remain active on the national stage.

And he remains confident of holding onto his seat at the next election.

“Is Warringah likely to be lost by the Liberal Party? I don’t think so. But can it be taken for granted? Absolutely not,” Mr Abbott said.

“You can be pretty confident that the local campaign will be very, very seriously prosecuted by me and the local party.”