http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/new-claims-over-labor-leadership-challenge/...

PRIME Minister Julia Gillard is set to face new leadership questions, amid claims she handed out negative polling on Kevin Rudd before taking over the reigns.

Ms Gillard has rejected claims this week that she worked with staff and Labor colleagues behind the scenes weeks before Mr Rudd stepped down in June 2010.

But new claims have surfaced, saying that Ms Gillard had personally handed copies of secret internal polling to her Labor colleagues in the days before challenging Mr Rudd, Fairfax reported today.

Labor MPs claim she used the polling to persuade them to support her for the top job.

Meanwhile, one Labor MP reportedly told News Limited that they had heard rumours of Ms Gillard showing polling to two MPs in a bid to convince them to back her.

The claims come after Labor frontbencher Bill Shorten said yesteday that he had approached Ms Gillard to run for the leadership "a few days" before her successful tilt.

But he said he takes her word that she made up her mind on the day she knocked on Kevin Rudd's door.

Ms Gillard has insisted she only decided to challenge on June 23, 2010 - the day she walked into Mr Rudd's office and asked him for a caucus leadership ballot.

The renewed speculation comes after a Four Corners program, which aired on the ABC on Monday night, said members of Ms Gillard's staff began working on an acceptance speech a fortnight before she rolled Mr Rudd for the Labor leadership.

Speaking in Canberra yesterday, Ms Gillard denied asking her office to draft such a speech, but said she did not find it unusual that it was drafted.

"People would be aware that political staff prepare for contingencies, that they work on things they are concerned about and believe might happen," Ms Gillard said.

BlOoDy RiPpEr wrote on Feb 15^th, 2012 at 2:36am:





and they expect us to believe them...huuuuuuuuuuuuuhhum..

here he is claiming he only spoke to her a few days before the coop.. and this speech was being written two weeks before... who the hell is he kidding..

he was one of the PRIME movers to shaft rudd..he was there from the beginning..to claim she didnt know.. when all the media kept asking day in day out..the rumble was on..

he must think we are bigger fools than gillard takes us for.,

chicken_lipsforme wrote on Feb 15^th, 2012 at 7:26am:


sooner the better