A ‘few scallywags’ gossiping or a premier under threat? Inside Labor’s push to ditch Jacinta Allan

Victorian premier Jacinta Allan has dismissed talk of leadership change as gossip from a ‘few scallywags out there who might need a bit of a cuddle’. Photograph: Joel Carrett/AAP

For weeks, Labor MPs have been quietly weighing the future of Jacinta Allan.

In hushed conversations in the corridors of parliament, MPs have cited her baggage – her time as Daniel Andrews’ deputy, her role in the cancelled Commonwealth Games and as the minister overseeing the Big Build at a time corruption allegedly was allowed to grow unfettered in the construction union. Even more damaging, some argue, has been her hesitation to act once the corruption was made public.