Senior Liberals have rushed to dismiss a call from within their ranks to rebrand, as the frontbencher behind the push urged the party to listen to the people amid a surge in support for One Nation.

Opposition NDIS spokeswoman Melissa McIntosh said on Monday there was a perception among some voters that the Liberals remained stuck in the past, and that the party must revisit its values to halt its gloomy slide in the polls.

The Liberal MP from western Sydney acknowledged she had been blunt with her calls for change, but said she wanted to see her party’s policies resonate with voters.

“We are pretty much the heartland of Australia,” McIntosh told Nine’s Today program on Tuesday.

“When the heartland of Australia tells you that you need to get more cut through to get more voters on your side, then you need to listen to the people.”

Former Liberal prime minister Tony Abbott described the comments as a “brain fart”, while current frontbencher Michaelia Cash said there was some time before the next federal election and no overhaul was needed.

“Australians don’t want us to rebrand, they want us to change the country that is actually going backwards under Larissa Waters, the Australian Greens, and Anthony Albanese,” she told Today.

As Pauline Hanson’s party has surged in popularity, at one point polling higher than Labor, the Coalition hasn’t ruled out a potential preferencing deal in upcoming elections.

But a more recent poll shows that the One Nation leader’s personal approval ratings have taken a hit after her first National Press Club address earlier in June. Among other things, Hanson used the speech to rail against multiculturalism and decry paid parental leave.

But Liberal leader Angus Taylor has failed to reverse dire polling after ousting Sussan Ley in February, as the Coalition’s primary vote dropped to a record low of 17 per cent in the latest Newspoll.

Labor sits at 33 per cent, while One Nation follows at 29 per cent.

Nationals leader Matt Canavan has downplayed the chances of a deal with Hanson, saying the Coalition would be best to put its own foot forward.

“We’re going to keep fighting, maintain the rage, and if you want that change, you’ve got to put the Labor Party last,” he told Sky News.

-AAP