THE Castle Hill Liberal Party branch got stacked last week by the Christian right when a rush of would-be new members tried to join up.

No police were called and there were no threats.

It all went off rather swimmingly.

Eight supporters of Christian right-wing leader David Clarke got in shoring up control of the branch and 10 rival supporters of Mitchell MP Alex Hawke were rejected.

And local MP Michael Richardson whose office was the venue for the meeting last Tuesday night was glad about that.

An insider said: ``Richo thinks that because his wife Cherie goes shopping with David Clarke's wife Melissa, he's safer in Clarke's hands than Hawke's.

``Is this bloke naive, or what? He's a sitting duck.''

Mr Hawke, 32 who's after a frontbench spot in the federal Opposition under Malcolm Turnbull is the leader of the newly-christened NSW soft right who broke away from his state MLC mentor, David Clarke.

The two are locked in a deadly tit-for-tat struggle to control the north-western branches of the Liberal Party and any other branches they can infiltrate to consolidate their power bases and retain their preselection.

Hawke's power comes from having joined-at-the-hip friends in the right places in the top drawer of the Liberal hierarchy and a small army of young lieutenants doing his bidding.

Clarke's support is more traditional, but religious based.

Another insider said of last week's meeting: ``Michael Richardson welcomes Clarke supporters strengthening his branch against attacks by Hawke, though one day he may rue it all. At least two of Clarke's lieutenants want his job, though he obviously has a deal.

``But the fact is that the left wing of the Liberals, the soft right and the Christian right all want him out.''

The left wing, or Groupies, were once the dominant faction in the party under John Brogden, but have been ousted from power by the Clarke/Hawke tacticians.