Australian federal MP Craig Kelly has quit the Liberal Party to become an independent during a party room meeting in Parliament House in Canberra on Tuesday. Neither Kelly nor the Liberal Party has released a statement over the resignation. But there is speculation that the move may be related to Kelly’s nomination for the seat of Hughes at the next federal election, which has not yet been announced but was slated for 2022. Kelly had previously threatened to quit the Liberals ahead of the 2019 election when he faced a challenge to his seat from within the New South Wales branch but was saved by Scott Morrison, then a candidate for prime minister. Senior Labor MP Linda Burney said Kelly has been a “thorn in the side” of the Liberals for some time. “The government has the slimmest of majorities in the parliament now,” she said. Kelly has assured the …