Deputy Premier Ben Carroll has formally entered the race for the Victorian Labor leadership, declaring Premier Jacinta Allan no longer has the confidence of the parliamentary caucus and arguing the party cannot risk going into the November 28 election without a change at the top.
In a statement posted to X on Monday, Carroll said a group of colleagues had approached him to advise that Allan had lost the support of the Labor caucus and had asked him to nominate for the leadership.
“It is clear that the Premier has lost the majority of our Caucus,” Carroll said.
He said he had since met with Allan to inform her that he would be nominating for the leadership of the Victorian Parliamentary Labor Party.
The announcement marks a dramatic escalation in Labor’s leadership crisis, coming less than four months before Victorians head to the polls and just hours after reports of growing unrest within the government.
Carroll said the decision had not been easy but argued the stakes were too high to ignore.
“This decision is not easy, but the stakes at the upcoming election are simply too high,” he said.
“It is clear that the Premier has lost the majority of our Caucus”
He warned that the prospect of a Liberal-One Nation government posed a serious risk to Victoria, claiming such a government would cut funding for schools, health and frontline services.
The statement represents a significant shift in Carroll’s public position.
Just weeks ago, amid an earlier round of leadership speculation, the Deputy Premier publicly ruled out challenging Allan and pledged his support for her leadership. He had said he wanted his daughter to grow up knowing he had backed Allan to be re-elected in her own right.
Monday’s announcement confirms the political landscape inside Labor has changed dramatically.
Earlier reports had suggested Carroll would only contest the leadership if it became vacant and would not actively move against the Premier. His statement now makes clear he believes the caucus has already reached a point where a leadership change is necessary.
The leadership contest now appears set to dominate Victorian politics in the lead-up to the November 28 election, with Labor facing the prospect of changing premiers just months before voters head to the polls.
It remains unclear whether Allan will contest the leadership or step aside, but Carroll’s declaration places the party on the brink of its first contested leadership battle since Daniel Andrews resigned in 2023.
The coming hours are expected to determine whether Labor can unite behind a new leader or whether the contest develops into a prolonged internal battle at a critical point in the election campaign.
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