David Leyonhjelm takes parting shot at Liberal Democrats as he bows out of politics

Updated

After failing to win a seat in NSW's Upper House, David Leyonhjelm has taken to the blogosphere to announce his "life as a politician is over" and unload on his Liberal Democratic Party.

Key points: Former Senator David Leyonhjelm said he took "tender care" of the Liberal Democrats for 14 years

Announcing his political life was over, he wrote a scathing blog unloading on its National Executive

He plans to return to the business world and write a book on gun control

In a blog post published late yesterday, Mr Leyonhjelm was particularly critical of the Liberal Democrats, which he led for more than a decade.

The post came hours after he failed to secure enough votes to win a seat in the state's Upper House, despite claiming victory two weeks earlier.

"While this is not a personal tragedy for me [I was always a fairly reluctant politician], it is concerning for the Liberal Democratic Party," he wrote.

"I wish I could say the party is in good hands, but I fear that is not the case.

"The National Executive does not inspire confidence."

Mr Leyonhjelm pre-emptively claimed victory in the NSW election a fortnight ago.

His blog said the party had been in his "tender care" for the past 14 years and that he personally saved it from collapse in 2005.

Mr Leyonhjelm quit federal politics in January this year to contest the NSW election as he wanted to work on "nanny-state issues".

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He claimed the reason the Liberal Democrats failed to win an Upper House seat in the NSW was due to its poor position on the ballot form.

"We usually also attract protest votes and those who confuse us with the Liberal Party," he wrote.

"The presence of One Nation and burgeoning support for the Shooters Party siphoned protest votes away from us.

"Whether there were other factors at work is difficult to say.

"Opinions are like arseholes — everyone's got one.

"In politics, it sometimes seems a lot of people have more than one."

Mr Leyonhjelm said he intended to return to the business world, where his company is still operating.

He also plans to write a book on gun control.

The ABC has requested an interview with Mr Leyonhjelm.

Topics: state-elections, elections, state-parliament, government-and-politics, nsw

First posted