Former prime minister John Howard has intervened in an effort to stop growing Coalition disunity as Malcolm Turnbull’s 30th Newspoll approaches, warning that a divided government would face defeat at the next election.

“I don’t find any evidence in the party that people want a change of leader. We have done that. But there are a lot of our supporters who are nervous,” Mr Howard told ABC’s 7.30.

“They will be very unhappy and very angry with the parliamentary party if, through what they regard as their negligence, the opportunity of pinning the Labor Party on many policy failures is passed over.”

The government is widely expected to lose its 30th consecutive Newspoll on Sunday night when it is anticipated the survey will be published by The Australian.

Ahead of that polling blow, seemingly false reports have spread widely on social media that Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton is working the numbers for a leadership spill at a party room meeting.

Despite the fact that Parliament does not return until May, meaning there is no meeting scheduled, the false report caused the hashtag #libspill to trend on Twitter on Thursday afternoon.

Former prime minister Tony Abbott has said he will respond if Mr Turnbull loses a 30th Newspoll, arguing his rival should be expected to explain why the standard he set in 2015 does not apply to his own prime ministership.

Mr Howard told his fellow Liberals, through the ABC, that they carried a “very heavy responsibility” to unite to defeat Labor.

He blamed the Liberal Party’s current disunity on the natural ructions caused by the dumping of Mr Abbott, and on the rise of social media.

“When I left politics or politics left me, rather, 10 years ago, there was no Twitter and there was no Facebook. It was a vastly different world. Now they are great weapons, but they are also immense hazards,” he said.

Mr Howard refused to speculate on who could lead the Liberals in future.

“I am not getting into that trap,” he said, laughing.

“The important thing is there is a lot of talented people who have come in, but my point again is there is a collective responsibility to get the act together.

“It is not just the responsibility of the leader. He’s got to inspire and encourage, but the relationship between a prime minister and the party is, he’s the first amongst equals.

“It means that the rest of the party has got to recognise his primacy, but he’s got to respect their equality and they have got to work together in, I think, a far more purposeful way than has been evident over the last few months.”

As the 30th Newspoll approaches, several Liberals and Nationals have seized the opportunity to air their grievances with the current direction of the Turnbull government.

The latest was Mr Dutton, long touted as a leadership rival to Mr Turnbull, who on Thursday conceded that Labor was “on track” to win government. But he pledged his support to Mr Turnbull.

Malcolm Turnbull is expected to lose his 30th consecutive Newspoll this weekend. Photo: AAP

Earlier in the week, a group of backbenchers calling themselves the Monash Forum – including Mr Abbott and former deputy PM Barnaby Joyce – demanded the government fork out billions in subsidies to build a new coal-powered electricity plant.

The idea was slapped down by senior ministers. And descendants of Sir John Monash, after whom the group was named, said their ancestor would not have wanted to be associated with such an “anti-science and anti-intellectual” group.

The group denied their intention was to agitate for leadership change, but most commentators did not believe them.

Mr Turnbull responded by urging power company AGL to sell its ageing Liddell power station to rival Alinta in a bid to keep it open past the year 2022.

“AGL should do the right thing … and either keep this plant going for another four or five years, or sell it to somebody who is prepared to do so,” he told reporters on Wednesday.

-with Luke Henriques-Gomes