A meeting to endorse Tony Abbott's re-election to Parliament descended into an angry shouting match after the former prime minister was hit by a rare and substantial protest vote.

More than 30 per cent of grassroots members voted on Friday night to oppose Mr Abbott's nomination as the Liberal Party candidate for the Sydney seat of Warringah, which the former leader has held since 1994.

Former prime minister Tony Abbott is a divisive figure inside the Liberal Party. Credit:Josh Robenstone

Mr Abbott ran unopposed, which makes the size of the protest vote "highly unusual", according to members who now believe the former prime minister's grip on the blue-ribbon northern beaches seat is not guaranteed.

"Everybody with any degree of commitment to the party and its long-term future wants to see this guy go, he's just useless," said one local member on Saturday.