Spill against Ley looms as Taylor pulls the trigger
Angus Taylor has quit the shadow cabinet, making way for a likely leadership spill against Sussan Ley as dire polling results fuel calls for a new direction.
Source: Mike Bowers
Angus Taylor has finally pulled the trigger and resigned from the Liberal shadow cabinet, signalling an imminent leadership spill against Sussan Ley.
Taylor quit on Wednesday night, bringing an end to weeks of mounting speculation that he would roll the party’s first female leader.
Taylor did not say whether he would push for a spill this week, but The Australian reports his backers are expected to resign from their frontbench positions on Thursday as they prepare for him to mount a challenge.
They are expected to write to Ley on Thursday and ask for a meeting on Friday, the newspaper said.
On Thursday morning, Tasmanian senator Claire Chandler was the first frontbencher after Taylor to announce her resignation.
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Soon after, Victorian senator Jane Hume said she will stand for the deputy leader’s position if there is a spill.
Victorian Liberal Senator Sarah Henderson told ABC early on Thursday that Ley’s days were numbered and the party needed a new leader.
Facing reporters late Wednesday, Taylor said there was no sugarcoating how badly the Liberal Party was faring.
“Since the election in May last year, I’ve sought to be a constructive member of the leadership team, and supported Sussan Ley’s leadership in a difficult time,” he said.
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“But we can’t mince with words. The Liberal Party is at the worst position it has been since 1944 when the party was formed.”
While Taylor has resigned from the frontbench, he did not challenge Ley for the leadership of the Liberals or a request a leadership spill.
His resignation will allow him to openly canvass for votes before a likely leadership ballot.
“I don’t believe Sussan Ley is in a position to be able to lead the party as it needs to be led from here,” 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.”
Some of Ley’s backers have previously suggested a petition signed by a majority of Liberals must be presented for a party room meeting to be held — a similar tactic pulled by former Liberal prime minister Malcolm Turnbull when his leadership came under threat in 2018.
The resignation follows a series of opinion polls with dire results for the Liberal Party. The most recent Newspoll, released this week, showed primary support for Pauline Hanson’s One Nation had surged to 29 per cent, with the Coalition garnering an historic low of 18 per cent.
Moments before his resignation, Liberal senator Alex Antic backed Taylor as leader.
“He’s going to do a good job when his time comes, whether it’s now, tomorrow, six months, two years, whatever it may be,” he told Sky News.
Taylor tendered his resignation to Ley after her meeting with Israel President Isaac Herzog’s official visit to Canberra.
-with AAP
