Tony Windsor irrelevant, say Nationals

The Nationals have dismissed former independent MP Tony Windsor as relevance-deprived and a rambler.

Federal director Scott Mitchell took to social media on Thursday to defend party leader Barnaby Joyce, who faces a challenge from Mr Windsor in the northern NSW seat of New England at the next election.

"While a rambling, relevance deprived @TonyWindsor is grandstanding in CBR, @Barnaby_Joyce is working hard in the electorate of NE," he tweeted on Thursday.