Sussan Ley has been elected leader of the Liberal Party, edging out Angus Taylor by four votes in a closely watched ballot that lays bare the continuing fault lines within the party. Ley secured 29 votes to Taylor’s 25, stepping into the leadership after Peter Dutton lost his Queensland seat in last week’s federal election.
Ley, who holds the seat of Farrer in New South Wales, becomes the first woman to lead the federal Liberals. A self-described moderate, she has held a range of ministerial portfolios and most recently served as deputy leader. Her leadership pitch was built around reconnecting the party with younger voters and women, sectors where the Liberals have struggled in recent years.
Speaking at her first press conference as leader, Ley framed her win as a reflection of Australia’s broader story. “Australia is a place where I could dream my biggest dreams,” she said, referencing her background as an immigrant who became an economist and senior minister. She pledged to lead in a consultative manner, focusing on climate and energy issues while seeking broader consensus on policy.
The path to her victory, however, was far from smooth. Angus Taylor, the Shadow Treasurer and member for Hume, mounted a challenge from the conservative faction of the party. He had planned to bring in Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price—who recently defected from the Nationals—as his deputy. Price withdrew her nomination after Taylor’s loss, though her potential appointment had already stirred debate within the party’s ranks.
Ted O’Brien, representing Fairfax in Queensland, won the deputy leadership with 38 votes to Phillip Thompson’s 16. Like Ley, O’Brien comes from the party’s moderate flank and has previously served as shadow minister for climate change and energy affordability.
The result leaves the Liberals with a leadership team drawn from its centrist wing, though the narrow margin signals that ideological divisions remain entrenched. Some MPs have welcomed the leadership change as a necessary generational reset, while others are already voicing unease over the direction the party may now take.
This leadership transition follows a bruising election performance that saw the Liberals lose ground across several metropolitan electorates. Analysts point to growing discontent among urban voters, particularly younger Australians, on issues ranging from housing affordability to climate policy.
Ley’s immediate challenge will be to hold the party together while crafting a message that resonates with the public beyond the party base. Her pledge to listen and reflect “modern Australia” will be tested against competing internal pressures and the broader push to distinguish the party from the Albanese government, which is midway through its second term.
The coming months will reveal whether Ley can forge a unified front or whether her win marks only a temporary pause in a deeper internal struggle. The Liberals have made history with her election. Whether they can regain momentum is a different matter altogether.
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