WA Labor is on track to retain the seat of Darling Range in next Saturday’s by-election despite the scandal surrounding disgraced former MP Barry Urban, with more than half of voters in the area saying the scandal would not affect their vote.

In a boost for the State Government, a ReachTel poll of more than 600 voters, commissioned by The Weekend West, found Labor’s Tania Lawrence is set to claim the seat with a two-party preferred vote of 54 per cent to Liberal Alyssa Hayden’s 46 per cent — a swing against the Government since the election of less than 2 per cent.

Primary support for Labor has fallen four points since last year’s State election, but an increase in the Liberal vote of less than one percentage point, to 31 per cent, has cemented the party’s poor performance.

More than one-fifth of voters polled have backed a minor party, with One Nation’s support at 9.4 per cent, and the Greens and the newly fledged Western Australian Party both polling 3.5 per cent. More than 5 per cent of voters backed another independent or other minor party.

Despite the by-election happening next Saturday, almost one in 10 voters polled is still undecided.

The results come despite Labor’s campaign getting off to a dreadful start, with initial candidate Colleen Yates pulling out less than a week after questions emerged over her claims of academic qualifications.

At last year’s State election, Labor won the seat after a swing of almost 19 per cent, giving Mr Urban a margin of 5.8 per cent.

The by-election was called after Mr Urban’s resignation last month, prompted by the damning findings of a committee report, which recommended that he be expelled from State Parliament.

Despite some of the findings made by the report, including allegations Mr Urban forged a university degree and misled Parliament, more than half of the voters polled said the scandal would not affect their vote.

Less than one-third of voters said they would be less likely to vote for Labor because of the scandal.

The remaining 16 per cent said they were more likely to support the Government.

Both major parties have claimed the underdog title, while Ms Lawrence and Mrs Hayden have said they are looking to restore the faith of voters.