Angus Taylor Ousts Sussan Ley in Decisive Liberal Leadership Revolt
Sussan Ley has been replaced by Angus Taylor after a decisive Liberal partyroom ballot, following frontbench resignations and dire polling that plunged the party into crisis.
Angus Taylor secured leadership of the Liberal Party on Friday morning, after defeating Sussan Ley 34 votes to 17 in a ballot that ended Ley’s nine-month tenure as the party’s first female leader.
The decisive victory followed a frontbench exodus on Thursday as conservative MPs rallied behind Taylor, who argued the party needed stronger leadership and a return to its core values.
Victorian senator Jane Hume subsequently won the deputy leadership 30 votes to 20 over incumbent Ted O’Brien in a four-way contest.
Former prime minister Tony Abbott backed Taylor’s ascent, telling Sky News the party needed to abandon internal feuds and stop trying to be “Labor lite”. Abbott urged Liberal MPs to support Taylor as the right leader to challenge the Albanese government.
Nine Months of Decline
Ley’s leadership came under intense pressure after polling showed Liberal support collapsed below 20 per cent, while One Nation’s primary vote surged to almost 30 per cent.
A suite of recent polls suggested voters have been abandoning the Coalition in favour of populist alternatives that better reflected their values on cultural issues, energy policy and immigration.
Taylor, a Rhodes Scholar with a background in economics and agribusiness, narrowly lost in a separate spill against Ley in May 2025 following the federal election.
This week’s leadership change followed mass resignations from Ley’s shadow ministry on Thursday. Shadow finance minister James Paterson and shadow home affairs minister Jonno Duniam were among the most senior figures to declare they no longer had confidence in her leadership.
Paterson described Taylor as a man of deep conviction and courage, warning the party faced a critical juncture, with over two million Australians deserting the Coalition since last year’s election.
Senator Sarah Henderson told Sky News the party had lost its competitive edge and needed urgent renewal. She stated her belief that Ley had tried her best but argued recent polling had left the Liberals on dangerous ground.
Conservative MPs including Alex Antic, Matt Canavan, and Jacinta Nampijinpa Price have urged the party to return to traditional values on cultural issues and energy policy.
The leadership spill follows the Nationals’ campaign to abandon net zero policies, which some conservatives view as essential for the Coalition’s electoral prospects.
A New Direction?
Taylor is a conservative Christian raised on a livestock property in rural New South Wales. He attended The King’s School in Sydney before studying at the University of Sydney and Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar.
He served in ministerial roles under Malcolm Turnbull and Scott Morrison, including as Minister for Energy and Minister for Emissions Reduction. Taylor supported Peter Dutton in the 2018 leadership spills and has aligned with the party’s conservative faction throughout his political career.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has criticised Taylor’s economic credentials, labelling him as “the most shambolic shadow treasurer in Australia’s history”. Labor also released attack advertisements describing Taylor as a leftover from the Morrison government.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, meanwhile, accused the Liberals of obsessing over internal conflicts rather than policy.
Taylor inherits a party that is polling at historically low levels and that faces an uphill battle towards the 2028 election. He faces the challenge of rebuilding the party’s support while Labor holds government with a substantial majority.
Taylor will also have to navigate tensions between the party’s moderate and conservative wings following Friday’s contentious spill.
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Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
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who’s farrah? lee majors wife? well at least youre not calling it fowler, we can leave that howler to the flip flop lady.
on another issue, its silly to say the party is divided. this was a convincing win – unlike last time when there was only four votes in it.
in the press conference today the first thing our new leader said was that he was honored to be leading the party. the second think he said was hes inheriting the party at the worst time in its history.
what a great opportunity, to grab the party by the scruff of the neck and double polling within 1l2 months and take us to the next election leading in the polls.
while id love the nats to win farrer, if the libs win it, what a great endorsement that will be for taylor and the reinvigorated, rejuvenated, united party he now leads
Farrer was a very important agri-scientist who improved wheat so that it could be grown in the harsh climate of Australia. Surely you were taught about him or are you part of the cohort of Australians who went to school and were taught propaganda, not facts?
the reference to farrah was a dig at james mcphersom who incorrectly refers to the division by that name.
(see his article).
FYI, James didn’t write this Kurt did. Your comments don’t make any sense.
I resigned from the Liberal Party many years ago because they have been importing people whose aim is to sit on welfare for the rest of their lives, destroy Australian values and turn our country into a failed , crime-ridden country like the UK. Tommy Robinson has just been informed by Bedfordshire police of a threat to his life , that police do not have the resources to protect him , and that he is not allowed to use anything to protect his life and that of his family. He is fleeing the UK asap. More breaking news –a new political Party , “Restore Britain ” has been announced whose aim is to take back the UK by removing from the UK all who do not speak English, who will not work, who have committed or are planning criminal acts, who hate British culture, etc. “Restore Britain’s ” aim is a return to British values , Christianity, etc. Interesting times ahead for UK which goes to the polls in 2028 . Talk of Civil War . Australia, take note of the mistakes the UK has made and “bite the bullet ” to save our Australian culture and religion as time is running out . Voting Liberal will be more of the same –only humbug, pretending to do something about the awful problems which we face :– mass migration, multiculturalism, censorship, Muslim prayers in the street , still disrupting “Palestinian ” Marches , etc. What is the Liberal Party going to do about that except talk ? ASIO claims to be watching 18, 000 potential Terrorists. What about those who are not on the Watch List ?
“Restore Britain ” aims also to ban hijabs and nijhabs, outlaw cousin marriages (produce high proportion of deformed , incapacitated children who cannot look after themselves ), etc.
I am praying for Angsu as the new leader. He has given some sound talks so far and addressed some of the real needs of Australia at this time