Senior Liberals downplay prospect of leadership spill and urge colleagues ‘get on with the job’ | Liberal party

Senior Liberal figures have downplayed the prospect of Sussan Ley losing out to a possible leadership spill, saying she has support from most of the opposition party hall and urging colleagues to “get on with the job” of holding the government to account.

As speculation continues about Angus Taylor’s leadership ambitions, Liberal deputy leader Ted O’Brien said any shadow frontrunners who did not support Ley had to stand down.

Speaking to ABC’s Insiders, O’Brien said: “By convention, if a person does not support the leader, they step aside. Angus did not do that. So my assumption is that he will continue to support Sussan Ley.”

“As for whether there will be difficulties, I do not believe that we have entered a period where there will be difficulties. But I do not know the future either.”

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Shadow health minister Anne Ruston also ruled out Ley losing or even facing a leadership loss after media reported Taylor could seek to run for the top job as early as this week when parliament resumes.

Ruston told Sky News: “Obviously there has been speculation, but frankly I fully believe that Sussan Ley has the support of the party room and will remain our leader going forward.”

“The leader at the moment is Sussan Ley and I think everyone in the front row has made it clear that they support the leader and we just need to get on with the job.”

Taylor, the shadow defense secretary, narrowly lost the leadership vote to Ley after the May 2025 election, and despite a destabilization campaign by Ley’s critics since then, the numbers in the party hall are said to still be close; The opposition leader’s supporters are confident he would narrowly win the vote if it were held today.

Senior Conservative figures Taylor and backbencher Andrew Hastie have been posing for a potential leadership bid for some time, with speculation and backbenchers mounting following the messy split of the Coalition parties following a dispute between the Liberal and National parties over hate speech laws. The two right-wing figures met in Melbourne last week, along with members of Ley’s leadership team, James Paterson and Jonno Duniam.

Hastie announced late Friday that he would not seek the leadership at this time, admitting he did not have enough party support. Hastie’s announcement Friday was seen by some as a development that paves the way for Taylor to challenge in the near future. Hours after Hastie’s announcement, Taylor posted impassioned support for her colleague on social media; He described the backbencher as “patriotic” and someone with a “fierce intelligence” with “a great asset to the Liberal cause”, and said they shared similar views on “reducing immigration, restoring cheap energy, revitalizing Australian industry and rebuilding national pride”.

Ley’s ally Ruston praised the opposition leader’s latest actions.

“I think Susan has done a fantastic job as a leader during the most difficult period I can remember being in Parliament,” he said.

Labour’s health minister Mark Butler has mocked recent dysfunction within the old Coalition.

“I don’t understand how Angus Taylor is still in the front row. He’s so obviously struggling for leadership,” he told Sky News.

“There’s now a small opposition of barely 28 members and it’s split between Sussan Ley supporters and Angus Taylor supporters; frankly, I don’t know how they can pull all this mess together to do the job they have to do to the Australian people, which is to present an alternative to government in parliament.”

O’Brien said he and many of his colleagues supported Ley’s actions during the dispute with the National Party, which led to the split of the Coalition, and said he believed “the majority of the party room” supported him as leader.

“I have not found anyone in the Liberal party who opposes Sussan Ley’s decisions or decisions and I believe she will move forward at the next level while keeping the door open to see if there is a way we can come back. [to Coalition]he said.

Ley and Nationals leader David Littleproud are expected to meet on Monday or Tuesday to discuss a possible reunification of the Coalition before parliament meets on Tuesday afternoon. Littleproud is facing his own leadership spill, initiated by the outspoken Colin Boyce, but is expected to prevail.

O’Brien said the two Coalition parties were stronger together but the two leaders needed to have “serious discussions” before meeting again.

Ruston also said he would like to see the two parties together again, but suggested the Liberals could go it alone and win elections without the National Party.