Sussan Ley’s tenure as Liberal leader ended in failure on Friday after just 276 days, with the party’s primary vote collapsing to 18 per cent in Newspoll. The 64-year-old announced she would resign from her seat, triggering a byelection in Farrer, after a challenge from Angus Taylor succeeded.
Ley had promised to drag the party back to the political centre, telling reporters in May 2025 that the Liberals must “respect modern Australia” and “meet the people where they are”. But internal critics say she never stood a chance, facing relentless undermining from conservative colleagues, belligerence from the Nationals, and pressure from rightwing media.
Rightwingers viewed Ley as a political chameleon and resented her first shadow ministry, which demoted conservatives including Sarah Henderson and Jacinta Nampijinpa Price. A bloc of hardliners, dubbed the “Maga-right”, consistently pushed her to chase One Nation voters. Andrew Hastie quit the shadow cabinet after provocative interventions on net zero and immigration.
Senator James Paterson said after resigning to support Taylor: “This cannot go on. If it goes on, there’ll be nothing left of the Liberal party by the next election.” Ley’s allies argue the party’s internal divisions and external pressures made success impossible, but history will record her leadership as an abject failure.
