Northern beaches seat of Wakehurst falls to independent, but Liberals hold on in Manly and Lane Cove

The independent Northern Beaches mayor Michael Regan has been elected state member for Wakehurst at the 2023 NSW election. Photograph: Anne Davies/The Guardian

The independent mayor of Northern Beaches council, Michael Regan, has romped to victory in the New South Wales state seat of Wakehurst, snatching the previously blue-ribbon Liberal seat held by the retiring health minister, Brad Hazzard, with a 27.5% swing.

Regan won with a decisive 56% of the two-party preferred vote, ending decades of Liberal dominance in the region.