Angus Taylor has resigned from shadow cabinet and is expected to challenge Sussan Ley for the Liberal leadership, declaring the party is in the 'worst position' since its formation in 1944. Taylor announced his resignation on Wednesday evening, the first step in an expected bid to depose the party's first female leader after just nine months.
'I don't believe Sussan Ley is in a position to be able to lead the party as it needs to be led,' Taylor said. 'What we need right now is strong leadership, clear direction and a courageous focus on our values, and the first two priorities should be protecting our way of life and restoring our standard of living.' Ley's office has said she will not respond to his resignation on Wednesday.
Other senior allies are expected to quit the frontbench, putting pressure on Ley to call a party room meeting. Shadow attorney general Andrew Wallace criticised the move, saying to 'effectively knife the Liberal party's first female leader in under a year is unacceptable'. Liberal senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price said she would back Taylor, warning the party was heading for another wipeout at the next federal election.
Under party conventions, two or more MPs can request a special party room meeting to consider a motion to spill the leadership. If a majority support the spill, a secret ballot determines the leader. The 59-year-old Taylor's announcement was widely expected after days of speculation that he would use a poor Newspoll and internal Coalition ructions as triggers. The moderate-aligned Ley defeated Taylor 29 votes to 25 in the 2025 leadership contest.
Ley's leadership has been viewed as terminal after the Coalition split for the second time under her watch. She negotiated a deal to reunite the Coalition on Sunday, but some MPs believed the concessions granted to the Nationals damaged her credibility. Taylor had continued to attend shadow cabinet and leadership meetings, including on Wednesday morning, making no mention of his challenge. Conservatives and moderates grew frustrated as Taylor delayed an announcement.
