UPDATED: Shock resignation after Liberals pick new leader
Sussan Ley has suffered a crushing defeat, with the new leadership team for the Australian Liberal Party chosen this morning. The move leading to a resignation.
Angus Taylor has won the Liberal leadership from Sussan Ley on Friday morning. Following the decision, Ley in a press conference announced she will quit politics to spend more time with family.
“I will be spending the next couple of weeks thanking the amazing people of Farrer and expressing my gratitude to them for the honour of representing them for 25 years,” Ley said, her decision will trigger a by-election in the seat of Farrer.
“Shortly thereafter, I will be tendering my resignation to the Speaker. I’m not sure what comes next for me. I look forward to stepping away completely … from public life.”
Taylor won with 34 votes to Ley’s 17 in a secret ballot.
Victorian Senator Jane Hume has cinched the deputy leadership with 30 votes, beating Queensland MP Ted O’Brien, who had 20.
Taylor and Hume are expected to address the media shortly.
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Ley – who was the party’s first female leader – stood her ground against Taylor, rather than conceding when the spill was first brought.
Ley did not comment when exiting the party room.
Hume, a moderate and party backbencher, was among those who questioned Ley’s leadership this month.
She was elected in 2016 and has held the roles of minister for superannuation, financial services and women’s economic security under the Morrison federal government.
Western Australia MP Melissa Price and Victorian MP Dan Tehan also ran for the deputy role but were knocked out after the first two rounds of voting.
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Former Liberal Prime Minister Tony Abbott said “everyone should get behind” Taylor as leader because he could deliver on stronger policies on immigration and energy, returning the Liberals to a strong opposition.
Former NSW Liberal senator Holly Hughes said Taylor “lacks conviction” and had “a big job ahead” to win back the trust of the party room.
The leadership challenge was precipitated by a flurry of resignations from the front bench on Thursday, led by senior conservatives James Paterson, Jonno Duniam and Michaelia Cash.
Taylor’s backers believed the change in leader would help the party reset after its worst poll slump in recent memory, which has seen support for the coalition eclipsed by One Nation.
The resignation of James McGrath, who has previously backed Ley, was widely seen as the death knell for her leadership, while Tehan, previously energy spokesman, quit to run as deputy leader.
While speculation over threats to Ley’s tenure started in late 2025, Liberals began openly contemplating a leadership change after a Newspoll published in The Australian on Monday, showing the coalition slipped to a primary vote of 18 per cent.
At the same time, support for Pauline Hanson’s One Nation surged to 27 per cent.
More to come.
– with AAP
