Liberals’ first female leader knifed as spill succeeds

Angus Taylor has taken implicit the Liberal Party leadership, toppling Sussan Ley to go the absorption leader.

Mr Taylor succeeded successful knifing the party’s archetypal pistillate person 9 months into the job, winning 34 votes to 17.

The spill question carried 33-17, with 1 informal vote to bring connected the spill.

Jane Hume won the lawman leadership, coming done a contested tract that besides included incumbent lawman Ted O’Brien arsenic well arsenic Dan Tehan and Melissa Price.

The Victorian legislator won the last ballot implicit the shadiness treasurer 30-20, again with 1 informal vote.

Senator Hume won the archetypal circular with 20 votes while Mr O’Brien was 2nd with 16, Mr Tehan third with 13 and Melissa Price successful past with two.

Mr Tehan’s numbers ultimately fell down Senator Hume.

Minutes aft the ballot, erstwhile Liberal premier curate Tony Abbott – who himself was knifed arsenic premier curate earlier losing his spot to an autarkic – said the enactment country had to unify down the caller person and declared the adjacent predetermination winnable contempt Labor’s super majority.

Mr Taylor resigned from Ms Ley’s beforehand seat connected Wednesday to situation for the leadership, saying the enactment lacked direction.

A slate of frontbenchers and astir of Ms Ley’s enactment team tendered their resignations passim Thursday, revealing an volition to backmost Mr Taylor.

This included conservatives James Paterson, Jonno Duniam and Michaelia Cash while some of Ms Ley’s erstwhile backers besides handed successful their resignations, backing a absorption change.

“The Liberal Party’s presumption under Sussan Ley’s enactment has continued to deteriorate, leaving it weaker than astatine immoderate clip since its enactment successful 1944. This is simply a confronting reality, but 1 we cannot ignore,” Mr Taylor said successful announcing his candidateship.

The enactment spill followed polling that showed the coalition’s superior vote had slumped to a grounds debased and being overtaken by Pauline Hanson’s One Nation.

Mr Taylor’s ballot victory ends the tenure of Ms Ley arsenic the Liberals’ archetypal pistillate person and archetypal pistillate absorption leader.

The MP for the mostly agrarian spot of Farrer spent conscionable 9 months successful the relation aft taking implicit enactment of the enactment aft the coalition’s landslide decision astatine the 2025 election.

She will beryllium the second-shortest serving person successful the party’s history.

Source: AAP