Angus Taylor Ousts Sussan Ley as Liberal Party Leader
Taylor won a partyroom ballot 34-17 and Ley said she will resign from parliament, triggering a byelection in the seat of Farrer.
Overview
Angus Taylor was elected leader of the Liberal Party in a partyroom ballot 34-17, defeating Sussan Ley, party records show.
The vote ends Sussan Ley's nine-month tenure as the party's first female leader and came amid sustained infighting after the May 2025 election, party officials said.
Taylor, a former shadow defence minister, called his election "an immense honour" in a social media post, while Ley said in a short press conference she would "step away completely and comprehensively from public life," her aides said.
Conservative backbench campaigning, two recent splits with the National Party and weak personal ratings for Ley followed the election loss, and polling shows the populist One Nation polling as high as 22% in some surveys, party sources and polling data show.
Sussan Ley said she will tender her resignation to the Speaker within weeks, which will trigger a byelection in Farrer that One Nation has said it will contest, party sources said.
Analysis
Center-leaning sources frame Ley's departure as a consequence of leadership failure and party disarray, emphasizing polls and internal splits. They use evaluative verbs ('ousts', 'plagued'), prioritize polling and coalition fractures over policy defense, and highlight Ley's resignation comments while offering limited balancing perspectives from her supporters or policy context.
Sources (5)
FAQ
Angus Taylor won the partyroom ballot 34-17 against Sussan Ley.
Her loss followed sustained infighting after the May 2025 election loss, weak personal ratings, conservative backbench campaigning, two recent splits with the National Party, and poor polling amid One Nation's rise to 22% in some surveys.
Sussan Ley will resign from parliament within weeks, triggering a byelection in the seat of Farrer, which One Nation has said it will contest.
Angus Taylor, a former shadow defence minister, called his election 'an immense honour' in a social media post.
Cataclysmic poll numbers threatened a Liberal Party wipeout, with significant shadow cabinet and backbench defections, including from Queensland LNP and Senate leader Michaela Cash.
History
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