Ousted Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has thrown a curveball at the government’s plan to keep troublesome MP Craig Kelly happy.

Mr Kelly, one of the right-wing conservatives responsible for pushing Mr Turnbull out of office, faces a tough battle to win a preselection battle for his seat of Hughes.

With Mr Kelly refusing to rule out becoming a crossbencher if the NSW voters of Hughes don’t select him, Liberal powerbrokers were yesterday working on tweaking rules to ensure the preselection battled needn’t even occur.

But Mr Turnbull was having none of that.

In a series of tweets on Sunday night, Mr Turnbull said to rig the rules to help Mr Kelly slip back into power would be a “capitulation”.

“Indeed it would be the worst and weakest response to such a threat,” he wrote.

“It is time for the Liberal Party members in Hughes to have their say about their local member and decide who they want to represent them.”

It was a bad night for Mr Kelly, who was also confirmed to have been in a public slanging match with a local at a gym.

Today I learned there was a move to persuade the State Executive to re-endorse Craig Kelly as Liberal candidate for Hughes in order to avoid a preselection – in other words to deny Liberal Party members in Hughes the opportunity to have their say.

— Malcolm Turnbull (@TurnbullMalcolm) December 2, 2018

I subsequently spoke with several State Executive members to express my strong view that the Party’s democratic processes should operate in the normal way especially after such a long debate in the NSW Liberal Party about the importance of grass roots membership involvement.

— Malcolm Turnbull (@TurnbullMalcolm) December 2, 2018

Shortly after, my media adviser was contacted by The Australian and the Daily Telegraph about these discussions, so rather than wait for their version of events to be published tomorrow, I can state that I am strongly of the view that the normal democratic process should proceed.

— Malcolm Turnbull (@TurnbullMalcolm) December 2, 2018

It has been put to me that Mr Kelly has threatened to go to the cross bench and “bring down the Government”. If indeed he has made that threat, it is not one that should result in a capitulation. Indeed it would be the worst and weakest response to such a threat.

— Malcolm Turnbull (@TurnbullMalcolm) December 2, 2018

It is time for the Liberal Party members in Hughes to have their say about their local member and decide who they want to represent them.

— Malcolm Turnbull (@TurnbullMalcolm) December 2, 2018